Newsweek Georgia Part II

GEORGIA LEADERS PUT WORKFORCE FIRST Investments in education & training position Georgia as the best state in the US for doing business

A

s the eighth most populous state in the country, Georgia has long punched above its weight within the US economy. There are very few Americans who have never drunk a Coke, flown Delta, shopped at Home Depot or sent a package by UPS —all private enterprises which call state capital Atlanta home.

In recent years, these home-grown icons of American capitalism have been joined by a massive influx of high tech companies from outside the state. In the past year alone, major brands such as NCR, Accenture, Honeywell and GE Digital, have all relocated to or significantly expanded in Georgia. They are coming here not just to enjoy southern hospitality and to be close to the world’s busiest airport: above all, it is the size and quality of Georgia’s young, diverse and talented workforce that is turning the state into what CNBC rated this year as the nº 2 state of America’s Top States for Business. According to specialist publication Area Development, Georgia has done even better, topping the doing business list for four consecutive years.

Governor Nathan Deal has no doubt that it is increased spending on education and training, while maintaining triple-A credit ratings, that has put Georgia in such a privileged position. “We are preparing a skilled talent pool in Georgia capable of meeting the demands of employers for years to come in an ever-changing marketplace,” Deal says.

“Talent is now the driving issue,” says Chris Clark, President and CEO of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce. “The communities that are going to succeed in the future are the communities that grow and attract talent.”

In addition to the skilled workers that emerge from universities such as Georgia Tech, Georgia State University, the University of Georgia and Emory University, the state has forged major partnerships with technical colleges to expand the provision of training for high-demand sectors. The jewel in the crown of these initiatives is the award-winning Georgia Quick Start program. The oldest program of its kind in the US, Quick Start has so far updated the skill sets of more than one million employees in 6,500 projects in numerous industries. All training is provided at no charge by the Technical College System of Georgia. Other state initiatives, including Trade Five, the High Demand Career Initiative and the Hope Career Grant, are helping to increase the supply of workers for strategic industries such as information technology. And as baby boomers retire, Georgia’s educational and training institutions also work closely with individual companies to prepare new generations for ever-growing employment opportunities.

“Workforce is a key factor that is being addressed across the state,” says Rich Stinson, President and CEO of electrical wire and cable manufacturer Southwire. “As skilled workers age, we need to invest in apprentices and in the next generation. At Southwire we are working with West Georgia Technical School, the University of West Georgia and with Georgia Tech on our own workforce development.”

“We are really focused on the long-term workforce,” says Pat Wilson, Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development.

“Our job is to make it as easy as possible for the private sector to continue to grow and create jobs in Georgia for the next 20 years.”

Top row, left to right: Rich Stinson, President & CEO, Southwire; Chris Clark, President & CEO, Georgia Chamber; Dr. Jonathan Lewin, President & CEO, Emory Healthcare; William P Leahy, President Georgia & Southeast Region, AT&T; Nathan Deal, Governor; Casey Cagle, Lieutenant Governor; Peter Tokar, Economic Development Director, Alpharetta; Roosevelt Council Jr., Airport General Manager, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International; Bart Gobeil, Director, Statewide Economic Development & Government Affairs, Georgia Ports Authority. Middle row: Mike Leven, Chairman & CEO, Georgia Aquarium; Dr. Eloisa Klementich, President & CEO, Invest Atlanta; Kasim Reed, Mayor of Atlanta; William Pate, President & CEO, Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau; Ed Bastian, CEO, Delta Air Lines; Joseph Marinelli, President, Visit Savannah.

Bottom row: Peter Carter, EVP, Chief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary, Delta Airlines; Nancy Paris, President & CEO, Georgia CORE; David Belle Isle, Mayor, City of Alpharetta; Pat Wilson, Commissioner, Georgia Department of Economic Development; Penelope McPhee, President, The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation. produced this report

In collaboration with

ALPHARETTA. MEETINGS

by design

PLAN YOUR NEXT MEETING WITH US! Home to Georgia’s first Gigabit community and over 600 technology-based companies, Alpharetta is designed for right-sized meetings and events with over 23 upscale, modern hotels and meeting spaces that perfectly accommodate from 10 to 1,500 attendees. Premier chef-driven and locally-owned dining experiences infused with exquisite entrees and farm-to-table comfort foods are sure to please attendees’ palates.

Five shopping districts with over 250 shops paired with 10+ music and entertainment venues are ideal for after-hours down time.

Depart from the ordinary.

This is where business and fun meet in modern Southern style.

ENTER TO WIN!

Book your next event with 150+ room nights through the Alpharetta CVB before December 31, 2017, mention this Newsweek ad and be entered to win a $250 VISA Gift Card.

Contact Beth Brown at 678-297-2811 or beth@awesomealpharetta.com to submit your RFP.

SM

Alpharetta Convention and Visitors Bureau www.awesomealpharetta.com • 678-297-2811 • 877-202-5961 The Official Destination Marketing Organization for Alpharetta, Georgia

THE TECHNOLOGY CITY OF THE SOUTH Alpharetta is a fast-growing, engaging city with a real sense of community & lifestyle

A

t the height of the dot.com boom at the turn of the millennium, the city of Alpharetta was witness to a modern-day gold rush, as telecom companies raced to lay down hundreds of miles of state-of-the-art fiber optic cables all over the town, strategically located just 22 miles outside Atlanta.

Almost 20 years later, this rapidly growing city is continuing to reap the benefits of those visionary investments in super-fast communications networks. More than 640 technology companies have chosen to call Alpharetta home, including four of the 10 largest tech businesses in Georgia.

As well as giant conglomerates, increasing numbers of start-ups are relocating from Silicon Valley to Alpharetta, where venture capital funds last longer, there is a thriving talent pool of qualified personnel, and the quality of life is just as high as in California.

“As well as our leadership in terms of technology infrastructure, we have created an environment here in which start-ups can thrive,” says David Belle Isle, the Mayor of Alpharetta.

To enhance the support available for entrepreneurs, in 2015 the city of Alpharetta and the Alpharetta Development Authority opened the Alpharetta Innovation Center, which is currently delivering more than 60 start-ups with co-working spaces, meeting rooms, mentoring and above all with a real sense of community.

“The Alpharetta Innovation Center aims to provide a platform for people to grow their business, make connections, get mentorship and training, and then hopefully stay here in Alpharetta or the region,” says Peter Tokar, the city’s Economic Development Director. “We want Alpharetta to be known as a city where innovation happens, around the country, and hopefully one day around the globe.”

