John A. Kanas, chairman and CEO of BankUnited headquartered in Miami Lakes, was among a group of recent winners of the Ernst and Young, or EY, Entrepreneur of the Year Award during a special gala at the Hilton Hotel in Orlando.
Kanas won the accolade in the financial services category among a group of leading entrepreneurs, who were selected by an independent judging panel comprised of previous award recipients, leading CEOs and other regional business leaders.
“These entrepreneurs truly demonstrate the passion, dedication and vision it takes to achieve remarkable success,” said Greg Rosica, EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Florida program partner. “They are accomplished business leaders who have contributed a tremendous amount to the community.”
EY’s Entrepreneur Of The Year is the world’s most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs, which encourages entrepreneurial activity among those with potential and recognizes the contribution of people who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement.
A New York banker, Kanas has left his mark on the financial industry but his biggest accomplishment was turning around a beleaguered bank that was taken over by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation five years ago. Kanas was tasked with reinventing what was the former BankUnited FSB that failed due to risky residential loans during the real estate bubble.
Five years later, the Miami Lakes-based bank is coming off a year of stellar growth in which its loans surged by $3.47 billion, or 62 percent in 2013, and followed that up with $920 million in loan growth in the first quarter of 2014.
Kanas balances his time between New York and Miami Lakes, spending three days a week in the South Florida, one day in Long Island and another day in Manhattan.
Kanas told published reports that the Florida’s business climate and economy are better now than they were five years ago.
“This is a real estate-centric economy driven largely by the relative health of the real estate market,” Kanas was quoted as saying. “Because of the nature of the Florida economy and the tremendous appeal that Florida has to people both to the north and to the south, it is easy to become overzealous in Florida and drive markets beyond the normal point of growth. So as bankers we need to be careful and we need to understand that, while this is an amazing market today and the recovery is spectacular, that we don’t help to drive this economy beyond its normal boundaries.”
Kanas said a good part of his life is consumed by banking but he finds time to enjoy himself away from the office.
“A good part of my life is spent at work and I work, as most CEOs do, a very full week and sometimes my weekends are taken up for the bank,” Kanas said. “ But, I’m conscious of the balance in my life and I try to reserve the weekend for my family. I‘ve hunted most of my life. I travel to different parts of North America hunting at different times of the year. I do enjoy golf with my son who’s a lot better than me. I live on a farm. We raise nursery stock. We’ve got ducks and chickens and cows. We’ve got one horse. From time to time, other things wonder in and out of the farm. It’s a nice way to live.”