Bio:

Polins has over 18 years of marketing and advertising experience with an emphasis on creative direction, writing, broadcast production and IT. As an alumnus of the Pennsylvania State University, he received a BA in broadcast journalism. After serving his country in the United States Marine Corps, Polins received the National Defense Service Medal in 1991.

He then worked in the motion picture industry with Warner Brothers, HBO, Imagine Entertainment and 20th Century Fox. Polins incorporated Gulf+Atlantic Films, Inc. (www.gafilms.com) in late 1998 and remains in the indie film industry to this day. After two years in the Florida film industry, Polins served as a senior member on the creative team of two Tampa-based advertising agencies: Amherst Marketing Associates and The Lipphardt Agency. After leaving The Lipphardt Agency, Polins accepted a position with Inteledigm Communications, a Tampa-based Internet Incubator. There, Polins served as the Marketing Director and created the brand platform for The Agency Applet™; for which he was featured in Adweek Magazine. Polins also negotiated the Web site design and implementation of Nokia Latin America. He was also directly responsible for securing the first interactive Addys Web site project for the American Advertising Federation. In early 2000, Polins co-founded Coniglio Polins Interactive, a “.com” ad agency based in Tampa. Coniglio Polins Interactive would later merge with marketing consulting veterans, Hill & Associates to form Hill, Coniglio, Polins & Associates (HCP) in 2003.

Polins is a published author and professional artist. He has produced a number of award winning independent film shorts, and executive produced his first SAG feature film in 2006. In 2010, Polins achieved second place in the Ogilvy “Greatest Salesman in the World” competition, for which he was the only American finalist. He was flown to Cannes, France to compete with two other global competitors.  In 2010, Polins was named a national finalist in the American Airlines “Flights. Camera. Action.” Film Contest; a national search for small businesses on the move.

Polins shares his free time with his wife Maria, four-year-old son, Zane, a Saint Bernard and a cat in his 100-year-old restored South Tampa home.

• Leadership Florida XXVIII Graduate, Current Regional Council Member
• Leadership Tampa 2005 Graduate, Current Alumni Cabinet Member
• Gasparilla International Film Festival, President 20010-2011, Advisory Board
• Tampa Bay Opera Foundation, Board Member, 2009-present
• Feed the Felines Fundraiser, Founder/Chair, The Big Cat Rescue, 2007
• Emerge Tampa Mentor/Protégé Program, 2007, Mentor
• The Florida Aquarium, Arts Committee, 2007-2009
• Hillsborough Education Foundation, Marketing Committee, 2006-2008
• Rotary International Group Study Exchange,Australia2006
• Renaissance Center for the Arts, Board Member, 2005-2008
• Susan G. Komen 3-Day Cancer Walk, Team Leader 2005
• American Marketing Association, Member, 2004- present
• Tampa Bay Advertising Federation, Member, 2000- present
• Tampa Bay Penn State Alumni Council Member, 1996- present