Window firm exec to chair EDC board

SARASOTA — PGT Industries President and CEO Rod Hershberger has been named chairman of the Economic Development Corp. of Sarasota County.

Hershberger, who in 1980 co-founded PGT, a Venice-based impact-resistant window and door manufacturer, replaces outgoing EDC Chairman Ben Hanan, according to a release. Hanan is an attorney with Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick.

The EDC also announced three new board members will begin terms Oct. 1. The new members are: Herald Tribune Media Group Publisher Patrick Dorsey; Gulf Coast Community Foundation President and CEO Teri Hansen; and Victor Young, president and co-owner of Lamborghini Sarasota, BMW of Sarasota and co-owner of MINI of Wesley Chapel.

“The EDC is excited to have Rod Hershberger as the new chairman,” EDC President and CEO Mark Huey says in the statement. “As the CEO of our community's largest private employer, we know he will bring a strong business leadership perspective to our board.”

The new board member appointments coincide with two board departures. The executives leaving are: Laura Spencer, CFO of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County and former CEO of Venice-based Tervis Tumbler and C.J. Fishman, who runs Venice-based Fishman and Associates, a commercial kitchen firm. Spencer had been on the board since 2007, the release states, and Fishman is a former chairman and vice chairman.