Next year, the city will take a major step forward in its mission of becoming a truly global start-up hub, with the official opening of Alpharetta’s very own conference center. Located in the so-called “fiberhood” of the city’s high-end Avalon district, the center is set to put Alpharetta on the technology conference circuit and attract even greater numbers of start-ups to Georgia.

Even before the formal opening, conferences are already being planned for the agritech, fintech and health IT sectors.

As well as making Alpharetta the go-to place in Georgia for technology corporations and entrepreneurs, Mayor Belle Isle has also made it a priority to build a real sense of community among the 65,000 people who live in the city.

“We want to make Alpharetta an irresistible city, a city that people love, feel connected to, feel their own and never want to leave,” Belle Isle says.

City authorities are connecting Alpharetta’s various leisure regions — Avalon, Haynes Bridge and the vibrant downtown district— with multi-use trails and bicycle-sharing schemes. Dozens of new restaurants and boutique stores are opening all over town, while major entertainment venues have also opened their doors to a public eager to enjoy music and the arts.

As Alpharetta becomes an increasingly lively and engaging community, older millennials are now moving here to start their own families. With four of the top 10 schools in Georgia serving Alpharetta, and thousands of new townhouses under construction, the city regularly tops the rankings of desirable places to relocate.

“We have added a whole series of community amenities that make Alpharetta more than just a great tech destination,” Peter Tokar says. “It is also a very liveable city, with tons to do for everybody who wants to come here.”

Alpharetta360.com

ATLANTA: THE GLOBAL CITY The vibrant & confident city is experiencing record levels of population growth & job creation

A

s fast-growing multinational corporations and ambitious young millennials choose to make Atlanta their home, the capital of Georgia is experiencing an unprecedented increase in population and economic output. According to Invest Atlanta, the metro Atlanta area added 94,000 new residents in the last year, and jobs at the rate of 3.3%, the fastest one in the nation, according to the Atlanta Regional Commission. “The fundamentals are roaring right now,” says Kasim Reed, Mayor of Atlanta.

In total, there are now 15 companies headquartered in metro Atlanta which are ranked in the Fortune 500 —the third highest number of any city in the country. As well as celebrated hometown companies such as CNN, the Coca-Cola Company, Delta Air Lines, Home Depot and UPS, businesses such as GE and Honeywell have moved major digital operations to Atlanta.

Next year, Mercedes-Benz will open its North American headquarters in the city, with space for 1,000 employees, while payment processing giant NCR is currently investing $300 million in a new campus next to Georgia Tech.

For companies expanding in Atlanta, one of its major competitive advantages is the quality of the talent who already work or study here or those who are keen to move to the city. Downtown universities such as Georgia Tech and Georgia State generate a never-ending stream of the technology graduates, engineers and technicians that businesses rely on to power their growth and innovation.

Meanwhile, Atlanta has an increasing appeal to millennials: rents are affordable and the arts and music scene is buzzing. The regenerated Westside District will soon be packed with art galleries, music venues, bars and restaurants and according to a study from CBRE and Maastricht University, Atlanta also ranks as the country’s third greenest city.

“We have been very successful in attracting people and companies to Atlanta,” says Dr. Eloisa Klementich, CEO of Invest Atlanta, the economic development arm for the city. “Companies come here to be “smart”: to think about how they can create products in the future that will ensure their competitiveness.”

To ensure that Atlanta maintains its position as a magnet for innovative companies and millennials, the city is now investing massively in transport infrastructure and affordable housing for its fast-growing population.

Also, the inspirational Atlanta BeltLine project is turning abandoned rail lines into some of the city’s most vibrant and walkable neighborhoods, stimulating billions of dollars of investment in parks, trails, housing and leisure. “It is connecting the city in unprecedented ways —connecting people economically, culturally and socially,” says Rob Brawner, Executive Director of the Atlanta BeltLine Partnership (ABLP). “Only a small portion has been built so far, but it is already transforming Atlanta and changing the way we live.”

Get Alphaready!

Alpharetta has been the choice tech destination for Metro Atlanta for decades. Don’t take our word for it, see for yourself. Alpharetta360.com is a collection of short videos from Alpharetta businesses and residents to you.

After all, they are Alpharetta, not this ad.

ALL THINGS ALPHARETTA

LEADING IN BIOTECHNOLOGY RESEARCH & INNOVATION State government support has helped put Georgia on the frontline of medical science hen President Jimmy Carter, one of Georgia’s most famous sons, was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma in 2015, he did not need to travel far.

“I didn’t have to leave Georgia to get advanced, life-saving treatments,” President Carter said after being given the all-clear at the Winship Cancer Institute at Emory University in Atlanta. “I have benefited from better detection technology and treatments that did not exist a few years ago.

Winship has been on the frontline of these breakthroughs.”

The effectiveness of Carter’s treatment in the state has highlighted Georgia’s role as a pioneer in cancer research and as a national powerhouse in medical science.

“Three quarters of all cancer treatments that have been developed over the last five to ten years have been trialed here at Emory,” says Dr. Jonathan Lewin, CEO of Emory Healthcare. “Our research has impacted lives both within Emory Healthcare and far beyond.”

Georgia’s emergence as a national and global healthcare leader is no accident.

It is the direct result of decades of close partnership between healthcare professionals, state authorities and academia. One of the world’s leading institutions in vaccine research, the Emory Vaccine Centre owes its existence to the Georgia Research Alliance (GRA), a partnership between the University System of Georgia and the state’s Department of Economic Development.

The GRA is dedicated to expanding Georgia’s university research capacity, by recruiting world-class scientists to the state, investing in cutting-edge research technology, helping to commercialize university discoveries and inventions, and creating alliances between academia and industry.

The GRA estimates that it has transformed $595 million of state spending on technology and leading scientists into more than $3 billion of additional outside investment in Georgia. The GRA’s venture capital arm currently supports 150 university-based companies, organizing mentoring and providing low-interest loans and grants to help bring new technologies to market. Many of the funds for supporting start-ups come from private donors, Lee Herron, VP of Venture Development at the Alliance explains.

“Atlanta is a strongly philanthropic town and many of the companies here are headed by folks who love to give back to the community. The GRA is very active in matching funds from these donors with state funds to drive economic development.”

@ Ann Borden, Emory University

W

Paula Vertino, PhD leads a cancer research team

“I am very proud of the national reach of the research conducted at campus,” Dr. Lewin at Emory says. “We are running thousands of clinical trials where patients who have complex diseases are offered options that they can’t get anywhere else.”

Such is the depth of medical expertise in the state that the National Science Foundation has chosen Georgia Tech to lead the development of a $20 million Research Center for Cell Manufacturing Technologies. The center has the potential to transform the treatment of cancer, heart disease, autoimmune diseases and other disorders by researching innovative therapies based on the use of living cells such as immune cells and stem cells.

