Don't Miss Our Signature Event!
Honoring Jim Perschbach, President & CEO of Port San Antonio, as our 2025 International Citizen of the Year
️Wednesday, March 19, 2025
Tobin Center for the Performing Arts
Table sponsorship opportunities are live—secure your table today!
For inquiries about individual tickets, in-kind gifts, or any questions, please contact us at ic25@wacofsa.org
Professional Biography:
Jim Perschbach leads the team that is developing the 1,900-acre Tech Port innovation campus as a nationally important destination for advanced technologies, including aerospace, cybersecurity, critical infrastructure resiliency, defense, manufacturing and global trade.
The Port is one of South Texas' fastest-growing economic engines—home to over 80 tenant customers and their 18,000 employees, which generate a regional economic impact of over $5.6 billion annually, according to a 2018 study by the Texas Comptroller.
In addition to his work at the Port, Perschbach serves his community in numerous leadership roles. Currently, he serves on the board of Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) and is also a member of the Texas Advanced Air Mobility Committee—a statewide body supporting the development of legislation and policies that support the implementation of emerging air transportation technologies across the state. Perschbach is also Board Chair of the Kelly Heritage Foundation, a nonprofit organization that supports innovative K-12 learning programs and adult workforce development efforts centered in the San Antonio region's advanced technologies.
He has also been named by the American Business Journals as one of the country's top 100 executives to watch.
Perschbach holds an undergraduate degree in business administration from The George Washington University and earned his law degree from The University of Houston Law Center.
Lieutenant General (retired) Mark Hertling served for 38 years in the US Army as a tanker and cavalryman, leading at every level from tank platoon on the East-West German border to Commander of US Army Europe and the 7th Army. He retired in December 2012 as the Commanding General of USAREUR, where he led over 60,000 soldiers and partnered with the Armies of 51 nations.
Lieutenant General Hertling served a total of 38 months in combat as a major in a cavalry squadron during
Desert Storm, as an Assistant Division Commander in the 1st Armored Division in Baghdad in 2003-4, and as the Commander of 1st Armored Division and Multinational Task Force Iron in Northern Iraq in 2007-8. His other commands include the Army's Initial Military Training Command, the Operation's Group at the Army's National Training Center in California, the Joint Multinational Training Center in Europe, an Armored Brigade Combat Team focused on reinforcing the Korean Peninsula, and the Army's first Stryker Brigade. Hertling was the Joint Staff War Planner (J 7) during 9/11 and after. Hertling taught in the Department of Physical Education (DPE) at West Point, and in 1985 he was awarded the William Clements Award as the Instructor of the Year at the Academy. His military awards and decorations include three Distinguished Service Medals, five Bronze Stars, the Army Commendation Medal for Valor, the Purple Heart, the Combat Action Badge, the Parachutist Badge, and awards from the governments of Romania, Poland, Germany, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait.
After retiring from the Army, Hertling became a Senior Vice President for a major healthcare organization, where he also wrote the book Growing Physician Leaders. From 2014-2017, he was appointed by President Obama to the President's Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition, and from 2021-23 he was appointed by President Biden to the American Battle Monuments Commission, where he served as Chairman. Mark was an adjunct scholar at West Point's Modern War Institute from 2014-2020, and he now serves as the Senior Advisor for Military Character Development at the US Military Academy Prep School (USMAPS). He is Professor of Practice in Leadership at the Crummer School of Business at Rollins College in Orlando, and an executive member of the Dean's Alliance at Indiana University's School of Public Health. Since 2013 Hertling has acted as a military and national security analyst for CNN.
Hertling received a Bachelor of Science from the U.S. Military Academy in 1975 and was commissioned in Armor. He earned a Masters' Degree in Kinesiology from Indiana University's School of Public Health and in 2019 received the John R. Endwright Alumni Service Award from IU, Bloomington. He is a graduate of the School of Advanced Military Studies and the National War College. In 2019, he completed a Doctorate from the Crummer School of Business at Rollins College, defending a thesis addressing approaches to leadership in the healthcare industry.
Mark is married to his best friend, Sue, and they reside in Flagler Beach, Florida. They have two sons, and five grandsons.
