Photograph by felixmizioznikov/Getty
Civic Leaders | Government & Politics | Transportation | Utilities | Legends
CIVIC LEADERS
Leona Barr-Davenport
President and CEO
Atlanta Business League
Leona Barr-Davenport is president and CEO of the Atlanta Business League, Atlanta’s oldest minority business development and advocacy organization. As president, she works with the board of directors to increase access to business opportunities for minorities, with specific emphasis on the development of businesses owned or operated by African Americans. In 2024, the Atlanta Business League began the first phase of its renovation of the historic Ashby Theater, which opened in 1934 and was one of the first theaters to serve African Americans in the city. The project is supported by the Historic Preservation Fund’s African American Civil Rights grant program of the National Park Service. Barr-Davenport has more than 25 years of experience in customer service, program development, organizational management, and fundraising for associations and youth-oriented programs.
EDUCATION Benedict College, Clark Atlanta University School of Business (MBA)
HOMETOWN Johnsonville, South Carolina
NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS Atlanta Hospitality Hall of Fame (2019), Carver College honorary doctor of divinity (2014)
LESSON LEARNED The first step is showing up.
Chris Clark
President and CEO
Georgia Chamber of Commerce
Chris Clark is the longest-serving president and CEO in the century-plus history of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce. Previously he served as commissioner of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and as deputy commissioner for the Georgia Department of Economic Development. In 2024, Clark received the Georgia Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives Legacy Award, the most prestigious prize awarded by the organization. Additionally, the Leadership Georgia graduate has frequently been named one of Georgia Trend’s 100 most influential Georgians and one of the Atlanta Business Chronicle’s most influential Atlantans.
EDUCATION Georgia Southern University, Georgia College & State University (MA)
FEW PEOPLE KNOW I’m a huge, massive Parrothead. I’ve seen Jimmy Buffett over 25 times.
FAVORITE BOOK The Old Man and the Boy by Robert Ruark
FAVORITE TRAVEL DESTINATION Montana
WHAT I’D TELL MY 18-YEAR-OLD SELF You’re lucky they hadn’t invented camera phones yet! Real lucky!
BUCKET LIST Fly-fishing in New Zealand
WHO’D PLAY ME IN A BIOPIC A young Michael J. Fox
Jim Durrett
President and CEO
Buckhead Coalition
Executive Director
Buckhead Community Improvement District
Jim Durrett is president and CEO of Buckhead Coalition and executive director of Buckhead Community Improvement District (CID). Buckhead Coalition is an invitation-only membership organization while Buckhead CID is a local government entity. Buckhead Coalition’s mission is to advocate on behalf of the community within the city of Atlanta and the metropolitan region. The mission of Buckhead CID is to create and maintain a safe, accessible, and livable urban environment in the heart of the Buckhead commercial area. In 2024, Buckhead CID received $10 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Safe Streets and Roads for All grant program to help construct an elevated pedestrian and bicycle bridge across Lenox Road where it intersects GA 400. This work is part of the Lenox Road Complete Safe Street project, which is expected to be complete by January 2028. Durrett, a member of Leadership Atlanta’s class of 2013, serves on MARTA’s board of directors, which he chaired in 2011, and on the HUB404 Conservancy board of directors. He also represents MARTA on the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Transportation & Air Quality Committee.
EDUCATION University of Virginia, University of Georgia (MS)
Photograph courtesy of individual
Jerry E. Gonzalez
CEO
GALEO
Jerry Gonzalez is the founder and CEO of GALEO, formerly known as the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials, a statewide nonprofit and nonpartisan organization with a mission to increase civic engagement and leadership development in the Latino community across Georgia. A native of Laredo, Texas, Gonzalez also leads the GALEO Latino Community Development Fund, which promotes voter registration and education, community education, and leadership development, and the GALEO Impact Fund, which was established in 2019 to organize the growing political power of the Latino community in Georgia.
EDUCATION Texas A&M University, Georgia State University Andrew Young School of Policy Studies (MA)
FIRST JOB Closer at Wendy’s
LESSON LEARNED Social justice and racial equity work is a marathon and not a sprint. Pace yourself accordingly while striving for quicker results.
HOBBIES Travel the world with my husband
BUCKET LIST Travel to the Northern Arctic to see polar bears
WHO’D PLAY ME IN A BIOPIC Matthew McConaughey because I wish I had his hair
Photograph by David Kidd
Ryan Gravel
Founder
Sixpitch
Chamblee native Ryan Gravel is best known for his Georgia Tech master’s thesis, which presented a vision for what would become the Atlanta BeltLine. But he’s also a planner, designer, and author whose work centers on the cultural aspects of urban design, exploring how its intimate relationship with our way of life can illuminate a brighter path forward for cities. The founder of the urban design consultancy Sixpitch and the ideas-focused nonprofit Generator, Gravel was the lead author of the Atlanta City Design and is the author of Where We Want to Live: Reclaiming Infrastructure for a New Generation of Cities.
EDUCATION Georgia Tech (MA)
FIRST JOB Typing bar codes into a computer in the back room of a music store at Ansley Mall. I guess it was Turtle’s, but I’m not sure.
FAVORITE MOVIE Blade Runner 2049
LESSON LEARNED The ideas we need are often unpopular, unwanted, and underfunded.
BUCKET LIST Road trip #2 across America with my family, from Los Angeles to Atlanta
Photograph courtesy of individual
Kevin Green
President and CEO
Midtown Alliance
Kevin Green joined the Midtown Alliance as president and CEO in 2011. Previously, he was executive director of the Clean Air Campaign, a Georgia nonprofit working in partnership with transportation management associations and public and private institutions to improve air quality and reduce traffic. Green was formerly vice president of environmental affairs for the Metro Atlanta Chamber and practiced law for a decade; his litigation experience includes state and federal trial and appellate courts across the Southeast.
EDUCATION James Madison University, Emory University School of Law (JD)
NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENT I am the drummer in my daughter Mia’s band.
FIRST JOB Delivering Sheetrock off a flatbed truck
FAVORITE TRAVEL DESTINATION Vietnam (so far)
WHAT I’D TELL A RECENT GRADUATE When the alarm clock rings and you aren’t excited to go to work, it’s time to do something different.
FAVORITE ATLANTA PLACE TO VISIT Oakland Cemetery (it’s strangely affirming)
Shannon W. James Sr.
President and CEO
Aerotropolis Atlanta Alliance
Shannon James Sr. is president and CEO of the Aerotropolis Atlanta Alliance, a public-private partnership working to improve the regional economic competitiveness of the area around Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. A native of Albany, Georgia, James accepted the top job at AeroATL in 2018 following a successful 15-year career in banking. Beginning his career as a part-time teller and customer service representative, James later became the first African American accepted into the management trainee program at the Park Avenue Bank, then went on to serve as vice president of commercial banking for both SunTrust and BB&T.