“Georgia Tech has a long history of building collaborative partnerships with industry, the national labs and other research universities,” Georgia Tech President G. P. “Bud” Peterson said when the funding was announced.

“The Center for Cell Manufacturing Technologies will also help us educate, train and prepare the workforce in a new industry, thereby continuing to strengthen the U.S. economy.”

“The research universities that we have in Georgia are second to none,” says the state’s Lieutenant Governor, Casey Cagle. “They are a major part of an ecosystem here which fosters new technology and innovation and which launches new companies and entrepreneurs.”

To help innovators in high technology sectors such as healthcare, and help them bring their discoveries and inventions to market, Cagle has established Start Georgia, a statewide network of incubators, accelerators and investors. “I am continually focused on growing new technologies and developing new industries in the state of Georgia,” Cagle says.

When your health changes, go to the place changing the world.

Emory, Atlanta’s most comprehensive academic health system.

Where specialists teach their innovations to everyone, everywhere.

And discover life-saving treatments, providing options others can’t.

So wherever your health leads you, go to the place that’s leading the way.

That’s the Emory Difference.

6 hospitals. 200+ locations.

Discover more at emoryhealthcare.org.

Georgia researchers are working together to fight cancer & other diseases at home & abroad

F

or Georgia’s medical research institutions, the road to successful trials and drug developments passes through partnership and collaboration. For 10 years, Emory University, Morehouse School of Medicine and the Georgia Institute of Technology have worked together on clinical research in the shape of the Atlanta Clinical & Translational Science Institute: this September, the alliance gained a new member, the University of Georgia and changed its name to the Georgia Clinical & Translational Science Alliance.

Georgia Tech and Emory University also collaborate closely on a range of medical research initiatives. They run the nº 1-ranked Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, which is tackling debilitating conditions such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, cancer, arthritis, cardiovascular and neurological diseases, and immune disorders.

Universities in Georgia are also working closely with the 104-year-old American Cancer Society, which is headquartered in Atlanta and is one of the country’s largest private funders of cancer research. “With Georgia Tech and the University of Georgia, we are combining our collective knowledge and intelligence here in Atlanta to create a research platform centered on immunotherapy,” says Gary Reedy, President and CEO of the American Cancer Society. “We are so fortunate to be able to reach out to these universities and medical centers right here in Georgia.”

Another successful public-private partnership that is driving healthcare innovation in the state is the Georgia Center for Oncology Research and Education (Georgia CORE). Georgia CORE’s mission is to improve the quality of cancer care in Georgia by strengthening clinical research into cancer, based on investment from industry, foundations, and government. As well as undertaking extensive clinical trials and cancer research, Georgia CORE carries out genetic screening for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer in

public health centers all over Georgia and runs programs to address the needs of cancer survivors in the state.

“We have great biotech infrastructure in Atlanta and there are exceptional cancer centers all across the state,” says Nancy Paris, President and CEO of Georgia CORE. “More than 80% of the care is provided in community cancer centers, not in the academic centers. We foster success through collaboration, shared resources, and the identification of emerging opportunities that wouldn’t necessarily be possible for one center or doctor to do on their own.”

One of the organization’s priorities is to improve access to care and research for minorities and underserved communities and increase the involvement of minority populations in trials. As a result, in Georgia CORE’s current research program, about 25% of enrollees are minorities, in contrast to a national average of just 5%.

“One of our greatest success stories is that we can reach remote areas of the state,” Paris says. “By getting racial and ethnic minorities and rural populations involved in our studies we have delivered something of great value nationally and internationally.”

As well as putting Georgia on the frontline of international life sciences, the state’s world-leading universities, hospitals and research institutions have transformed it into one of the country’s main producers of new medical talent.

At Emory, Dr. Lewin estimates that one third of graduates from medical school stay in the state to work. “We are generating talent at an impressive rate. While we are delighted that we keep the best of the best here in Georgia, a big part of our mission is to train experts and then send them around the world.”

It is not only universities and charities in the state that are leading the fight against disease. Since 1946, Atlanta has housed the federal government agency which is now known as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one of the world’s leading medical science institutions. The center’s seven divisions work with partners throughout the US and around the world to prevent illness, disability and death caused by infectious diseases.

TOURISM DRIVES STATE ECONOMY TO NEW HEIGHTS Iconic venues & attractions have transformed Georgia into a leading destination for travelers

W

hen the Atlanta Falcons defeated the Green Bay Packers in the first ever regular NFL game at the $1.5 billion Mercedes-Benz Stadium this September, it was not only sports fans in Georgia who were celebrating.

“The Mercedes-Benz Stadium has created a lot of excitement about Atlanta, and we are already starting to see a great return on our investment,” says William Pate, President and CEO of the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau (ACVB). “It is going to pull more people into our city, create more business for us and drive employment numbers even higher.”

The spectacular stadium, with a retractable roof that closes in just 12 minutes, has become the latest symbol of Atlanta’s emergence as a sporting and cultural powerhouse, one which is drawing increasing numbers of visitors from across the USA and beyond.

In 2016, Georgia welcomed a record-breaking 105 million visitors, up 3% from the previous year, while the state’s tourism industry generated $61.1 billion in sales, up 3.5%. Tourism is now the fifth largest industry in the state, supporting the employment of some 450,000 Georgians.

Last year, almost half of visitors to Georgia, or 52 million people, made their way to Atlanta. Pate says it should not be too long before that figure reaches 60 million, driven the Mercedes-Benz Stadium and by the expansion of existing facilities including the 3.9 million-squarefoot Georgia World Congress Center (GWCC), which in 2016 hosted 523 events and welcomed more than 2.7 million visitors.

“Atlanta has a lot of momentum and there are many conventions that haven’t been to Atlanta in 20 or 30 years that are now interested in coming,” Pate says. “We are blessed with a large hotel portfolio of almost 100,000 rooms in the metro area, including 12,000 rooms within walking distance of the convention center.”

Georgia Aquarium, voted best aquarium in the U.S., attracts over 2 million guests annually for educational and entertaining experiences, and is reknowned for its global research and conservation programs.

Learn more at GeorgiaAquarium.org.

Business travel is one of the major drivers of economic growth in the city. According to a survey commissioned by event management software provider Cvent, Atlanta is now the fourth most popular city for conventions in the USA. With 80% of the country’s population under a two-hour flight away, a walkable convention district, award-winning restaurants and shopping options in Buckhead, plus the celebrated Midtown arts district, the Georgian capital draws business travelers from across the nation.

