College of Business alumnus James Seneff receives Horatio Alger Award

James M. Seneff Jr., chairman and CEO of CNL Financial Group Inc. and an alumnus of the Florida State University College of Business, has been named a recipient of the 2010 Horatio Alger Award.

Seneff is one of 11 individuals who will be honored at the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans induction ceremony on April 9 in Washington, D.C. The group also includes former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and retired Gen. Tommy Ray Franks, former commander in chief of U.S. Central Command. According to the association, recipients of the award are dedicated community leaders who demonstrate initiative and commitment to excellence as illustrated by extraordinary achievements accomplished through honesty, hard work, self-reliance and perseverance over adversity.

“I am delighted to have been selected to receive the 2010 Horatio Alger Award,” Seneff said. “If any phrase captures the spirit of this association, it is ‘Opportunity still knocks.’

“I am humbled that in my life, opportunity knocked for me,” he said. “And I am pleased to join a long line of extraordinary individuals who serve as role models for young people through their dedication to the principles of integrity, hard work, perseverance and compassion for others.”

Seneff began his career early while growing up in Gary, Ind., where he started working in his father’s construction business. Then, while serving in Vietnam, Seneff wrote a 50-year business plan, which he put into action when he returned home and relocated to Orlando, Fla.

In 1973, with a $5,000 loan from a fellow entrepreneur, his father, Seneff began CNL Financial Group. Methodically, Seneff began buying properties in downtown Orlando, and by the end of his first year of business he had $500,000 of real estate assets under management. Since then, CNL has formed or acquired companies with more than $24 billion in assets focused in the retail, restaurant, hospitality, lifestyle and retirement sectors, making CNL one of the nation’s largest, privately held investment, real-estate services and development companies.

“We are extremely proud of Mr. Seneff,” said Caryn L. Beck-Dudley, dean of Florida State’s College of Business. “While he has always been a financial champion of The Florida State University and our college, he has more importantly been a dedicated mentor to our students.”

In 2006, Seneff was inducted into the Florida State University College of Business Hall of Fame in recognition of his enormous successes in real estate and his eagerness to give back to his alma mater.

To learn more about the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, visit www.horatioalger.com.

Founded in 1950, the Florida State University College of Business is one of the nation’s youngest business schools, yet it has become one of the 10 largest in the United States. It is the second largest academic unit on the Florida State campus with an enrollment of 6,107 students and boasts a distinguished full-time faculty of 100, including one Francis Eppes Professorship, eight Eminent Scholar chairs, three university-named professorships and 26 endowed professorships. For more information, visit www.cob.fsu.edu.