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Florida Panthers announce hiring of former Amazon, Disney exec Michael White as business president. Mar 31, 2026 The Florida Panthers have named tech and guest-experience executive Michael White as their new president of business operations SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) - Michael White got a call a few weeks ago from someone in Italy who was offering to provide any insight he could about how the Florida Panthers do business. The caller was Bill Zito, the Panthers' hockey operations president. And that's when White knew he'd fit in as the team's business operations president. The Panthers officially announced White, who has spent a 25-year career working in the technology and guest experience worlds, as their new business chief on Tuesday. He will oversee "all business aspects," the team said, of its four facilities - Amerant Bank Arena, Baptist Health IcePlex, Panthers IceDen and War Memorial Auditorium. White said the idea to work alongside Zito, the architect of the team that won Stanley Cup titles in 2024 and 2025, was a major factor. Zito called him last month from Italy, where he was part of the leadership for the U.S. men's hockey team that won gold at the Milan Cortina Olympics. They've been off and running ever since. "We clicked automatically. Our first meeting was supposed to be 30 minutes, went an hour and a half and we probably could have talked another two hours," White said. "And we just stayed in touch throughout the process. I would say that we're off to a really great start together and he was one of the primary reasons I came over here. He's one of one, a legend, but also somebody that you want to partner with." White came to the Panthers after most recently serving as Chief Product Officer at Amazon's autonomous vehicle company, Zoox - helping to develop an autonomous robotaxi. Zambonis still require drivers when they touch up the ice at hockey rinks, but the Panthers said White's ability to launch strategies in many ways helped set him apart. "After a diligent and comprehensive search, we are confident that Michael is the right fit to lead our organization into continued success," said Michael Viola, part of the Panthers' ownership family. "He brings to our club a proven record in consumer experience, partnership growth and product development for some of the world's most successful companies and invaluable capabilities of organizational leadership and visionary innovation." It won't take long for White to tackle one key issue for the Panthers' future. The team has until the fall of 2028 to propose development plans to Broward County officials for property that surrounds Amerant Bank Arena, where the team plays games. White has also worked for The Walt Disney Company in several senior leadership roles, even playing a role in the execution of the restart of the 2019-20 NBA season that was played in a bubble on the Disney campus near Orlando, Florida, after the COVID-19 pandemic essentially stopped the world in its tracks. He introduced himself to the majority of the Panthers' employees on Monday. "The organization is world-class," White said. "My previous job was great. Then I met the Violas and I'm like, 'Wow, this is fantastic. Unbelievable ownership.' Obviously, the winning that the team has done, and Bill's done, the culture... it just permeates through. I just met 300 of the front-office folks and everyone literally introduced themselves and you could just feel the culture. For me, it's a little bit of a listening journey to start and then we'll see what we can do next. It's a fantastic foundation and we'll look for areas where we can amplify that." White is replacing Matthew Caldwell, who stepped down as Florida's business head in August to become CEO of the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves and the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx.

Zoox to begin testing robotaxi service in Miami and Austin. Published March 25, 2026 at 8:00 AM EDT Apparently, robotaxis are flocking to Miami, too. Zoox announced its plans today to begin testing its purpose-built robotaxis with riders in Miami and Austin, as well as expanding service in San Francisco and Las Vegas. "This expansion marks a significant step forward for Zoox and is driven by the insights from our early deployments," said Zoox CEO Aicha Evans, in a statement. "This is our year of growth. We are actively implementing learnings to confidently and safely scale our robotaxi service across the country and bring our differentiated experience to even more riders." Zoox, founded in San Francisco and owned by Amazon, reports that in less than a year, the company's robotaxis have driven nearly 2 million miles and carried over 350,000 riders. You may have seen their robotaxi testing vehicles in Miami's streets, as they have been mapping the neighborhoods and testing them here on and off since mid-2024 - no doubt learning a thing of two about thunderstorms coming out of nowhere and Miami's notorious drivers. Zoox says the initial rollout with riders and its purpose-built bi-directional robotaxis [pictured above] - carriages with subway-style sliding doors and four inward-facing seats - will be in a "high-demand ride-hailing area near the water" and testing of the service will start in the spring. Rides will first be available to Zoox employees and their families and friends before opening it up to its wait list. The operating areas will expand as testing progresses. Zoox is also introducing new features like pre-booking estimates that give riders a clearer picture of their journey before they commit, as well as capabilities to help reduce wait times such as find the robotaxi in crowded areas, more accurate ETAs, and smoother driving. But wait, there's more. In other robotaxi news, as we reported last week, Uber announced it is partnering with electric car maker Rivian Automotive to deploy robotaxis in Miami and San Francisco in 2028. Uber will invest up to $1.25 billion in Rivian through 2031 to build a fully autonomous fleet of Rivian R2 robotaxis. After Miami and Sa Francisco, Uber plans to expand to 25 more cities in the US, Canada and Europe by 2031. And in January, Waymo launched its fully driverless electric robotaxi service in the area, its sixth major U.S. market. The Alphabet-owned company operates across downtown Miami and Miami Beach, and has plans to launch commercial services in 20 new cities globally this year. Last November, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said to expect Tesla robotaxis to arrive first in five cities, including Miami, without revealing a timeline. In addition to robotaxis, all-electric air taxis are eyeing the Miami market too, with companies including Archer Aviation, Wisk Aero and Joby Aviation hoping to launch eVTOL aircraft service in the next few years. In South Florida, all-electric seaplane service is also in the mix of potential offerings. This story was originally published by Refresh Miami, a WLRN News partner. Refresh Miami is the oldest and largest tech and startup community in Miami with over 16,000 members.