“Atlanta has been very fortunate that there have been corporations and individuals that have been willing to commit their own resources to build attractions that are close to the Congress Center,” says Frank Poe, Executive Director of the Georgia World Congress Center Authority. “Our venues, our attractions and our connectivity give us a unique environment that a lot of cities can’t compete with.”

Some of the city’s prime tourism sights include the College Football Hall of Fame, the World of Coca-Cola, and the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, as well as the Georgia Aquarium, which in 2016 recorded its second highest ever number of annual visitors, at more than 2.45 million people.

Already the largest aquarium in the US, Georgia Aquarium is continuing to expand new exhibits and add more species. In 2018, the venue will open a space for puffins, followed by King Penguins, an attractive penguin from the South Atlantic which can grow almost four-foot high. By the end of 2020, reveals Mike Leven, Chairman and CEO of Georgia Aquarium, the attraction aims to debut a $100 million exhibit of sharks, which may include the chance to dive with the fearsome creatures in cages. “Sharks are beautiful fish and bringing them to the Aquarium is only going to help increase our volumes of repeat visitors,” Leven says.

ATLANTA IS TRENDING

#atlmeetings #gwcc #gwccavision2020 #theworldisgettingbigger #discoveratl

OUR WORLD IS GETTING BIGGER; YOURS JUST GOT SMALLER The world’s largest LEED certified convention center is expanding, transforming the No.1 convention, sports and entertainment destination in the world. What does that mean for you?

Everything you need for your meeting will happen on a much more compact campus.

• Multi-use expansion hall creates 1M+ GSF of contiguous exhibit space (nearly 1.5M GSF overall) • A new retractable-roof stadium, the Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Home to Super Bowl L111) • New on-campus headquarter hotel • $27 million reenvisioning of Centennial Olympic Park

Georgia Aquarium is a not-for-profit organization, inspiring awareness and conservation of aquatic animals.

VISIT ATLANTAMEETINGS.COM TO LEARN MORE.

© Visit Savannah

© Mercedes Benz Stadium

© ACVB

Atlanta Beltline multi-use trails, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Mercer Williams House, Savannah

Savannah shines in the spotlight as Hollywood falls for the Peach State’s charms

I

t is not only the state capital that is reaping the rewards of the continuing resurgence in tourism. Last year, the cobblestone streets of the historic city of Savannah, the oldest city in Georgia, welcomed 13.8 million visitors from all over the country and beyond, spending almost $3 billion on goods and services. A regular member of Top 10 lists of American tourist destinations, Savannah’s combination of classic southern charm and hospitality with Old World architecture, a vibrant arts scene, and world-class restaurants and hotels has an irresistible appeal to new generations of visitors.

“Savannah is a completely unexpected, authentic and evocative experience,” says Joseph Marinelli, President of Visit Savannah. “We work hard to keep the historic atmosphere, but and we’re not afraid to embrace the hip and the cool and the vibrancy of a small city.”

Founded in 1733, and with its tallest building just five stories high, some of Savannah’s multiple attractions include trolley tours and riverboat cruises, 30-acre Forsyth Park, the historic city market, and the bustling River Street waterfront district. River Street is currently undergoing revitalization works that are adding new restaurants, hotels and offices to this already buzzing neighborhood. At the west end of River Street, developers are turning the former power plant into a mixed-use development that will include a 419room Marriott hotel. “The whole riverfront will be transformed,” Marinelli says. “It is going to provide the impetus for the next generation of visitors to come to Savannah.”

Unsurprisingly, the city is one of the most filmed and photographed in the US. The Savannah History Museum is the proud home to the bench where

Tom Hanks, as Forrest Gump, sat with his box of chocolates on Chippewa Square; the square itself is a popular destination for film and history buffs.

Georgia has a long history of hosting classic film and television productions, such as Driving Miss Daisy and television show The Dukes of Hazzard. More recently, the launch of a tax incentive and subsidy program has seen the state become one of the most popular locations in the US for producers, with 320 feature and TV productions taking place here in 2016. According to Governor Deal, those productions had a total economic impact of $9.5 billion —and an even greater impact is expected in 2017, which Deal has designated as the Year of Georgia Film.

As well as the revenue brought in by productions of Marvel superhero franchises and cult favorites such as the Hunger Games and The Walking Dead, the films have generated recurring income for Georgia as tourists from as far afield as Iceland and Germany come to see where the action took place.

“Some of these movies and shows have a huge international fan base,” says Lee Thomas, Deputy Commissioner of the Georgia Film, Music and Digital Entertainment Office. “Kids have been coming here in droves.”

Movies shot in Georgia also serve as an unbeatable showcase to the world of the state’s natural and cultural diversity, from the endless beaches of the Atlantic coastline and the rugged mountains of the high country to the charms of colonial Savannah and the cultural and sporting venues of fastgrowing Atlanta.

“Georgia is famous for its airport and its business travel assets, but we are also a fantastic tourism destination,” says Kevin Langston, Deputy Commissioner for Tourism at the Georgia Department of Economic Development. “In the last decade we have built a critical mass that will surprise a lot of people who haven’t been here for a while.”

AT THE HEART OF GLOBAL TRANSPORT Georgia is home to the world’s busiest airport & is a major hub for international shipping traffic

W

hen industrial construction worker Larry Kendrick boarded Delta Air Lines Flight 1256 from Gulfport to Atlanta in December 2015, he had no idea that he was about to fly his way into the history books.

A little over two hours after embarking, Kendrick was welcomed at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport as the 100 millionth passenger to pass through the airport in the year —the first time any airport in the world has ever reached the milestone in a calendar year.

“I’m happy I could be part of it,” the bemused 35-year-old said when he was greeted by the Mayor of Atlanta in a specially planned ceremony. To celebrate the occasion, Kendrick received prizes including two round-trip tickets to any destination in the world from Delta Air Lines, which is headquartered in Atlanta and operates the world’s largest airline hub at the airport.

The almost uninterrupted growth of Hartsfield-Jackson in recent years has been instrumental in the economic success of the state of Georgia, says Roosevelt Council Jr., the Airport General Manager.

“We are an economic engine for the region,” Council says. “Our direct economic impact on metro Atlanta is $34.8 billion and we have a total impact of $70.9 billion on Georgia. We are the largest employer in the state, with more than 63,000 employees.”

The airport, which served a record 104 million passengers in 2016, plays a key role in bringing corporate investment into the city. “When we go out and promote Atlanta, the airport always plays a major part,” Council says.

“Companies want to be able to move their employees in a rapid and efficient way to where they need to work. We are a very large part of Georgia being the best state to business in.”