EDUCATION Valdosta State University
INSPIRING PERSON My mother
TOUGHEST CHALLENGE Becoming a father, because I’ve never met my father
FAVORITE ATLANTA PLACE TO VISIT Center for Civil and Human Rights
FAVORITE SONG ABOUT GEORGIA “Georgia” by Field Mob and Ludacris ft. Jamie Foxx
WHO’D PLAY ME IN A BIOPIC Michael B. Jordan
Kali Kirkham Boatright
President and CEO
Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce
Kali Kirkham Boatright is the president and CEO of the Greater North Fulton Chamber where she has served since 2018. In 2022, the chamber received 5-Star Accreditation, with perfect scores in five of eight areas, from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and opened new offices at 10000 Avalon in Alpharetta. The chamber celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2023. Prior to coming to North Fulton, Kirkham Boatright served as CEO of the Douglas County Chamber. She has always worked in nonprofit management.
EDUCATION University of Missouri
WHY I CHOSE THIS WORK Nonprofit management in many ways chose me. I thought I would become a writer, but I went to work for Golden Key right out of college and thrived in an environment where I wore many hats and worked with new leaders each year.
FAVORITE TRAVEL DESTINATION Any great food & wine region, Bourdeaux, Tuscany, Napa, Paso Robles, Mendoza, you name it!
BEST ADVICE RECEIVED No one gets a trophy for not taking vacation. You worked hard, you earned it, so take every vacation hour you earn to rest, relax and recharge!
Katie Kirkpatrick
President and CEO
Metro Atlanta Chamber
Katie Kirkpatrick is president and CEO of the 165-year-old Metro Atlanta Chamber, which represents businesses, colleges and universities, and nonprofits across the 29-county Metro Atlanta region—the nation’s sixth-largest market. As president and CEO, she led the adoption of a new framework for the Chamber, focusing on the three strategic imperatives of economy, talent, and community. Before joining the Chamber in 2007 as vice president of environmental affairs, she worked as director of environmental engineering for the poultry producer Gold Kist.
EDUCATION Auburn University
NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENT Leading the Chamber’s efforts to reimagine downtown Atlanta, convening the region’s leaders and stakeholders to rally around a strategy to transform it into a neighborhood that supports a world-class entertainment scene, a vibrant living environment, and a bustling business community.
FIRST JOB Coaching a neighborhood swim team
BEST ADVICE RECEIVED Let five people speak before you speak again to ensure you allow all voices and ideas to be brought to the table.
Veronica Maldonado-Torres
President and CEO
Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Veronica Maldonado-Torres is president and CEO of the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. The chamber, which celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2024, was selected as host for the 2025 United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce National Convention in Atlanta. With over a decade of experience as a small business champion and supplier diversity advocate, Maldonado-Torres is a catalyst of growth for both small businesses and large corporations, bringing thought-leadership and innovation to the supplier development space. Prior to joining the GHCC, she successfully guided the development and growth of more than 150 firms across multiple industries ranging from $1 million to $100 million in annual revenue in her role as program director for the Georgia Mentor Protégé Connection.
FIRST JOB My first official job at 15 was as a hostess in a restaurant. That experience served me well. I love making people feel welcome and valued.
FAVORITE TRAVEL DESTINATION Cartagena, Colombia. My family hometown!
Rohit Malhotra
Founder and Executive Director
Center for Civic Innovation
Rohit Malhotra is the founder and executive director of the Center for Civic Innovation, which seeks to eliminate inequality by empowering people to design public policy from the ground up. With a background in social entrepreneurship, digital communication, open data, and community organizing, Malhotra was an Ash Innovation Fellow in the Obama White House’s Office of Management and Budget, working on social impact bonds and pay for performance, and in 2015 was awarded the prestigious Echoing Green Global Fellowship. In 2020, Malhotra was named to the Emory Alumni Association’s annual class of 40 Under 40.
EDUCATION Emory University, Harvard University Kennedy School of Government (MA)
HOMETOWN Atlanta
WHY I CHOSE THIS WORK I chose to work at the intersection of public policy and finance because I believe that our city needs more effective solutions to address widening inequality in Atlanta. Inequality disproportionately impacts people who share skin color and a story with my family, and like my family, I love my city too much not to fight for it.
BEST ADVICE RECEIVED Call your mom.
Nick Masino
President and CEO
Gwinnett Chamber and Partnership Gwinnett
Nick Masino is the first GenX president and CEO of the Gwinnett Chamber and Partnership Gwinnett. He has shepherded in the most diverse board of directors in Chamber history, reinvigorated its public policy focus, implemented a new strategic plan, and is currently overseeing a massive renovation to Georgia’s largest Chamber of Commerce facility. He also led the Chamber to receive its first-ever five-star accreditation from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (2022) and its first-ever global title for the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives Chamber of the Year (2023). Appointed by Governor Brian Kemp in 2024, Masino is a member of the Lake Lanier Islands Development Authority. Before joining the Chamber as chief economic development officer, he was an executive in the staffing industry, while serving as Georgia’s youngest mayor in the City of Suwanee.
EDUCATION Ohio State University
FIRST JOB Dishwasher
HIDDEN TALENT I can sleep anywhere: planes, trains, boats, etc.
FAVORITE GEORGIA TEAMS Atlanta Vibe, Georgia Swarm, Gwinnett Gladiators, the Stripers, the Georgia Gwinnett Grizzlies
Photograph courtesy of individual
Sharon Mason
President and CEO
Cobb Chamber of Commerce
Sharon Mason has held six different leadership positions with the Cobb Chamber of Commerce since 2005; she climbed to president and CEO in January 2018, bringing more than 18 years of chamber and nonprofit leadership experience to the position. In addition to sitting on multiple boards, Mason serves on the Regional Business Coalition executive committee, the Council for Quality Growth board of directors, and was named by Governor Nathan Deal to the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority Board (GRTA) in 2018 and continues to serve on this board.
EDUCATION Samford University
FIRST JOB Special Times Gift Shop in Snellville
FAVORITE TV SHOW/MOVIE/BOOK Parks and Recreation, Wonder Woman, all John Maxwell books
FAVORITE TRAVEL DESTINATIONS Saint John, Saint Thomas, Saint Maarten
FAVORITE ATLANTA PLACE TO VISIT Chattahoochee River trails
William Pate
President and CEO
Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau
As president and CEO of the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau, William Pate promotes one of the city’s top economic drivers: tourism. He was vice president of the host committee that managed the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship and a board member of the host committee for Super Bowl LIII in 2019. In 2020, the American Marketing Association’s Atlanta chapter awarded Pate its Lifetime Achievement Award, and in 2019 he was honored as the Herman J. Russell CEO of the Year by the Atlanta Business League. In 2023, through a gift from Pate, the William C. Pate Chair in Strategic Communication in the College of Arts & Sciences at Georgia State University was established. Pate, an Atlanta Business Chronicle Most Admired CEO for multiple years, is a member of Leadership Atlanta’s class of 2024.
EDUCATION Georgia State University (MA)
HOMETOWN Decatur
FIRST JOB When I was 12 years old, I raked leaves for Mrs. Brumbeloe at $2 an hour.
Anna Roach
Executive Director and CEO
Atlanta Regional Commission
Anna Roach is executive director and CEO of the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC), which facilitates community and development strategies to enhance the metro region’s growth and quality of life. Prior to joining ARC in 2022, she served as the chief operating officer for Fulton County, where she oversaw 4,500 employees in 38 departments with a budget of $1.2 billion. Roach also served as Fulton County’s chief strategy officer and assistant county manager. A lawyer by training, Roach has held several key legal leadership positions during her career, including assistant deputy general counsel for the government of the District of Columbia and administrative law judge in the city of New York. She is a current member of the Rotary Club of Atlanta and the American Bar Association and serves as an advisory board member at Tyler Technologies and Avenu Insights and Analytics. Roach, the first female CEO in ARC’s history, is also a member of Leadership Atlanta’s class of 2024.
