Jeff Jackson has spent his career leading companies through turnarounds, moving from executive roles at Coca-Cola, Hershey's and Mrs. Smith's into the CEO's chair at PGT here in Sarasota before taking the top job at Cabinetworks, where he now splits his time between the area and Michigan. He and his wife have lived on Bird Key for nearly eight years, and two of his three daughters have followed him into the region -- one recently moved back and into a house on Siesta Key's Grand Canal, while his youngest is training to become an airline pilot in Arizona.
Building Companies Around What Local Talent Actually Needs
Jackson credits much of PGT's growth to reading what the local workforce needed rather than assuming a standard corporate playbook would work. With wages capped by what the market could bear in a place like Sarasota, he says the company built its benefits -- healthcare, bonus structures -- around the specific gaps employees faced, rather than trying to out-pay competitors. He pushes back on the common complaint that Sarasota struggles to attract bigger employers because of the local education system, pointing out that Florida currently ranks as the top public higher-education system in the country; the real hurdle, he argues, is housing affordability pricing out the manufacturing talent companies need, though he credits the city and county with finally addressing it more aggressively.
Asked about Sarasota's changing skyline, Jackson leans into his own stake in it -- his cabinet and impact-window businesses benefit directly from the area's construction boom. He notes the odd quirk that Sarasota's downtown buildings sit lower than the taller towers rising near the beaches, calling it backwards from how most cities grow, and jokes that his wife has started comparing the shoreline build-up to Miami.
Roundabouts, Michigan Roads and a Recommendation for a Fellow CEO
Jackson calls himself a fan of roundabouts, with one caveat: the drivers in them, not the design, are the problem. He compares Florida's infrastructure favorably to Michigan's rougher roads, adding the state's lack of income tax and business-friendly climate to his list of reasons Cabinetworks and companies like it can thrive here. He closes by recommending Chris Damaso, CEO of First Watch, a longtime friend who rose through the same Sarasota business circles -- the two made company president and then CEO within a year of each other at their respective companies.
What you'll take away
- Jeff Jackson has led turnarounds at PGT, Coca-Cola, Hershey's, Mrs. Smith's and now Cabinetworks, and still splits his time between Sarasota and Michigan
- He built PGT's benefits program around local workforce needs, like healthcare access, rather than trying to compete purely on wages
- He pushes back on the idea that Sarasota's schools limit its ability to recruit bigger employers, citing Florida's top-ranked public higher-education system
- He points to housing affordability, not education, as the real barrier to attracting manufacturing talent to the area
- He is a fan of roundabouts and blames driver behavior, not design, for the frustration around them
“I personally love roundabouts. I don't like the people that are driving in those roundabouts.”
“Florida has incredible infrastructure. They got the beaches, they got arts, they got restaurants, they got the entertainment, they got it all.”
Places mentioned: Bird Key, Siesta Key, Lakewood Ranch