While Hartsfield-Jackson is recognized globally as the world’s busiest airport, Council says that it is more important to the airport that it delivers efficient, safe and secure services to its customers. “We have 2,700 landings

410,740 CANCER SURVIVORS

and take-offs a day, so efficiency is crucial,” he explains. In 2017, for the 14th consecutive year, Hartsfield-Jackson was named the most efficient airport in the world by the Air Transport Research Society (ATRS), beating nearly 200 other airports to the title. “This gives a true indication of how we handle operations here,” Council says.

Initiated in 2016, a multibillion capital improvement plan, ATLNext, will deliver the airport with even higher levels of efficiency and safety. The program will modernize the domestic terminal and concourses, create new parking decks, construct a 440-room hotel, create extensive commercial office space, add a new runway and new concourse, and will massively expand the airport’s cargo facilities.

It is a plan that has been greeted with enthusiasm by Hartfield-Jackson’s largest customer, Delta Air Lines. “Airports are like a factory for airlines,” says the carrier’s Peter Carter, EVP, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary. “They are the places that airlines leave from and come to and they have to be designed and updated to ensure an efficient and as comfortable as possible experience for our passengers.”

“We want to be the very best airline for our employees and our customers, and that includes those in the next generation, harnessing the power of technology to provide the convenience and transparency that today’s travelers demand.”

Delta’s history of flying in Atlanta stretches back almost 90 years, when the airline moved its headquarters here in 1941. In the 1950s, the company pioneered the use of the hub and spoke system, bringing passengers to Atlanta to connect to other Delta flights. In August 1979, the airline became the first one in the world to board one million passengers in one month in just one city —Atlanta. The airline currently employs 35,000 people in Georgia, making it the state’s single largest employer.

We promote collaboration to ensure high quality cancer care is available in every corner of the state.

And patients have access to the latest treatments through clinical trials.

So we can all celebrate the lives of cancer survivors we love.

TOGETHER WE DO A LOT OF GOOD LEARN MORE:

GeorgiaCORE.org GeorgiaCancerInfo.org

D

elta’s presence at Hartfield-Jackson provides Georgia with a degree of international connectivity that few other parts of the US can match.

“Having one of the largest airports in the world is a huge competitive advantage for the state of Georgia,” Carter says.

In recent years, the airline has debuted new routes that link up Atlanta with nearly all of the world’s fastest growing markets. Starting in July 2018, Delta will operate a new non-stop service between Atlanta and Shanghai, creating a direct link between one of China’s major commercial and industrial centers and the state capital.

“Both global connectivity and maintaining a strong relationship with China are extremely vital to Georgia’s economic landscape,” Nathan Deal, State Governor, said when Delta released details of the new route. “The flight will help shorten supply chains for our companies and give them a daily link to China for time-sensitive distribution. I appreciate Delta Air Lines for all of its hard work in making sure that Georgia remains a leader in the global marketplace.”

It is not only in the air transport sector that Georgia is expanding its infrastructure and forging new trade links with the world. Governor Deal’s Transportation Funding Act of 2015 will generate $11 billion in new funding for transport over the next 10 years, including investment in roads, rail and waterways.

The largest infrastructure and logistics project in the state, and one of the biggest civil works undertakings in the country, is the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project (SHEP). Savannah is already the fourth busiest container port in the US, the country’s second largest exporter of containers, and home to the largest single container terminal in North America. The expansion works are now deepening the harbor and river channel, so that the port can efficiently serve the larger vessels that are calling in greater numbers following the expansion of the Panama Canal.

“We are spending billions of dollars of port revenue to give us the depth and the capacity to handle these large ships, whether they are coming into the US or transporting goods from Georgia to the world,” says Bart Gobeil, Senior Director of Economic Development and Government Affairs at the Georgia Ports Authority (GPA).

© The Decisive Moment Photojournalism

Delta Air Lines & the Port of Savannah are enhancing the state’s transport connections

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Delta Air Lines main hub

In September this year, the port welcomed the largest container ship ever to serve the East Coast of the US, a monster with the capacity for 14,414 twenty-foot equivalent container units (TEUs). As shipping lines evolve towards these giant, more cost-effective vessels, Savannah is seizing the opportunity to become the US port of choice for a new era in global shipping. “We are effectively a gateway port into the United States,” Gobeil says.

The expansion project will have significant financial benefits for shippers who use the port. Lower prices per container slot will reduce transportation costs for US companies moving goods through Savannah by 20 to 40%.

According to analysis by the US Army Corps of Engineers, shippers will save $282 million per year once the harbor deepening work is complete.

The $1 billion project is already 60% complete and all dredging should be finished by 2019.

As well as deepening the harbor, the GPA is also investing in state-of-theart equipment to enhance the efficiency of its operations. The GPA will add four ship-to-shore cranes in 2018 and another six in 2020, to bring the total to 36 cranes operating over nearly 10,000 feet of contiguous berth space in Savannah. At the same time, the GPA is investing $128 million to increase the port’s rail capacity and extend its rail connectivity with the American Midwest. The rail investment will enable the Port of Savannah to serve manufacturers in cities as far afield as St. Louis and Chicago, consolidating Georgia’s position at the heart of world shipping and trade.

“We have taken advantage of a strategic location on the south-eastern corner of the nation to become a global hub for trade,” Governor Deal says. “Our interconnected highways and waterways, combined with a ready-to-work community, create the ideal location for innovative companies to succeed.”

THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE POWER. Southwire delivers power to millions of people around the world.

At Southwire, our employees are The People Behind the Power™ of what is possible. We seek to discover, develop and distribute strong and sustainable solutions that exceed the expectations of our stakeholders around the world.

southwiresustainability.com

GEORGIA: A LONG TRADITION OF GIVING Georgian business leaders have maintained the state’s historical commitment to philanthropy & charitable giving established upon its founding

W

hen the English prison reformer and humanitarian James Oglethorpe founded the colony of Georgia in 1732, charity was one of his major motivations. The first settlers consisted of former detainees of English debtors’ prisons who were being given a new chance in a new world, as well as religious refugees from across Europe, including both Protestants and Jews. In those early years, slavery was prohibited, as were large landholdings: Oglethorpe’s dream was of an equitable, egalitarian society based above all on family farming.

While a lot has changed in Georgia in the nearly three centuries since then, to this day the state is characterized by an abiding culture of philanthropy and charity. Casual visitors are often surprised by the extent to which some of the leading institutions of Atlanta and other cities have been shaped by philanthropists, ranging from universities to arts venues to hospitals.

In today’s Georgia, private donors are helping to make sure that noone misses out or gets left behind in the continuing economic boom. In the historic Westside District around the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation (AMBFF), established in 1995 by Home Depot co-founder Arthur Blank, is working to improve infrastructure and leisure options, train residents for job opportunities, and help protect locals from the impact of rising property taxes.