EDUCATION State University of New York, College at Cortland; St. John’s University (JD)
A.J. Robinson
President
Central Atlanta Progress and Atlanta Downtown Improvement District
Since 2003, Knoxville, Tennessee, native A.J. Robinson has been president of Central Atlanta Progress—a private business association and advocacy organization started in 1941—and the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District. Both groups are committed to making the Atlanta community, specifically downtown, more livable, vital, and diverse. Previously Robinson was president of the real estate company Portman Holdings, where he managed all aspects of the firm’s real estate development processes, including property and asset management of SunTrust Plaza and AmericasMart.
EDUCATION Emory University, Harvard Business School (MBA)
NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENT Being a founder of the Center for Civil and Human Rights
FIRST JOB Forklift driver for my father’s company
Melinda C. Sylvester
President and CEO
Greater Georgia Black Chamber of Commerce/Melinda the Bridge Builder
Melinda C. Sylvester is the president and CEO of the Greater Georgia Black Chamber of Commerce, which she founded in 2016. Sylvester’s chamber career started when she led the Greater Southwest Louisiana Black Chamber of Commerce in the early 2000s. The St. Martinville, Louisiana, native is also the founder and publisher of Tel-Mel Media & Publishing Co. LLC and publishes Faith & Soul News Magazine. She also established the chamber’s Bridge Builders Accelerator Academy, which fosters economic growth with equity, diversity, and inclusion. She also does public relations and branding.
FAVORITE ATLANTA PLACE TO VISIT Tyler Perry Studios. It’s magical, just going in the area for visitors
FAVORITE TRAVEL DESTINATION Senegal, Africa
NONPROFIT Greater Georgia Black Chamber’s “Bridge Builders”
WHO SHOULD PLAY YOU IN A BIOPIC Kerry Washington
Kathy N. Waller
Executive Director
Atlanta Committee for Progress
Kathy N. Waller is the executive director of the Atlanta Committee for Progress (ACP). ACP, founded in 2003, provides leadership on key issues important to economic growth and inclusion for all Atlantans and includes more than 40 chief executives, university presidents, and civic leaders. Waller retired in March 2019 after 32 years with The Coca-Cola Company where she was the executive vice president, chief financial officer, and president of Enabling Services. As CFO, she led many sectors of the business including mergers and acquisitions, investor relations, and account and controls. In addition to her C-suite role, Waller, a CPA, was the founding chair of The Coca-Cola Company’s Women’s Leadership Council.
EDUCATION University of Rochester (MBA)
FIRST JOB At 16, I worked at the Georgia Department of Revenue in the Tag and Title Office.
NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS Induction into the Junior Achievement Atlanta Business Hall of Fame established by the Atlanta Business Chronicle and Junior Achievement of Georgia (2023), Savoy’s Most Influential Black Corporate Directors (2016, 2017, and 2021), Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta Changing the World Award (2015)
Kyle Wingfield
President and CEO
Georgia Public Policy Foundation
As an opinion columnist for nine years at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Kyle Wingfield wrote often about state politics and policy, focusing especially on education and school choice, transportation, healthcare, and state and local taxation. In April 2018, he joined the Georgia Public Policy Foundation as president and CEO, gaining a hands-on role in helping shape public policy at the state level after having written about it for many years.
EDUCATION University of Georgia
NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENT GPPF received State Policy Network’s 2023 Bob Williams Award for Most Influential Research for our work on housing affordability.
BEST ADVICE RECEIVED Everyone needs an editor!
FIRST JOB I spent a summer working in the dining hall at a Boy Scout camp near Rome. I made $35 a week—$32.32 after taxes.
FAVORITE TRAVEL DESTINATION Jekyll Island
GOVERNMENT & POLITICS
Liliana Bakhtiari
Council Member
City of Atlanta
Liliana Bakhtiari is serving a first term as a member of the Atlanta City Council, representing the citizens of District 5. Bakhtiari is the first queer Muslim person to be elected in the state of Georgia, and the first nonbinary person elected in the city of Atlanta. Bakhtiari identifies as gender fluid and uses “she/her” and “they/them” pronouns. Bakhtiari served as the public affairs manager of Planned Parenthood Southeast and lobbied for voting rights with ProGeorgia. Additionally, Bakhtiari served as a consultant for Echo Market Research as it built out its Social Justice Division. They also collaborated with Partners for Home to establish a hotel program housing Atlanta’s at-risk unsheltered population during the pandemic. In 2023, Bakhtiari was named a David Bohnett Leader Fellow by LGBTQ+ Victory Institute and, in 2022, was named Next Gen Leader of the Year by OUT Georgia Business Alliance.
EDUCATION Georgia State University
HOMETOWN Lilburn, Georgia
HOBBIES Powerlifting, traveling, yoga, riding my motorcycle, anything that involves being outside
FAVORITE ATLANTA PLACE TO VISIT Back deck at Dr. Bombay’s Tea Room
Sherry Boston
District Attorney
DeKalb Judicial Circuit
District attorney for the DeKalb Judicial Circuit since 2017, Sherry Boston oversees the prosecution of felony offenses filed in the Superior Court of DeKalb County. She’s the second female district attorney in the history of the office. Previously, she served as DeKalb County solicitor general—the elected official overseeing the prosecution of misdemeanor crimes—and was the first woman appointed as municipal court judge for the City of Dunwoody. Boston has also worked in private practice handling thousands of misdemeanor and felony criminal cases in metro Atlanta.
EDUCATION Villanova University, Emory University School of Law (JD)
FEW PEOPLE KNOW I have a twin sister. Yes, really!
FAVORITE TRAVEL DESTINATION Mexico
Jon Burns
Speaker
Georgia House of Representatives
Georgia House Majority Leader Jon Burns is the 75th speaker of the state House, replacing long-time speaker David Ralston, who died shortly after stepping down in 2022. Majority leader since 2015, Burns has served in the state House since 2005 and represents the 159th legislative district of Georgia that includes Screven County and portions of Effingham and Bulloch Counties. He has sat on the Agriculture and Consumer Affairs; Appropriations; Economic Development and Tourism; Ethics; Game, Fish & Parks; Rules; and Transportation Committees and has been an ex officio member of all other House committees. He lives on his family farm in Effingham County.
EDUCATION Georgia Southern University, John Marshall Law School (JD)
Lisa Cupid
Commission Chairwoman
Cobb County
Lisa Cupid has served on the Cobb Board of Commissioners since 2013. Some of her accomplishments include expanding transit service, improving citizen education and engagement, and advocating for enhanced public safety measures. Cupid is an attorney and former mediator, policy analyst, and manufacturing process engineer. On the Atlanta Regional Commission Board, she is also a member of the Transportation & Air Quality Committee, the Ethics Subcomittee, and the Senior Policy Group of the Urban Area Security Initiative. She is the first Black and first female chairwoman of Cobb County.
