Bruno Portigliatti is a businessman and academic administrator with a strong commitment to his local community. He is the President of Florida Christian University, a global-reach institution with over 38 years of existence, a Partner & CEO of Excellence Senior Living, dedicated to providing quality senior living facilities in various communities throughout Florida, and Partner & Chief Institutional and Governmental Affairs Officer of Harvest English Institute/United Languages of America. He is also a real estate developer who has directed the development of several multimillion-dollar projects by overseeing the acquisition, entitlement, construction, licensing, and operation of these projects.
Bruno has been civically engaged in his community for many years. Besides presiding over the non-profit organization, New Beginnings Global Outreach, he is also active in various other local boards and community projects. In 2020, he ran for the Florida House of Representatives in District 44, winning the Republican Primary with 74% of votes (10,124) and garnering 47.6% of the votes (55,960) in the General Election. He served on the Board of the Dr. P Phillips YMCA from 2014-2020, on the City of Orlando’s Women and Minority Business Enterprise Certification Board as Chair for almost two years, and has been a member of the Dr. Phillips Rotary Club since 2013. In the higher-education sector, he serves as a Board Member of FAPSC – Florida Association of Postsecondary Schools and Colleges and is the Chairman of the CPCA Certification Commission, which provides administrative and academic certification to Private Faith-Based Institutions of Higher Learning, in all 50 states and territories of the USA.
He attended the University of South Florida in Tampa, where he double majored in Political Science and Spanish. He went on to law school at Florida Coastal School of Law in Jacksonville, where he graduated with Pro Bono Honors, and also completed a Master of Business Administration at Florida Christian University in Orlando. While at USF, he held numerous leadership roles, including Student Government Vice President, Member of the National Alumni Board of Directors, Senator for the College of Arts & Sciences, and Chairman of the Rules, Judicial and Legislative Affairs Committee. In law school, he was an Ambassador for the school, a member of the prestigious Mock Trial Team, a Student Bar Association Legislator for two years and Chief of Staff to the SBA President.
In law school, he was awarded the James A. Richter Humanitarian Service Award, presented to a student known for his devotion to the promotion of human welfare and the advancement of social reforms. In 2017, the Brazilian community in Central Florida recognized him with the Person of the Year award for his work and influence within the community. In 2020, he was voted as the Male Personality of the Year in Central Florida by FOCUS Brazil Foundation. Bruno was named as one of the Top 50 Hispanic Business Leaders of 2019 by the Florida State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Additionally, he was selected as a recipient of the 2021 Maverick PAC Future 40 award, which is given annually to the best and brightest conservative minds in business, government, politics and community affairs around the United States.
Bruno is fluent in English, Spanish and Portuguese. He lives in Orlando, Florida with his wonderful wife Stephanie.