“A priority for our foundation is making sure that the people who have invested their lives for generations in the Westside, and who want to stay there, will still be able to,” says AMBFF President and Trustee Penny McPhee.

Some of the city’s largest corporations are also supporting communities in the fast-changing district. “Access to financial services is a very important part of growth in the Westside, and that’s a big part of our purpose,” says Allison Dukes, Chairman and CEO of the Atlanta Division of SunTrust Banks, one of the state’s leading financial institutions and the first to open a retail branch in the Westside. “Our purpose is to light the way to financial wellbeing.”

Philanthropy thrives across the Georgian business community. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, a team of 10 employees from Southwire, the country’s leading manufacturer of wires and cables for electricity, traveled to Mississippi to assist with a Christmas event planned for victims. That visit marked the launch of the company’s Project GIFT® (Giving Inspiration for Tomorrow), an initiative that has grown rapidly in recent years. In 2017, Project GIFT® volunteers have handed out 23,000 bags of supplies to school students. “Today we have 900 volunteers for Project GIFT® from our company of 7,500 employees,” says Rich Stinson, Southwire’s President and CEO. At the same time, this year Southwire is celebrating the 10th anniversary of its 12 for Life initiative, which provides high school students with the opportunity to receive mentoring and earn wages in a manufacturing facility, inspiring them to complete 12 years of schooling. “It is very encouraging to see at-risk students getting into either a technical school, a four-year school, the workforce or the military,” Stinson says.

Meanwhile leading local companies such as Delta Air Lines are donating 1% of its annual net income to charity which is almost $40 million, showing that the motto of Oglethorpe’s original group of Trustees of Georgia is just as relevant in the state as ever —“not for ourselves, but for others.”

THE WORLD IS CHANGED BY

THOSE OUT IN IT. 334 destinations. 62 countries. 1 airline.

Based on July 2017 global operating flights.

Georgia remains committed to improving the state’s education system Nathan Deal, Governor, State of Georgia The Georgia Senate unanimously approved a record $25 billion state budget in March which took effect on July 1st.

My FY 2018 budget reflects conservative fiscal principles and the solid economic growth Georgia continues to enjoy, laying the foundation for continued short-term and long-term success. It maintains Georgia’s position as a national leader in conservative fiscal management and further strengthens our top I have made priorities: quality education for all children, public investments in safety in our communities, education a top an economy that continues priority.” to generate jobs and an infrastructure system that supports a growing population.

With this budget, we are working to make Georgia a better place to live, work and play by investing in public safety personnel, teachers and others responsible for ensuring the safety of Georgia’s children.

You believe a strong education system leads to a strong economy.

Since first taking office, I have made investments in education a top priority, with emphasis on putting Georgia’s students on track to read on grade-level. Our investment translates into roughly 50 percent of all new state revenue growth going to K-12 public education. These investments are already yielding meaningful results, as Georgia’s graduation rate has increased from 67.4 percent in 2011 to 79.2 percent today.

As we work to maintain Georgia’s position as the top state for business and job creation, we are also looking to the future to ensure that our current students are prepared to meet tomorrow’s workforce needs. To see meaningful long-term career ranking speaks to the commitment and support from our businesses, our success for students, we have partnered with Georgia’s universities and communities across the state and the citizens of Georgia.

In 2016, Georgia’s tourism industry generated a record breaking technical colleges to improve education and training in high-demand fields. We will continue with these initiatives to provide students with $61.1 billion in business sales in including direct, indirect and induced impact, up 3.5 percent from last year. The tourism industry supports greater career opportunities and brighter futures. employment across multiple industry Georgia remains committed to imsectors, employing an estimated proving our state’s education system by Georgia’s economic growth 450,000 Georgians statewide. increasing student access to high-perGeorgia welcomed 105 million forming schools and learning environis a result of strong and prosperous visitors to the state last year, and many of ments conducive to today’s academic communities across the state.” them came to experience the birthplaces standards. By focusing improvement of great music all over Georgia. To efforts and education resources on our lowest-performing schools, our most vulnerable students will have celebrate that fact, we chose “Year of Georgia Music” as last year’s tourism campaign, highlighting our rich music heritage, talented artists, greater opportunities for success. must–see attractions, and many iconic music venues.

How important is tourism not only for Atlanta but for the whole This year, we are celebrating the “Year of Georgia Film.” The 320 state of Georgia? feature film and television productions shot in Georgia in Fiscal Year 2016 For the fourth consecutive year, Georgia has been named the No. 1 state represented $2.02 billion in direct spending in the state with an economic in the U.S. in which to do business by Site Selection magazine. This impact of over $9.5 billion.

With the support of our statewide economic development partners, is well under way, with the improvement of the outer harbor 60 percent we provide an all-encompassing experience that cannot be found complete and the entire project on schedule for a 2021 finish. Because anywhere else. What’s more, we are home to a vibrant shipping lines go where port services are most efficient, socioeconomic culture with world-renowned tourism the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project will keep destinations, diverse arts and cultural assets, music them calling on Savannah. This is vital for the 380,000 history and a booming entertainment industry that Georgia jobs currently supported by port operations, to do business make Georgia a great place to live, work, visit and play. and for expanding the Georgia Port Authority’s potential 4 years in a row to support future economic development.

#1 state

Georgia has been named # 1 state for business four years in a row and it hosts the American branch of several multinationals like Porsche and many Fortune 500 companies.

$25 billion

What will be the driving forces of the state’s economic performance in 5 years?

We are fortunate in Georgia to have a wide range of industries and all manner of businesses. Our largest industry here in the No. 1 state for business happens to be agri-business. But we’re also the Silicon Valley of the South. Over the past year alone, such iconic tech brands as NCR, Honeywell, GE Digital, and Keysight Technologies have relocated to or expanded in new transportation Georgia, just to name a few. The U.S. Army also began construction of the new Cyber Command headquarters funding over the at Fort Gordon in Augusta toward the end of last year, next 10 years which also houses the Cyber Center of Excellence – a training facility for cyberspace operations. Another state tool in our arsenal for security and economic development is the aforementioned Georgia Cyber Innovation and Training Center, an effective education private sector jobs and training center from which all manner of state, local created across and private organizations can benefit and will, in part, Georgia since 2011 serve as an incubator for startup companies.

All of this is on top of our education initiatives to introduce coding and other STEM curricula earlier on in K-12 classrooms. Technology continues to play What needs to be done to maintain this position an increasingly outsized role in jobs and economic as a prime investment destination?