EDUCATION Georgia Tech, Georgia State College of Law (JD)
Andre Dickens
Mayor
City of Atlanta
Andre Dickens is the 61st mayor of Atlanta. Since being sworn in as mayor in 2022, his accomplishments include the establishment of the Nightlife Division to address bars and clubs with a high history of crime, the reestablishment of the Pothole Posse to rapidly respond to residents’ reports, and leading the successful coalition to keep Atlanta whole in opposition to a de-annexation effort. He has been a member of the Atlanta City Council and is also a businessman, nonprofit executive, engineer, speaker, deacon, and father. An Atlanta native, Dickens is the former chief development officer for TechBridge, a nonprofit that drives community impact by bringing affordable technology and business expertise to other nonprofit organizations. In 2018, he cofounded TechBridge’s Technology Career Program, which prepares unemployed and underemployed people for careers in technology by teaching high-demand skills while helping participants land jobs in IT departments across Atlanta. In 2023, the Atlanta Regional Commission board elected Dickens to serve as chair of its board of directors. He is the first Atlanta mayor to serve as ARC board chair.
Carmalitha L. Gumbs
Councilwoman
City of South Fulton
Carmalitha Gumbs is a member of the South Fulton City Council. Throughout the pandemic, Gumbs worked to make sure seniors had access to food and other supplies while sheltering in place. The winner of multiple awards and a frequent featured guest speaker, Gumbs was recognized by State Rep. Sharon Beasley-Teague for her outstanding public service and her role in ensuring the welfare of the citizens of Georgia.
EDUCATION Norfolk State University, Strayer University (MBA, MPH)
FIRST JOB In the country working at a potato grader
WHY I CHOSE THIS WORK I love people. I love being a resource, and I am passionate about my community.
LESSON LEARNED Everyone and everything is not for you, and you cannot force it.
FAVORITE MOVIES Grease, Grease 2
Ann Honious
Superintendent
Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area
Ann Honious has worked for the National Park Service for most of her career, and she has been the superintendent of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area (CRNRA) since 2021. As superintendent, she represents the National Park Service for overseeing the operations and management of the CRNRA. There are active projects, such as the new boardwalk at Cochran Shoals, in constant development. The park is currently working with partners to rehabilitate Paces Mill and implement a portion of RiverLands. With over 3 million visitors a year, CRNRA is one of the great outdoor destinations in the Atlanta region. Starting her career overseeing visitor services and as a historian, Honious designed and developed Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park for its opening in 2003.
EDUCATION Colorado College, The George Washington University (MA), University of Dayton (MS)
NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENT Author of What Dreams We Have on the Wright brothers
FEW PEOPLE KNOW I have been to all 50 states.
WHY I CHOSE THIS WORK Love of the United States and history
Photograph courtesy of individual
Eloisa Klementich
President and CEO
Invest Atlanta
Eloisa Klementich is president and CEO of Invest Atlanta, Atlanta’s economic development authority. As CEO, she is leading an economic mobility strategy which has generated 4,493 new jobs and $1.2 billion in total capital investment, supported 1,942 small businesses, and created 1,420 affordable housing units across the city in 2023. Previously, she worked as special assistant for economic development at the U.S. Economic Development Administration and served as California’s assistant deputy secretary for economic development and commerce. She also worked as a consultant for former Mexican president Vicente Fox. In 2024, Klementich was recognized as a top CEO in Georgia Titan 100.
EDUCATION Pitzer College, Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey (MBA), University
of California, Los Angeles (MA), University of La Verne (DPA)
BEST ADVICE RECEIVED From my father: “Nothing lasts forever.”
BOARD MEMBERSHIPS International Economic Development Council, the Women’s Entrepreneurship Initiative, Atlanta Technical College, the Westside Future Fund, Atlanta Emerging Markets, Inc.
Nicole Love Hendrickson
Commission Chairwoman
Gwinnett County
Nicole Love Hendrickson was elected chairwoman of the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners in 2020, making her the first African American to hold this position. In her role, she leads the board in setting the direction and formulating policies for county government, overseeing the creation and adoption of the county’s more than $2 billion budget, and ensuring Gwinnett’s services reach all its nearly one million residents. Hendrickson is active on several local and statewide boards including the Atlanta Regional Commission, leading the launch of its Local Leaders Housing Action Committee, which is responsible for developing a region-wide plan to address the Atlanta region’s housing affordability challenges. Other board memberships include the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Association of County Commissioners of Georgia’s Policy Steering Committee.
EDUCATION University of Rhode Island, University of Georgia (MSW)
HOMETOWN Providence, Rhode Island
NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS Georgia Trend 40 Under 40 (2022), Congressman Hank Johnson’s Trailblazer Award (2021), Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce Public Service Award (2017)
Dawn Luke Arnold
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Invest Atlanta
As executive vice president and chief operating officer of the city’s official economic development agency, Dawn Luke Arnold oversees Invest Atlanta’s community development, finance, information technology, human resources, operations, and investment services departments. Previously, she served as the organization’s senior vice president of community development, responsible for providing leadership and strategic direction in the successful execution of a shared vision of comprehensive community development, quality affordable housing, and economic growth in Atlanta’s 10 tax allocation districts. Arnold also managed and operated Invest Atlanta’s multifamily and single-family housing bond portfolio of approximately $1.8 billion and more than 20,000 units of housing.
EDUCATION Spelman College, Georgia State University (MBA)
HOMETOWN LaGrange, Georgia
WHY I CHOSE THIS WORK After having been homeless for a short period of time, then living in substandard housing, I made it my life’s mission to ensure that people are able to have decent, safe, sanitary, and affordable housing.
Jaideep Majumdar
Chief Procurement Officer
Department of Procurement City of Atlanta
Jaideep Majumdar is the chief procurement officer for the City of Atlanta, bringing over 25 years of global experience in corporate procurement. Known for his strategic leadership, he has successfully managed procurement functions across various industries, including major corporations such as GE, Delta Air Lines, Capgemini, and Larsen & Toubro Ltd. Majumdar is recognized for revitalizing organizations by developing and executing innovative procurement strategies, enhancing supplier management, and fostering high-performance teams. A sought-after speaker, he has shared his expertise with organizations such as the Council for Quality Growth, the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Invest Fest, the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, and the National Minority Supplier Development Council.
Education: Manipal Institute of Technology, The Catholic University of America (MEng)
Hometown: New Delhi, India
Notable achievements: Chief Procurement Officer of the Year award by the US Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce, George Lottier Rising Star Award by the Georgia Minority Supplier Development Council
Scott McAfee
Judge
Superior Court of Fulton County
Scott McAfee is a judge for the Superior Court of Fulton County. McAfee was first appointed to his position by Governor Brian Kemp in 2023 after Chief Judge Christopher Brasher retired in December 2022. McAfee won an election to serve a full four-year term in 2024. Prior to this position, McAfee served as Georgia’s inspector general. Additionally, McAfee worked for eight years as an assistant United States attorney for the Department of Justice in the Northern District of Georgia and as an assistant district attorney in Fulton County. As an assistant United States attorney, McAfee investigated and prosecuted major drug trafficking organizations, fraud, and illegal firearms possession. In the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office, McAfee handled hundreds of felony cases ranging from armed robbery to murder.
