William E. Peterson

William E. (Bill) Peterson, Jr. is the Chairman of the Board of Peterson Foods, LLC, a fast-casual restaurant concept that operates under the name of Otter’s Chicken. Otter’s is headquartered in Marietta, Georgia, and was recognized in 2019 as the Small Business of the Year in Cobb County. Otter’s has also been recognized for the past two years as a member of the Inc. 5000, which is a list of the fastest-growing privately held companies in the United States. Otter’s was also was named to the Florida State University Seminole 100, which honors the 100 fastest-growing Seminole-owned businesses in the country.

Prior to joining the All-American team, Peterson served as President of Horizon Medical Products, Inc., (“HMP”) and helped build one of the country’s leading vascular access companies. Peterson, along with CEO Marshall Hunt, founded the company in 1990 and grew it to sales of over $75 million and 150 employees. In 1998, HMP completed an initial public offering (IPO) which was underwritten by Credit Suisse First Boston and raised $57.9 million. The company stock was listed and traded on NASDAQ. In 2000, Deloitte & Touché recognized Horizon Medical Products as one of the fastest-growing technology companies in the United States. In addition to the IPO, Peterson and Hunt orchestrated six separate acquisitions ranging in size from $7.5 million to $21.25 million.

In addition to his business background, Peterson also served as the Director of Intercollegiate Athletics at Shorter University in Rome, Georgia from 2007 through 2014. During his time at the university, Peterson led Shorter to record finishes in the NACDA-Learfield Director’s Cup, including a program-best second-place finish following the 2011-2012 academic year that helped Shorter lay claim to what many believe is the best athletic year in the history of all Georgia colleges and universities. Peterson was named the Southern States Athletic Conference Athletic Director of the Year in 2010 and helped propel the athletic department to 17 national championships in seven different sports.

Peterson is a 1978 graduate of Florida State University with a bachelor's sciences degree in accounting. From 1978 through 1989, Peterson worked in corporate finance and as a CPA for the international accounting firm of Coopers and Lybrand (now PriceWaterHouseCoopers, LLP). Peterson is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and both the Alabama and Louisiana state societies of CPAs.