Prominent Sarasota nonprofit CEO announces retirement

Mason Ayres, the president of the Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation for early six years — a tenure where he shepherded two of the largest gifts in the foundation’s 47-year history — has announced his retirement.

Ayres retirement is effective Sept. 30, according to a statement. The news release from the foundation didn’t indicate a timeline or strategy for a potential replacement. Ayers, the release states, helped transform the foundation “into one of Sarasota’s most successful nonprofits, raising over $100 million,” including the big gifts. Ayers spent eight years in fundraising for the NCH Healthcare System in Naples and that organization’s foundation prior to joining the SMH Foundation in November 2016.

“Mason’s decision to retire at this time is bittersweet,” Healthcare Foundation Board Chair Deb Kabinoff says in the release. “During his tenure, the organization has grown exponentially and has proven its ability to help SMH maintain its level of healthcare excellence for our community. We respect Mason’s decision and are incredibly fortunate that the organization he is leaving behind is on a trajectory to even greater success in the future. His achievements will not be forgotten.”