Education: Emory University, University of Georgia (JD)
Lauren “Bubba” McDonald
Commissioner
Georgia Public Service Commission
Following 20 years as a state representative, Lauren “Bubba” McDonald was appointed to the Georgia Public Service Commission in 1998 by Governor Zell Miller, and then reelected in a special election later that year. He held the seat until 2002. McDonald returned to the commission in 2008 and served as chairman. He was reelected to the commission in 2014 and 2020. He is also a member of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners’ Committee on Electricity and an executive member of the Nuclear Waste Strategy Coalition.
EDUCATION University of Georgia
NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENT Started funeral home business with son in 1997 and now own three funeral homes.
WHY I CHOSE THIS WORK Zell Miller talked me into it.
FIRST JOB Soda jerk in Commerce Drug Company
FEW PEOPLE KNOW Won first place in Georgia boys choir solo at age 12
FAVORITE ATLANTA PLACE TO VISIT The Varsity
Photograph courtesy of individual
Robert J. Murphy
Special Agent in Charge, Atlanta Field Division
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration
Counting more than 27 years of law enforcement experience, Robert J. Murphy serves as special agent in charge of the Atlanta Field Division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. He leads hundreds of special agents, task force officers, intelligence research specialists, diversion investigators, and other employees assigned to Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Murphy began his career in 1991 as an officer in the Orlando Police Department.
EDUCATION Florida State University
NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS Three-time recipient of the U.S. Department of Justice Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force’s National Case of the Year Award
INSPIRING PERSON I was working at Publix supermarkets through college. A Tallahassee Police Department officer who worked security at the Publix talked me into doing a ride-along one night, and I was hooked.
WHO’D PLAY ME IN A BIOPIC Kevin Bacon
Bee Nguyen
State Director
Office of U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock
The Democratic nominee for Georgia’s Secretary of State in 2022, Bee Nguyen was named state director for U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock in 2023. In this role, she is responsible for advising the senator and managing his Georgia-based team. She had been the first Asian American Democratic woman elected to the Georgia General Assembly, serving House District 89, the seat formerly held by Stacey Abrams. She’s also served as a national policy adviser for New American Leaders, which promotes the political participation of first- and second-generation Americans. Prior to being elected in 2017, Nguyen served as chief of staff for Georgia Representative Sam Park. She’s also worked for the resettlement agency Boat People SOS, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the Georgia Budget & Policy Institute. Nguyen is the founder of Athena’s Warehouse, which supports high school girls in Atlanta.
EDUCATION Georgia State University (MA, MPA)
WHY I CHOSE THIS WORK As the daughter of refugees, I have spent my life trying to honor the courageous legacy of my parents. While I know this is an impossible feat, the work I do is rooted in my family story.
Photograph courtesy of individual
Russell K. Paul
Mayor
Sandy Springs
Elected mayor of Sandy Springs in 2013, Russell K. “Rusty” Paul brings more than 40 years of government experience to the job. A former state senator, he was elected to Sandy Springs’ founding city council in 2005 and has served on the city’s charter review commission and development authority. Paul also worked for the first Bush administration’s Department of Housing and Urban Development as assistant secretary for congressional and intergovernmental relations.
EDUCATION Samford University
FEW PEOPLE KNOW I’m a chick-flick aficionado; I’m addicted to the Hallmark Channel.
FIRST JOB Picking cotton at age six
LESSON LEARNED Politics is a team sport, and you have to build relationships, looking for common ground with people who disagree or have a different set of solutions than yours.
FAVORITE TRAVEL DESTINATION My cabin at the farm on which I grew up [near Birmingham]—land that has been in my family since 1880
Photograph courtesy of individual
Robb Pitts
Chairman
Fulton County Board of Commissioners
Robb Pitts was elected in 2017 as chairman of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners, having previously served on the board from 2002 to 2014. Pitts also served two decades on the Atlanta City Council, including a stint as president from 1997 to 2001. As a Fulton commissioner, he advocated for diversification of revenue sources to relieve tax burdens on property owners. Pitts is also a former college professor and a registered real estate broker.
EDUCATION Ohio University, Academia Hispano Americana, Kent State University, La Universidad Interamericana, Emory University (MA)
HOMETOWN Haddock, Georgia
WHY I CHOSE THIS WORK I wanted to effect positive change and ensure that taxpayers receive the services they pay for in a more cost-effective and efficient manner.
Sheikh Rahman
State Senator
Georgia State Senate
Senator Sheikh Rahman, a Democrat, is the first immigrant and first Asian American to serve in the Georgia State Senate. He is also the first Muslim Georgia Legislator. Elected in 2018, he represents the 5th Senate District in the heart of Gwinnett. Rahman is the former chairman of the Gwinnett Senate Delegation. In the Georgia State Senate, he serves as a member of the Senate Committees on Appropriations, Economic Development and Tourism, Government Oversight, Natural Resources and the Environment, and Urban Affairs. Rahman is a national advisor for the Alliance of South Asian American Labor (ASAAL) and is serving as an inaugural board member of AAPI LEAD, a national organization of federal, state, and local elected and appointed Asian American officials. Rahman grew up in Bangladesh, where his country was devastated by the Bangladesh Liberation War of Independence in 1971. At 13, Rahman was kidnapped at gunpoint as a prisoner of war. He came to America in 1981, becoming a citizen in 1995.
EDUCATION University of Georgia
NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS Islamic Speakers Bureau of Atlanta 100 Most Influential Georgia Muslims (2022)
Doug Shipman
Atlanta City Council President
City of Atlanta
Elected president of the Atlanta City Council in November 2021, Doug Shipman comes to public office after a long history of demonstrated leadership in Atlanta for Atlantans. His work has been recognized by many civic, civil-rights, and human-rights organizations, including the Atlanta Business League, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the Atlanta Urban League, the Junior League of Greater Atlanta, and the Buckhead Rotary Club. His civic appointments have included the Atlanta Cyclorama Task Force and the Xernona Clayton Street renaming commission. Shipman joined the council after serving three years as the CEO of the Woodruff Arts Center. Prior to the Woodruff, Shipman served eight years as the founding CEO of the National Center for Civil and Human Rights. Before being named its CEO, Shipman led the center’s $100 million fundraising campaign, and efforts to design, build, and launch the center. He also supported the effort to secure and pay for the Martin Luther King Jr. Papers Collection at Morehouse College.
EDUCATION Emory University, Harvard Divinity School (MTS), Harvard Kennedy School (MPP)
HOMETOWN Bull Shoals, Arkansas
Lee Thomas
Deputy Commissioner, Film, Music & Digital Entertainment
Georgia Department of Economic Development
Lee Thomas is a deputy commissioner at the Georgia Department of Economic Development and division director of the Georgia Film Office. She’s helped Georgia become one of the top filming locations in the world, with $4.4 billion in direct spending during the fiscal year 2022, a record for the state. A native Atlantan, Thomas pursued doctoral studies in New York before returning to the city in 1996 to work for the Georgia Film and Videotape Office as a project manager, becoming a location specialist for the office in 1998 and director of the film division in 2010.
