Meet Orlando tech unicorn Stax Payments CEO Paulette Rowe

Welcome to Orlando Business Journal's weekly LinkedIn newsletter. I'm Digital Producer/Senior Staff Writer Richard Bilbao, rounding up Orlando business news to keep you in the know when time is short.

Paulette Rowe, the new CEO for Orlando-based tech unicorn Stax Payments, now is preparing to move here from the U.K., where she has lived and worked for much of her career.

She plans to have two home bases: one in Orlando and another in Atlanta, giving her immediate access to a hub for the payments industry.

Before joining Stax, Rowe held top positions at the Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclaycard Payment Solutions, Facebook and Paysafe, among others.

The product offered by Stax, which is used by 30,000 businesses and has processed over $30 billion in payments to date, is an application programming interface (API) for payment processing and analysis.

Go here for the full story.

And now, on to other big business deals, transactions and activity headlines from the week.

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Real estate news of the week

• Here's what's next for Wawa to be built in west Orlando suburb: See where it will rise and when construction may begin.
• National homebuilders Taylor Morrison, Lennar pay big bucks for big site in small Lake County city: The significance of the transaction is two-fold.
• Orlando franchisee for Ace Pickleball Club concept plans 12 locations here: The new-to-market concept is the latest player to try to capitalize on the sport's surging popularity.

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Orlando news bites

Don't miss these other top stories:

• Brightline delays start of Orlando passenger train service again: Thousands of Brightline tickets already have been sold for service to and from the new train station at Orlando International Airport.
• Draper breaks ground on new high-tech aerospace and defense campus: See how many high-tech jobs the new project will bring to the area.
• Revealed: Here are Orlando's 2023 C-Suite Awards winners: These 23 individuals are being recognized as the region's top leaders and outstanding performers in their areas of expertise.

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Restaurant news & notes

Check out the latest news on popular local places to eat:

• Blaze Fast-Fire'd Pizza opens 4th Orlando-area restaurant: It offers pizzas, salads, breads, desserts and pizza toppings such as roasted peppers, artichokes, roasted garlic and plant-based chorizo.
• Running Fat Cat Gourmet Foods with her husband is a purr-fect side gig for Orlando lawyer: Fat Cat was named for the couple's rotund feline, Tiggy.
• Former Stonewall bar near Exploria Stadium up for sale: The site includes a two-story, 3,900-square-foot building with three bars and a stage, as well as a full-service kitchen.

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Nominations & Events

Things to put on your busy calendar:

• Nominate now for the 2023 Veterans of Influence, which?recognizes military veterans who have made a significant achievement in their careers in the past year, have a strong record of innovation or outstanding performance in their work, and are involved in our community. The deadline is Oct. 6.

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Finally ... make your voice heard!

These?OBJ?polls are live. Let us know what you're thinking.

• How does your company celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month?
• Should applicants for Orange County tourist tax revenue have to put in some of their own money for their projects?
• Will UCF's entry into the Big 12 Conference lead you to attend college football games?
• Did your company suffer any damage from Hurricane Idalia?

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Closing Note

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That's all for this week's top headlines, and thanks for supporting?OBJ.

This weekly round-up of Orlando business news was compiled by Richard Bilbao, digital producer/senior staff writer. Questions? Comments? Concerns? News tips? Send them to [email protected].