Georgia’s graduation performance, and Georgia is ready for that ongoing We’re investing in our transportation infrastructure in paradigm shift in the job market that we will see more rate today an unprecedented way. Last year, my administration and more of in the next five years. released a comprehensive infrastructure maintenance We’re also cultivating another prominent industry plan made possible through the Transportation Funding Act of 2015. This that promises to see increased growth in Georgia for the foreseeable legislation will, over the course of 10 years, generate $11 billion in new future – film and TV production. Georgia-lensed productions generated transportation funding which we an economic impact of more than will use to support projects that $7 billion during this past fiscal The state of Georgia works diligently to alleviate traffic and improve safety year, and we were recently named for a growing state.

No. 1 in feature film production, maintain the coveted AAA rating, and we are We’ve taken advantage beating out California, New York one of only nine states to earn this distinction.” of a strategic location on the and London. With our strong tax Southeastern corner of the incentives and growing Georgia nation to become a global hub for trade, with the fourth busiest port in Film Academy, which trains workers in the numerous behind-the-camera the nation, the busiest airport in the world and two Class One rail lines. positions that accompany any production, we’ll see those blockbuster Our interconnected highways and waterways, combined with a ready- figures become even greater. Over the next three to five years, in fact, the to-work community, create the ideal location for innovative companies industry is projected to generate 3,000 to 5,000 new jobs with average to succeed. But the most important logistics infrastructure improvement salaries of $84,000 a year. in the state – and indeed the entire Southeast region – is the Savannah So from produce to production and premier technologies, over the Harbor Expansion Project. I am proud to say that the harbor deepening next half decade, it’ll all be made in Georgia.

We are very proud of the fact that Georgia has been recognized again and again as the No. 1 place in the nation in which to do business for four years in a row, and there have been roughly 600,000 private sector jobs created across Georgia since 2011 – an impressive figure that we will continue to grow over the coming years. In order to do that, we’re reinforcing our strong school to workforce pipeline from Pre-K through higher education so that the students of today will be well prepared for the jobs of tomorrow. We’re also taking advantage of our nationally-recognized Quick Start workforce training program, our HOPE Career Grant that provides free tuition for those who go into a highdemand field, and our Move on When Ready and Dual Enrollment initiatives that allow high school students to earn college credit and enter the workforce sooner. In short, we’re preparing a skilled talent pool in Georgia capable of meeting the demands of employers for years to come in an ever-changing marketplace.

state budget FY 2018

$11 billion

600,000

79.2%

Education unleashed, a roadmap for the future of public education in Georgia Casey Cagle, Lieutenant Governor, State of Georgia What is currently at the top of your agenda?

I’m very focused on improving infrastructure, creating the jobs our state will need, promoting greater economic prosperity for all of Georgia — especially throughout the rural parts of our state, building out real broadband access to those communities that don’t have access today, and reducing taxes to help energize our economy and allow hardworking Georgians to keep more of what they earn.

Workforce is the buzz word and education is one of your priorities.

My biggest priority is building a workforce in Georgia that is second to none. I have been focused on designing an educational system that meets the needs of each local community to ensure economic prosperity across our state. I believe in an educational system that sets an academic floor My biggest for all students, with no cracks to drop between, but also an priority is building a workforce in Georgia educational system where there is no ceiling to hold students back that is second to none.” from going as far and as high as they want to go.

I have created 40 College and Career Academies across Georgia which give high school students the ability to earn college credits, industry certifications, and associate degrees in a particular career field of their choosing. Typically, each College and Career Academy offers 15-20 different program pathways, based on an industry analysis within their community. We are also looking ahead to identify the kind of highdemand, dynamic, skilled industries we want to attract and to build the necessary workforce to recruit those industries.

The other signature workforce development initiative I’ve launched is a 3-year high school apprenticeship program called Georgia CATT, which is based on the German apprenticeship model in industrial mechanics. We want to create more and more apprenticeship programs to appropriately align education with industry – as we build the kind of workforce that we’re going to need in the future, which includes industrial mechanics and welders, but also the imminent scholars, the doctorates and those individuals that will become nurse practitioners or the MDs for cancer research, the next Nobel Peace Prize winner, the Rhodes Scholar.

College

and fosters a culture of entrepreneurship, from incubators to accelerators and maker spaces.

And we want to create more of these types of opportunities, which is why I created Invest Georgia. Invest Georgia is really about building up more venture capital within our state and $100 million has been committed over several years to attract and create more venture capital presence in Georgia. The reason this is important is because more than 75% of our nation’s venture capital is located in California, Massachusetts and New York. I want Georgia to be a leader in venture capital and on the cutting edge of industry innovation to take our economy to the next level.

What challenges will you face if elected Governor of Georgia?

Challenges can be overcome with the right focus and priorities. Being a governor gives you the ability to promote our state, to build upon those areas where we are weak to make them strong, but also to elevate our real positives, the great things that we are doing and take them to the highest level.

We are committed to building the new industries of the 21st century and I have a strong goal of creating 500,000 new jobs in Georgia over the next four years. To do that, it requires me to help existing companies grow and succeed, give them the workforce that they need, break down the & Career barriers that they have in terms of being able to access Academies across the strongest marketplaces in Georgia and abroad.

Georgia But it also requires me to recruit new industries from a worldwide perspective. That’s actually the easy part because we have so much synergy within the wider students enrolled in ecosystem of industries for companies that want to locate in Georgia.

Georgia’s College & A very high priority of mine will be to grow Career Academies companies in communities across our state – and by doing so – to build a new economy that is focused around a world-class workforce, which is second to none, an ecosystem that fosters new technology and new jobs promised if innovation and a network of economic engines that elected Governor launch new companies and new entrepreneurs.

40

You are passionate about start-ups.

I have put more money in the budget each year to be able to leverage start-ups and drive economic innovation. I want to see 100 Georgia start-ups a year. I believe that innovation is the future.

The economy is changing rapidly in terms of bringing solutions to the marketplace. The younger generation is able to see the marketplace in a totally different way than someone of my generation would, and that excites me. It’s changing the landscape of our economy and I view that as a very positive thing. I’m focused on growing new technologies, growing new industries and developing an ecosystem that allows

20,000

500,000

A solid leadership that transformed the city Kasim Reed, Mayor, City of Atlanta You have put major infrastructure in place since you took office in 2010.

If you want to plan for the future you have to plough money into roads, bridges, transit, walkability and livability. We’ve put up ballot measures which supported one sales tax or another, and funded the largest expansion of rail in our city’s history, a $2.6 billion expansion that will probably leverage another $3 billion totaling $5.6 billion. We did a Renew Atlanta Bond to focus on smart city, traffic light synchronization for a quarter of a billion.

Then we passed another $350 million for infrastructure to focus on our roads, sidewalks, greenspaces, and to close out the Atlanta BeltLine project, which is one of the most transformational reclamation projects in the world, connecting 45 neighborhoods across our city.