EDUCATION University of Georgia, Georgia State University (MA), New York University
NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENT Georgia Trend Georgian of the Year (2019)
INSPIRING PERSON Jimmy Carter
FEW PEOPLE KNOW We owned a restaurant and campground in Rabun County from 2010 until January 2020. It was initially an adventure renovating and running it, but it became way too much to handle!
Michael L. Thurmond
CEO
DeKalb County Government
Since being sworn in as CEO in 2017, Michael L. Thurmond’s primary mission is restoring trust in county government. Thurmond completed his last term as CEO at the close of 2024. His other priorities have included adopting a balanced budget, ensuring accurate water bills, removing blight, offering summer youth employment, improving employee compensation, and fulfilling the federal/state sewer consent agreement. Thurmond, a former member of the Georgia General Assembly and the first African American elected to a statewide office without prior appointment, has earned the reputation of being a “turnaround expert” after fundamentally transforming the culture and enhancing operations of complex organizations such as the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services, the Georgia Department of Labor and the DeKalb County School District. Thurmond is also an accomplished author and has been recognized as a Georgia Public Library Champion of the Year.
EDUCATION Paine College, University of South Carolina School of Law (JD)
Fani T. Willis
District Attorney
Fulton County District Attorney’s Office
Fani T. Willis is the district attorney for Fulton County. She is the first woman to serve in the position. As a career trial lawyer with deep and broad prosecutorial experience, she has led over 100 jury trials and has prosecuted hundreds of murder cases. Willis has prosecuted many other serious crimes, including crimes against women and children. Her 19 years of experience as a prosecutor have given her a deep commitment to focusing her office’s prosecutorial efforts on the most dangerous offenders and removing them from society. She has also served as chief judge of the city of South Fulton.
EDUCATION Howard University, Emory University School of Law (JD)
FIRST JOB Cashier at Bradley’s department store in Laurel, Maryland
MOST INSPIRING PERSON My dad, who was a Black Panther, civil rights activist, and criminal defense attorney.
FAVORITE BOOK AND MOVIE The Godfather
Photograph courtesy of individual
Pat Wilson
Commissioner
Georgia Department of Economic Development
As commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development, Pat Wilson leads the agency responsible for creating jobs and investment opportunities in Georgia through business recruitment and expansion, workforce development, and international trade and tourism, as well as the arts, film, and music industries. Before being appointed to the position in 2016 by Governor Nathan Deal, Wilson served as the organization’s chief operating officer, and was previously director of government affairs in the administration of Governor Sonny Perdue.
EDUCATION University of Georgia
NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENT Georgia has been named the number one state in the nation for business for ten consecutive years by Area Development magazine.
FIRST JOB Picking peaches
FEW PEOPLE KNOW I love karaoke.
HOBBIES Baseball, football, softball, and my kids’ sports at Northside Youth Organization
FAVORITE BOOK In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin by Erik Larson
TRANSPORTATION
Allison Ausband
Executive Vice President, Chief Customer Experience Officer
Delta Air Lines
In this role, Allison Ausband oversees the end-to-end customer experience that includes the Innovation and Customer Experience teams and the 56,000 team members in Delta’s Airport Customer Service, In-Flight Service, and Reservations and Customer Care divisions who deliver those experiences. Previously, as senior vice president of in-flight service, Ausband led a global team of more than 20,000 flight attendants and supervisory and support personnel, as well as Delta’s onboard global food and beverage operations. Under Ausband’s leadership, Delta’s in-flight service team achieved all-time customer satisfaction scores. She previously served as vice president for reservation sales and customer care. Ausband began her career at Delta in 1985 as a flight attendant. She is also executive vice chair of the University of Georgia Foundation Board of Trustees.
EDUCATION University of Georgia
FAVORITE TRAVEL DESTINATION Saint Barthélemy
NONPROFIT I lead Delta’s efforts in the fight against human trafficking.
WHO’D PLAY ME IN A BIOPIC Diane Lane
Ed Bastian
CEO
Delta Air Lines
As CEO of Delta Air Lines since 2016, a more than 25-year company veteran Ed Bastian helms a team of 100,000 global professionals. Under his leadership, Delta has become the world’s most awarded airline, named top U.S. airline by the Wall Street Journal, most admired airline worldwide by Fortune, and most on-time global airline by FlightGlobal. In 2018, Fortune named Bastian among the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders. In 2019, he was elected to the membership of the Council on Foreign Relations. Bastian was named among the Top 10 CEOs of 2021 in Glassdoor’s Employees’ Choice Awards as a leader who excelled at supporting their people throughout a global pandemic. Finally, in 2023, Chief Executive magazine announced that Bastian was named Chief Executive of the Year by his peer CEOs, and he was named 2024 Georgian of the Year by Georgia Trend.
EDUCATION Saint Bonaventure University
HOMETOWN Poughkeepsie, New York
FEW PEOPLE KNOW I was 25 before I first stepped foot on an airplane.
NONPROFITS Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research, Polaris Project
Ed Elkins
Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer
Norfolk Southern Corporation
With over 35 years of service at Norfolk Southern, Ed Elkins serves as executive vice president and chief marketing officer of the freight transportation company that has been in operation since 1827. Elkins leads Intermodal, Automotive, and Industrial Products business divisions while overseeing Real Estate, Field Sales, and Customer Logistics business groups. Appointed CMO in 2021, Elkins’ journey with Norfolk Southern began in 1988 as a road brakeman after serving in the United States Marine Corps. He then progressed as a conductor, locomotive engineer, and relief yardmaster before taking on roles in operations and intermodal marketing, vast experience across the organization that gives him a unique perspective on the complexities of rail logistics. Beyond his corporate roles, Elkins serves as vice chair of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and sits on the board of the East Lake Foundation.
EDUCATION University of Virginia, Old Dominion University Strome College of Business (MBA)
Mark George
President and CEO
Norfolk Southern Corporation
As president and CEO of Norfolk Southern Corporation, one of the nation’s largest freight transportation companies, Mark George oversees all business areas, building a customer-centric and operations-driven organization where everything starts with safety. Since joining Norfolk Southern in 2019 as chief financial officer, George has played a crucial role in guiding the company through significant strategic shifts. His leadership has strengthened the company’s focus on productivity, cost management, and safety by leveraging over 30 years of experience in financial management and business development across industries. Prior to joining Norfolk Southern, he served as the global CFO for both the Otis Elevator Company and the Carrier Corporation from 2008 to 2019. George also serves on the board of directors for Junior Achievement of Georgia.
EDUCATION Central Connecticut State University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (MBA)
Collie Greenwood
General Manager and CEO
Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority
Collie Greenwood is general manager and CEO of MARTA. A 35-year transit veteran with experience ranging from frontline operations to executive leadership, Greenwood joined MARTA as the chief of Bus Operations and Urban Planning in July 2019 and was appointed deputy general manager of Operations and Urban Planning in 2020. In October 2022, the MARTA board of directors named him general manager and CEO. In this role, Greenwood will lead MARTA’s largest and most ambitious expansion and modernization program since its founding over 40 years ago. Greenwood will work closely with his senior leadership team to develop and deliver major capital projects to enhance the customer experience, including the addition of new railcars and electric buses to the MARTA fleet. Prior to joining MARTA, Greenwood served as chief service officer of the Toronto Transit Commission in Canada. Greenwood is an active member of the American Public Transportation Association, serving as vice chair of its Standards Development Oversight Council. Greenwood began his transit career as a bus operator in his hometown Mississauga, Ontario.
