The CEO and President of Tortuga Imports/ Tortuga Rum Cake Company, Monique Hamaty-Simmonds was honored by The Commonwealth Institute and Florida International University at the first annual Women-Led Businesses in Florida luncheon and award ceremony held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Miami, recently, when she was recognized as one of the Top 50 Women Business Leaders in the state of Florida.

A 1996 FIU graduate in Business Administration, Ms Hamaty-Simmonds is a second generation entrepreneur.

Her father, Robert Hamaty and his wife Carlene started the Tortuga Rum Company in the Cayman Islands in 1984. Three years later they introduced the "Tortuga Rum Cake" baked from a generations old family recipe.

As a teenager and throughout college, she learned the business working with her father in his office during holiday breaks and school vacations. In 1997, she and her husband, Marcus Simmonds opened Tortuga Imports in Miami to take Tortuga's "taste of the Islands" to the American market.

Only 34 years old, Ms Hamaty-Simmonds has a decade of experience in running a thriving import business and international gourmet food company - and that's not counting her many school years working with her father in Grand Cayman.

In 2002, she and her husband Marcus, the chief financial officer for Tortuga Imports, were recognized by Gourmet News with the prestigious, biennial "20 Under 40 Award". They have two young daughters, Jayda and Nadia, and are expecting their third child in November.

Today, Tortuga Caribbean Rum Cakes are the # 1 export of the Cayman Islands, shipped to 70 countries and sold in gift and specialty food departments and gourmet stores throughout North America and the Caribbean. Also sold on over 100 cruise ships, Tortuga Rum Cakes were named "Best Cruise Souvenir" by Porthole Cruise Magazine for two consecutive years.

In 2004, the company introduced Tortuga A Taste of Florida Rum Cakes as a gourmet gift and souvenir for the 76 million annual visitors to the Sunshine State.

Three flavors of A Taste of Florida Rum Fudge were added to the line in May. These brightly packaged tropical treats are found in gift and airport shops throughout the state of Florida.

The Commonwealth Institute is a non-profit organization founded in 1997 to help women entrepreneurs, CEOs and senior corporate executives build successful businesses. It has worked with several hundred women-led businesses in New England and Florida; and currently has over 300 members, whose companies have revenues from $250,000 to over $100 million.