Paul Sohl

Rear Adm. USN (Ret) CEO

Paul Sohl is CEO of the Florida High Tech Corridor, an organization serving a 23-county region anchored by three of the country’s largest research institutions: the University of Central Florida, the University of South Florida and the University of Florida. The Corridor’s mission is to converge and catalyze the capacity of high tech, innovation, and bright minds to generate a global ripple effect that advances the lives of people in the communities it serves.
As CEO, Sohl facilitates connection and collaboration between the three universities and their partners in academia, industry and economic development.
He also oversees The Corridor’s portfolio of programs supporting research, marketing, workforce and entrepreneurship. This includes its cornerstone Matching Grants Research Program, which since its inception in 1996 has generated over $1 billion in verified downstream impacts; Cenfluence — a clustering initiative in partnership with the governments of Orange County, Seminole County, the City of Orlando and Duke Energy; STEM outreach; and Small Business Innovative Research facilitation.

Sohl joined The Corridor in June 2020, following more than three decades of service in the U.S. Navy. In his last command, Sohl led over 500 civilian and military personnel at the Navy’s Operational Test & Evaluation Force in Norfolk, Virginia, where he directed the operational testing and evaluation of all Navy warfighting systems and capabilities.

He has also commanded the Naval Aviation Fleet Readiness Center enterprise headquartered in Patuxent River, Maryland, where he was responsible for a workforce of over 16,000 and an operating budget of $2.9 billion; the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division and Naval Test Wing Pacific in China Lake and Point Mugu, California; and the Fleet Readiness Center Southeast in Jacksonville, Florida. Sohl has extensive experience in simulation and training as a program director and test pilot and has served two tours overseas for Operation Desert Shield and Operation Enduring Freedom.

Sohl holds a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a master’s degree in aeronautical and astronautical engineering from Stanford University.