EDUCATION University of Waterloo
Jan Lennon
Interim Airport General Manager
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
As leader of the world’s busiest and most efficient airport, Jan Lennon oversees all facets of airport governance, including operations and a multibillion-dollar capital improvement program designed to pave the way for Atlanta’s growth over the next 20 years. Lennon has more than 25 years of leadership in public safety and security, crisis management, and corrections. She spearheaded many innovative public safety and security and operations programs at the airport, most notably having created a comprehensive program to mitigate and reduce insider threats. She also developed and launched the Department of Aviation’s first Human Trafficking Awareness Campaign. Before becoming the interim airport general manager, Lennon served as the airport’s deputy general manager of Operations. Prior to joining the Department of Aviation, she had a successful career in corrections, which included a tour of duty as a deputy warden at a regional jail in Virginia.
EDUCATION North Carolina Central University, Coppin State University (MS)
Roderick McLean
Vice President and General Manager, Air Mobility & Maritime Missions
Lockheed Martin
Roderick McLean is vice president and general manager of the Air Mobility & Maritime Missions line of business at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics in Marietta, responsible for the C-130 Hercules transport, which was commemorated for the 70th anniversary of its first flight with a resolution by the Georgia Senate in 2024; the C-5 strategic airlifter, and other aircraft. McLean is also site general manager for the more than 5,000-employee Marietta facility. Since joining in 1994 as a radar systems engineer, McLean has held a variety of roles in the company, most recently as vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin’s F-16/F-22 Integrated Fighter Group programs in Fort Worth, Texas. He serves on the board of directors for the Metro Atlanta Chamber.
EDUCATION North Carolina A&T State University, Georgia Tech (MA), University of Maryland Robert H. Smith School of Business (MBA)
HOMETOWN Jacksonville, North Carolina
FIRST JOB Drove a school bus in high school at 16 and a half years old
HIDDEN TALENT I enjoy playing classical music on the piano.
Russell R. McMurry
Commissioner
Georgia Department of Transportation
In 2015, Russell R. McMurry was appointed by the State Transportation Board as commissioner of the Georgia Department of Transportation—the $3.5 billion, almost 4,000-employee state agency responsible for building, maintaining, and operating the 10th-largest transportation system in the country. The Georgia DOT launched its podcast in November 2022 and McMurry talked about his life and career in the inaugural episode. McMurry began his career with the department in 1990 as an engineering trainee and has served in a variety of roles including construction project manager, district engineer, director of engineering, and chief engineer. The American Road and Transportation Builders Association named McMurry its Trailblazer of the Year in 2024.
EDUCATION Georgia Southern University
NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENT Georgia Trend Georgian of the Year (2018)
FIRST JOB At 13, stocking shelves and taking inventory for a building-supply company
FEW PEOPLE KNOW I race motocross. I began riding at the age of 10 and still ride today.
Jeremy Rainwater
Chief Executive Officer, Americas
TK Elevator
As CEO Americas for TK Elevator, Jeremy Rainwater leads the development and implementation of TK Elevator’s overall strategy and operations in the company’s $4 billion North and South American businesses, with over 16,000 employees in 17 countries and across multiple lines of business, including manufacturing and new installation, modernization, as well as service and repair. Rainwater, who also serves on the Global Senior Leadership Team, joined TK Elevator in November 2022. A graduate of Harvard University’s Advanced Management Program, Rainwater also serves on the board of directors and executive committee for the Metro Atlanta Chamber.
EDUCATION Cardinal Stritch University, Rutgers University (MBA)
FIRST JOB Umpire for Little League Baseball
WHY I CHOSE THIS WORK I grew up in a family of hard-working elevator mechanics and played competitive sports up through college. I see a lot of similarities in sports and business, so I knew fairly early that I wanted to be in business and lead teams to success.
FAVORITE GEORGIA PRO SPORTS TEAM Atlanta Braves
NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS My two incredible daughters
UTILITIES
Michael Braswell
President, Retail Energy
Southern Company Gas
Michael Braswell is president of retail energy for Southern Company Gas, responsible for ensuring the expansion and continued success of the company’s retail energy operations in multiple states. Braswell is also CEO of SouthStar Energy Services, which serves nearly 700,000 customers; in Georgia it conducts business as Georgia Natural Gas. A Dunwoody native, he has more than 30 years of experience in the natural gas industry and has worked in both regulated and nonutility environments.
EDUCATION Georgia Tech, Georgia State University (MBA)
FIRST JOB At the Georgia Tech Research Institute while I was a student at Georgia Tech
HOBBIES I’m a bicycling and exercise enthusiast.
FAVORITE MOVIE The Shawshank Redemption
FAVORITE TRAVEL DESTINATION Antigua
Pedro Cherry
President and CEO
Atlanta Gas Light
Pedro Cherry, president and CEO of Atlanta Gas Light, is an energy-industry leader with more than 20 years of experience in finance, operations, external and governmental affairs, customer service, and economic and business development roles in domestic and international arenas. A native of Windsor, North Carolina, Cherry took the helm of Atlanta Gas Light in August 2020. Prior to that, he spent almost 10 years in various positions at Georgia Power, rising to the position of executive vice president of customer service and operations. In 2024, the Atlanta Business Chronicle named Cherry one of its Most Admired CEOs.
EDUCATION Auburn University (MBA)
FIRST JOB Picking tobacco on the farms of North Carolina in the summer
BEST ADVICE RECEIVED Always be a student of the business.
FAVORITE HOBBIES Golf, traveling, watching college and professional sports
FAVORITE SPECIAL OCCASION RESTAURANT Canoe
Bentina Chisolm Terry
President and CEO
Southern Linc and Southern Telecom, Inc.
Bentina C. Terry is president and CEO of Southern Linc and Southern Telecom, Inc., Southern Company subsidiaries that provide mission critical LTE network wireless and dark fiber networks and services to Southern Company electric utilities and public sector customers. Terry has held senior executive positions at Georgia Power and other Southern Company subsidiaries and began her career practicing law with Troutman Sanders in Atlanta. Past chair of the board of directors for Leadership Atlanta and The Beltline Partnership, she serves on the board of the International Women’s Forum—Georgia, and is a member of several organizations including The Links, Incorporated and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. Additionally, Terry was named one of Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Women of Influence for 2024.
EDUCATION North Carolina State University, University of Michigan Law School (JD)
HOMETOWN Fayetteville, North Carolina
FIRST JOB Selling women’s clothes in the mall
Kimberly S. Greene
Chair, President, and CEO
Georgia Power
Kim Greene was named chair, president and CEO of Georgia Power in 2023. She leads Georgia Power in serving its 2.7 million customers across the state. The company is the largest subsidiary of Southern Company, one of the nation’s leading energy providers. Prior to her current position, Greene served for five years as chair, president and CEO of Southern Company Gas. In this role, she ensured the delivery of clean, safe, reliable and affordable natural gas to more than 4.3 million utility customers in Georgia, Illinois, Tennessee, and Virginia, and to over 600,000 retail gas customers served by SouthStar Energy Services in 10 states. Greene serves on numerous boards including boards for the Atlanta Committee for Progress, the Metro Atlanta Chamber, the Georgia Research Alliance, the Rowen Foundation, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Woodruff Arts Center, and the Georgia Historical Society. Additionally, Greene is a member of the Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame.
