Agency Overview
Leadership
Secretary Joe E. Taylor, Jr.
Columbia businessman Joe E. Taylor, Jr. was appointed by Governor Sanford to serve as Secretary of Commerce in February 2006. Taylor works closely with the Governor, local economic development allies and the state’s higher education institutions to attract the knowledge and technology-based businesses that will increase income levels and enhance South Carolinians’ quality of life.
Taylor has long been recognized in the Midlands as a successful entrepreneur, having started with his father Southland Log Homes in 1978, while still a college student. He became president and chief executive officer in the early 1980s before he was 25 years old and built the company into the largest producer of pre-cut log home packages in North America, with plants in South Carolina and Virginia. In 2004, Taylor successfully sold the business to Arcapita Inc. and he continues to serve on Southland’s board of directors.
Taylor credits his late father, Joe Sr., for instilling in him a strong work ethic that began as a young boy going to work on Saturdays with his dad. That experience helped shape his professional life that has included a number of successful business and community endeavors in recent years.
Taylor has also been instrumental in sponsoring activities to help small businesses sell their products abroad and has helped start several well-known South Carolina companies. His vision for the state includes focusing on home-grown businesses that can start-up, grow and stay in the Palmetto State.
David L. Logsdon, Chief Operating Officer
David L. Logsdon joined the South Carolina Department of Commerce as the Chief Operating Officer in August of 2007. Logsdon served in the United States Navy for 30 years where he held numerous key leadership positions. His strong management background ideally suits him to oversee the day-to-day operations of the state’s lead agency for business and industry development.
During Logsdon’s impressive military career, he commanded an award-winning carrier based aviation squadron and two ships, including the nuclear powered aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, which he led during her maiden combat deployment. Logsdon also served twice at the Pentagon working on the Navy Staff and for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. His final command assignment was in Columbia, South Carolina where he served as the Commanding Officer and Professor of Naval Science at the University of South Carolina’s Naval ROTC unit.
Logsdon is a graduate of the University of South Carolina, the Naval War College and the Navy’s Nuclear Power School. He has earned numerous awards including three Legions of Merit, the Bronze Star and The Truman Foundation Leadership Award. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Celebrate Freedom Foundation and the University of South Carolina Naval ROTC Alumni Association.