John H. Sykes, Chairman Emeritus of Sykes Enterprises, Incorporated, retired as of December 31, 2004 after 27 years overseeing the international company. He was born in Charlotte, North Carolina and attended High Point College and Queens University, both North Carolina schools, as well as Rollins College in Florida. Mr. Sykes received two Honorary Doctorate degrees from the University of Tampa (Tampa, FL); one in Business Administration, the other in Humane Letters. He also received an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from Pikeville College in Kentucky.

Mr. Sykes founded Sykes Enterprises, Incorporated (SYKES) in Charlotte in 1977 as a small technical engineering firm with three employees. In 1993, the company relocated its headquarters to Tampa, Florida. Today, the company is a global leader in the business process outsourcing arena and provides customer contact management services to Fortune 1000 and leading global companies. SYKES is on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange (SYKE) and has more than 17,000 employees in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Africa.

Mr. Sykes also owns a horse farm, CloverLeaf Farms II, in Ocala, Florida. He purchased the farm in 1997 and has successfully built the farm into a multi-million dollar leader in the thoroughbred industry. CloverLeaf Farms II is a facility designed for breeding, development and training of horses.

As a result of his business accomplishments, Mr. Sykes has been recognized with numerous awards for his entrepreneur abilities and community involvement. Some of these include the Florida Entrepreneur of the Year; the Innovator of the Year, awarded by his industry peers; Citizen of the Year by the Tampa Police Department; and the Citizen of the Year by the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Officers. Also, Mr. Sykes was inducted into the Tampa Bay Business Hall of Fame and was awarded the Florida Enterprise medal by the Merchants Association. He is recipient of the Humanitarian Award from the Judeo Christian Health Clinic and is a recipient of the Senior Philanthropy Award. Mr. Sykes was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the International Sales and Marketing organization and was named by the Florida Council on Economic Education as a Florida Free Enterpriser of the Year. He is active with the Florida Council of Economic Education and recently completed a three-year term as Chairman of this organization.

Mr. Sykes continues to be active in the Tampa Bay community. He currently is serving a two-year term as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the University of Tampa. In recognition of his support and commitment to the University of Tampa, the University named the John H. Sykes College of Business in his honor. Mr. Sykes is a member of the United Way Million Dollar Roundtable as well as the Alexis de Tocqueville Society.