EDUCATION University of Tennessee, University of Alabama at Birmingham (MS), Samford University (MBA), Harvard Business School (AMP)
Photograph courtesy of individual
Kevin Greiner
President and CEO
Gas South
Kevin Greiner has served as Gas South’s president and CEO since the company’s founding in 2006. Gas South is one of the Southeast’s largest energy marketers, providing natural gas to nearly 500,000 residential, commercial, and industrial customers in competitive markets in 14 states. Gas South also operates a growing wholesale energy marketing operation and is an owner/investor in several solar energy projects. Since its founding, Gas South has doubled its customer base, while growing its sales volumes and workforce by 400 percent.
EDUCATION Wesleyan University, University of Michigan (MBA, MS)
NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENT YMCA of Metro Atlanta Volunteer of the Year (2017); board chair there in 2021
FIRST JOB Working in a bagel shop on Long Island
HOBBIES Playing tennis and baseball, and riding my bike
Venessa Harrison
President
AT&T Coastal States
As president of AT&T’s Southeast Coastal Region, Venessa Harrison is responsible for developing the overall strategic direction of AT&T’s public policy, economic development, and community engagement activities across the states of Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. Named to her current position in 2022, Harrison works closely with state and local policymakers and business and community leaders to foster an environment that welcomes investment and innovation, focuses on bringing new technologies that drive innovation and create jobs, and provides educational and economic opportunities that empower to improve the quality of life for all. Prior to her current position, Harrison served for three years as president of the Georgia region and six years as president of AT&T North Carolina. A native of Raleigh, North Carolina, Harrison began her telecommunications career as a telephone operator.
EDUCATION University of Phoenix
WHAT I’D TELL MY 18-YEAR-OLD SELF Always be authentic and remember: Girls
compete, women empower.
Photograph courtesy of individual
Michael L. Smith
President and CEO
Oglethorpe Power
Michael L. Smith has served as president and CEO of Oglethorpe Power, one of the largest energy producers in Georgia, since 2013. Smith will retire from Oglethorpe Power this month after a distinguished career of 40 years in the energy industry. He previously worked for Georgia Transmission as senior vice president and chief financial officer, and later as president and CEO. Prior to that, he was the first executive director of the Committee of Chief Risk Officers, a nonprofit trade association incorporated in 2002 to compile best practices and standards for risk-management activities for the energy industry.
EDUCATION Louisiana State University (MBA)
FIRST JOB Worked offshore in Gulf of Mexico oil fields
FAVORITE BOOK A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
LESSON LEARNED Every problem has a solution.
FAVORITE TRAVEL DESTINATION Ireland
Christine Whitaker
President, Central Division
Comcast
Christine Whitaker is president of Comcast’s Central Division, headquartered in Atlanta. The division is home to approximately 16,000 Comcast employees with more than 21 million combined video, high-speed internet, voice, home security, and mobile customers throughout the 12 states that comprise the Central Division. A 25-year veteran of the cable industry, Whitaker most recently served as senior vice president of finance and administration for Comcast’s Northeast Division. Whitaker has been repeatedly named one of the Most Powerful Women in Cable by Cablefax: The Magazine and recognized as a Wonder Woman by Multichannel News. Whitaker was named one of Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Women of Influence for 2023. Whitaker has completed executive education programs for telecommunications through Harvard Business School and Stanford Graduate School of Business.
EDUCATION George Mason University
BEST ADVICE RECEIVED From Ginni Rometty, former IBM chairman, president, and CEO: “The ideas of growth and comfort do not co-exist.”
Christopher C. Womack
Chairman, President, and CEO
Southern Company
Chris Womack is chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Southern Company, one of the nation’s leading energy providers serving 9 million customers nationwide. Prior to his current role, since 2021 he served as chairman, president and CEO of Georgia Power, leading Southern Company’s largest subsidiary. A native of Greenville, Alabama, Womack joined Southern Company in 1988 and has held several leadership positions within Southern Company and its subsidiaries. Prior to joining Southern Company, Womack worked on Capitol Hill for the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, D.C. He is past chair of the board of the East Lake Foundation and is on the national board of First Tee. In 2022 the Atlanta Business Chronicle named Womack one of its Most Admired CEOs.
EDUCATION Western Michigan University, American University (MPA)
FIRST JOB Capitol Hill legislative aide
HOBBIES Fishing, hunting, gardening
LEGENDS
Nathan Deal
Deal served as a prosecutor, judge, state senator, and U.S. congressman for Georgia’s 9th District before being elected Georgia’s 82nd governor in 2010 and reelected in 2014. Under his leadership, Georgia was recognized as the top state for business five years in a row. Deal’s tenure was marked by efforts in transportation, criminal justice reform, and education reform.
Pat Epps
In 1965, Epps bought a small fixed-base operation at DeKalb Peachtree Airport and launched Epps Air Service. He grew the original facility into a hub serving local and international businesses. His many honors include the National Business Aviation Association’s American Spirit Award and Lifetime Achievement award. Epps has also been inducted into the Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame.
Shirley Franklin
Inaugurated in 2002, Franklin became Atlanta’s 58th mayor. She was not only the city’s first female mayor, but also the first African American woman to helm any major Southern city. A former protégé of mayors Maynard Jackson and Andrew Young, she helped bring the Olympic Games to Atlanta. She received the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award in 2005.
Keisha Lance Bottoms
In 2018, Bottoms took office as Atlanta’s 60th mayor—only the second woman to hold the city’s highest municipal government seat. She’s also the only mayor in city history to have been elected to all three branches of government, serving previously as a judge and city councilmember. She served as an advisor on international trade to President Biden.
Patrise Perkins-Hooker
Formerly the county attorney for Fulton County, Perkins-Hooker is now an administrative partner with Johnson & Freeman, LLC. In 2014, she became the 52nd president of the State Bar of Georgia—the first African American and third woman to fill that role.
Kasim Reed
Reed served two terms as Atlanta’s 59th mayor, beginning in 2010. Prior to that, he spent 11 years as a member of the Georgia General Assembly, first elected in 1998 as a state representative, then serving from 2002 to 2009 in the state Senate. He is now a partner with the McDermott Will & Emery law firm.
Leah Ward Sears
Now in private practice with Smith, Gambrell & Russell, Sears was the first woman to serve as a judge on the Superior Court of Fulton County. Four years later she was appointed, and then elected, to become a justice on the Supreme Court of Georgia—the first woman and youngest jurist ever to receive that title. From 2001 to 2005, she became the presiding justice of the Georgia Supreme Court, eventually being named chief justice.
Andrew J. Young
A protégé of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Young was a leader of the SCLC. He helped draft the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. He was Georgia’s first Black congressman since Reconstruction. President Carter tapped him to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. He served two terms as mayor of Atlanta and helped bring the 1996 Olympics here. His accolades have included the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Morehouse College’s Andrew Young Center for Global Leadership is named for him, as is Georgia State University’s Andrew Young School of Policy Studies.
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