Steve Collar marks five years leading Vistage groups in Jacksonville

Steve Collar is marking five years as a Vistage Florida Chair in Jacksonville, where he has led CEO and key executive peer groups since December 2020. The milestone underscores the growing demand for confidential peer advisory support as local leaders use the groups to make harder decisions, step back from day-to-day operations and improve company performance.

Why it matters: - Collar’s work reflects the value of peer advisory groups for business leaders who need outside perspective on major decisions. - The Jacksonville program has become a decision-making forum for CEOs and key executives across Northeast Florida. - Member outcomes included headcount growth, revenue gains and more productive operations.

What happened: - Steve Collar is celebrating five years as a Vistage Florida Chair in Jacksonville this month. - Collar began his Chair role in December 2020. - Collar launched his first peer group in 2022. - Collar now leads two Jacksonville groups: a CEO group and a Key Executive group. - Members meet monthly for a full working day. - Collar also meets one-on-one with each member between meetings.

The details: - Collar brought more than 40 years of senior executive experience to the role. - His background includes senior vice president and general manager roles at Jacksonville-based Crowley. - At Crowley, Collar combined logistics, international liner service and Puerto Rico liner service into one division. - Collar oversaw more than $1 billion in revenue and about 1,200 administrative employees. - Collar received two Vistage Chair Excellence Awards in his first two years as Chair. - Each Vistage session combines expert speakers with a structured peer discussion. - Members bring a live business issue to the group and leave with a decision. - One Jacksonville law firm in the group grew from about 25 employees to 85 and more than doubled revenue over two years. - A real estate group of companies reported higher productivity across every operating company while its CEO stepped out of day-to-day operations. - Josh Woolsey said his firm grew from about 25 to 85 employees and doubled revenue in two years. - Christian Leehinger said the group is not a lead-generation network and that Collar keeps the focus on members. - Matt Liotta said Collar’s experience at Crowley makes him effective on leadership and management issues. - Jeffrey Terwilliger said he moved out of daily detail work and is now coaching his kids’ sports most afternoons. - Erin Lyons said the group helped her make an unbiased decision that changed the course of her company. - John Kilgore said the group’s diversity of industries and experience strengthens the meetings. - Nick Smith said Collar’s credibility was clear after learning he ran a billion-dollar line of business at Crowley. - Collar said the group works because confidentiality is absolute and no one is there to sell anything. - Collar said the model is built around practical peer accountability and hard decisions.

Between the lines: - The groups appear to function as both a leadership reset and an accountability mechanism for owners who are often isolated at the top. - Collar’s executive background likely helps members trust the advice and stay focused on operational problems rather than networking. - The comments from members suggest the value comes from candid feedback, not introductions or lead generation.

What's next: - Collar will continue leading the Jacksonville CEO and Key Executive groups. - Vistage Florida directs interested readers to more information. - Vistage also provides background on the organization at Vistage Florida.

The bottom line: - Five years in, Collar’s Jacksonville groups are positioned as a confidential forum where executives can work through real problems, stay accountable and make better decisions.