We sat down with Florida Chamber Board of Directors Member and Chair-Elect Keith Koenig, CEO of CITY Furniture to answer three important questions. Keith serves as Regional Advancement Chair for the Broward region and is Chair of the Florida Chamber Policy Council.
Q: What is one piece of advice you would share with your peers?
A: Don’t bet against America or Florida. The future is bright.
Q: What keeps you up at night?
A: Retail home furnishings is being changed by all things digital. AI and AR will drive even more change. Our team is working hard to create the right digital shopping experience and the right product line that aligns with our beautiful, inspiring showrooms. Our success depends on us adapting to a new world of retail.
Q: How has the Florida Chamber impacted your organization?
A: The Chamber is the very best organization in Florida for advancing smart business and quality of life issues.
The Chamber’s advocacy for lawsuit abuse reform that the Legislature passed this past session was critical and will benefit all Floridians, save some bad attorneys.
Here is a quick example I shared with our team. One of our trucks was recently involved in a pretty serious accident. Our driver was paying attention and driving safely, but hit a car that pulled right in front of him.
Before the recent changes in laws bringing sanity to comparative negligence guidelines, we would have likely been sued and likely would have had to pay a settlement, even though the video cameras on the truck showed total negligence by the other party.
It has happened to us and others in the past, but is unlikely in the future thanks to the Florida Legislature and thanks to the Florida Chamber.