One of Us: Greg Wong

Posted

A Ponte Vedra Beach resident, Greg Wong is the senior vice president of corporate development at Web.com, as well as a trustee for the Ponte Vedra Beach Municipal Service District Board.

 

Can you please tell us about your background?

My wife Amy, sons Danny and Liam and I have been Ponte Vedra residents for nearly 10 years. I grew up in Southern California and received my undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame. After serving six years as a U.S. Navy officer in the Nuclear Propulsion Program and receiving my MBA in finance, I became a technology investment banker. During my over 11-year tenure as an investment banker, I completed dozens of initial public offerings, merger and acquisition transactions and strategic advisory assignments.

I started working with Web.com in 2002 as the company’s external investment banker and came on board as the company’s internal investment banker in 2008. Since then, the company has grown from $17 million in revenue to over $750 million in revenue and now has over 3,400 employees. Web.com is now the largest Internet company in the Southeast U.S.

 

What are your roles and responsibilities as senior vice president of corporate development at Web.com?

I am responsible for all mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and equity and debt capital market activities. Since joining full-time in 2008, I have led all of Web.com’s capital-raising transactions and acquisitions in the United States, Europe and South America. I have had the opportunity to advise Web.com President and CEO David Brown and our company’s Board of Directors on every acquisition and capital markets transaction, including our initial public offering (IPO) in 2005. 

The best part of my job is the chance to meet and talk with CEOs of the small business-focused companies in our marketplace. Over months, and often times years, I get to develop relationships with these CEOs and really understand the opportunities (and challenges) each of their companies face. 

 

What are your specific responsibilities as a MSD trustee?

I lead our communications and emergency services efforts for the MSD Board. I primarily focus on getting important information out to our residents on a timely basis. We utilize multiple channels of communication including broadcast e-mails, our website and our annual newsletter.  In addition, whenever we have potential emergency situations that could affect our community, I act as the primary conduit to alert our citizens about the upcoming threat. We look to provide critical information that allows our residents to take action to protect themselves, their families and their property.

 

Can you please tell us about how you’re involved with emergency operations when hurricanes like Irma and Matthew roll through?

As the MSD trustee assigned to emergency operations, my primary role is to facilitate communications between the St. Johns County Emergency Operations Center, the MSD chairman and the residents within the Ponte Vedra Beach Municipal Service District. During my tenure, we implemented an email system to get urgent and timely information out to our residents, including evacuation notices, bridge closings and openings and critical storm clean-up information. In the event of a catastrophic event, we would also disseminate information on shelters, food and water distribution and rescue and recovery efforts.

 

What brought you to the First Coast?

Amy and I have been coming to Ponte Vedra for 12 years. We originally purchased a condo near Sawgrass Beach Club and began to come to Ponte Vedra for our holidays. After the birth of our second child, we moved here full-time in 2008 to join my favorite investment banking client, Web.com. We have always enjoyed the balanced lifestyle of community, sun and business opportunities that Northeast Florida has to offer. By living here, you get the benefits of a major city, while still enjoying the benefits of a local community.

 

What do you enjoy doing in your free time?

I particularly enjoy spending time with my family and watching my two sons grow up. My oldest son, Danny, is an eighth grader at Episcopal School of Jacksonville and is actively involved in cross country, theatre and sailing. Liam, our fourth grader at Jacksonville Country Day School, is a state champion black belt in Taekwondo. Most weekends, Amy and I travel to support each of our sons’ activities. Each year, we try to take a family vacation overseas. So far, we’ve been to New Zealand, Australia, Italy, England, France, Germany, Austria, Spain, Greece and Turkey.  China is top of the list for our next trip.