Atlanta is in the top In Midtown, there are 22 new 10 US cities for foreign construction projects adding 9,000 units of housing within direct investment.” two miles, primarily driven by the technology corridor. So, the fundamentals are roaring right now, with $4 billion in new construction, which is the highest level of new construction activity ever. We are already shattering last year’s numbers and it looks like we’ll hit $5 billion during the next year.

We also have the busiest passenger airport in the world with the second highest level of international connectivity of US cities, second to New York.

You’re at the forefront of the green city movement to combat climate change.

We’ve had the largest population increase in 50 years, with 50,000 people coming to live in Atlanta during the time I’ve been in office.

We also have the second fastest growing foreign-born population by percentage on the eastern seaboard and embracing it. I launched an initiative called Welcoming Atlanta which is focusing on everything that we can to welcome immigrants and foreign-born individuals to Atlanta.

Our climate initiatives are at the center because I fundamentally believe that cities are the primary polluters. People who live in cities are demanding a high quality of life, but part of that quality of life is clean air, so being forward leaning as it relates to climate issues is necessary, because there is no planet B. We’ve launched the largest solar initiative of any city in the state, we What legacy do you leave behind?

My legacy is very clear, I want to leave our city in the have reduced our water consumption by 20%, we’re strongest financial condition that it has ever been so that the number one city in the United States in the Better the people of Atlanta have a choice and can shape the Buildings Challenge, where 100 million square feet of future that they want and not operate from a position of private sector owners are retrofitting their buildings to largest concentration desperation or weakness. I became Mayor in the midst reduce energy consumption by 20% by the year 2020. of Fortune 500 of the worst economy in 80 years. It was awful. When Global cities are going to have to meet some I took this job, we had $7.4 million in reserves. The standards in order to be considered global cities and to companies first thing I did was sign a Tax Anticipation Note Loan continue to attract foreign direct investment. The City of so that our payroll wouldn’t bounce. You fast-forward Atlanta is now in the top 10 US cities for foreign direct seven years and our credit has improved nine positions, investment, and if you are not forward leaning around we’re AA+, and among the seven cities with the best issues related to CO2 emissions and cooling the planet, you just aren’t as attractive a place to do business. in new construction credit from Standard and Poor’s, Moody’s and Fitch in America. We have $175 million cash today, which is Atlanta is very popular for relocation of business better than gold standard for a general fund and we will and people. leave with $200 million in surplus, the largest cash on We have had 18 regional or North American hand in the history of the city. headquarters selecting Atlanta in the last 48 months Finally, we want this to be a place where the culture in surplus and the third largest concentration of Fortune 500 is such that great people want to come to be cared for, businesses in America behind Houston and New York. trained and have their career.

3rd

$4 billion

$175 million

Creating jobs & investment opportunities in Georgia Pat Wilson, Commissioner, Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) What are your priorities going forward in 2017?

Georgia has been named the number one place in the nation in which to do business for four years running, which is really indicative of a great environment. There is a lot going on in Metro Atlanta with innovation, fintech, cyber security and many international headquarters, but there’s also a lot going on across the state with advanced manufacturing. We are seeing tremendous growth in our ports, which have continued to drive Our job is logistics companies to the state. The to make it as easy current momentum in Georgia is pretty as possible for the amazing and I’ve joked many times that my job is to stay out of the way and let private sector to the momentum continue. continue to grow.”

Our job is to make it as easy as possible for the private sector to continue to grow. As an example, we have a fintech industry that has grown from its infancy right here in ‘Transaction Alley’, which is what the industry likes to call it, and today about 70% of all financial transactions on the internet worldwide touch a company right here in Atlanta.

Georgia’s approach to economic development has been to create a strong workforce.

We have an integrated approach to economic development. We support companies from birth, help them to grow and at the same time, we focus on quality of life, the business environment and the workforce, and as a result jobs are attracted to Georgia.

We focus on creating a place in which companies want to do business and want to grow, that’s been a pretty successful formula for us. We are really focused on the long-term workforce and our job as a state is to continue this for the next 20 years and beyond.

An example of this is the BioScience Training Center in Covington, Georgia, created by the governor three years ago. The goal is similar to that of recently announced Georgia Cyber Innovation and Training Center, in Augusta, which is to continue to train that workforce of the future so that companies that come to Georgia have access to the talent that they need to build their industry.

operation center in Georgia in 2016. As Honeywell’s senior vice president of engineering, operations and IT said, “Atlanta offers us access to some of the brightest and most innovative software talent in the U.S.” This is great for the state because for years and years we have graduated some of the best and brightest from Georgia Tech and Emory state for business and we’ve seen them leave to go compete against 2013-2016 us in other states. We are seeing less of that as we’re creating these amazing job opportunities. We must keep the best and brightest Georgians here.

#1

What is the contribution of innovation and technology to the state economic development?

If you don’t innovate, you fall behind. We’re not competing with North or South Carolina, we’re competing with the world, which means that companies that are located in Georgia constantly have to innovate to stay competitive.

If you are a manufacturer in Dublin, Georgia, or a cyber security company in Augusta, you have to stay on the cutting edge. So, our focus is to keep the millennials that are coming out of Georgia Tech, Georgia State University, University of Georgia and Emory, at home.

Honeywell was the third corporate giant to locate an innovative software development and

#1

workforce training program

#1

industrial engineering program

What are the reasons for Georgia’s success?

I do believe that one of the reasons we’ve been so successful is because Georgia is very well managed.

We have a history of a fiscally conservative yet business friendly leadership. Georgia is one of eight states that continue to maintain an AAA bond status by all three major rating agencies and one of the very few states that maintained a balanced budget throughout the fiscal crisis. Also, our university system is working closely with the business community to create the right jobs of the future.

Production tax incentives is one of the many incentives Lee Thomas, Deputy Commissioner, Georgia Film, Music & Digital Entertainment Office (GDEcD) Can you give us an overview of the film industry in Georgia?

We started losing business to Canada in the late 90s when they introduced strong film incentives. Then in the early 2000s we lost the film “Ray”, the Ray Charles story, who is a Georgia native, because Louisiana implemented a very aggressive tax incentive program for their film industry. That was a big wake up call for us: either we get into the business and level the playing field or we get out completely.

Our first tax incentives were introduced in 2005, but we only started seeing benefits after a new improved one was made effective in 2008.

In 2007 the industry generated a $241 million economic impact and in 2017, $9.5 billion, so the business has changed dramatically since the tax incentives were implemented.

Are the tax incentives the reason for the success of the business?

They are critical, but not the only one. You can have great incentives but if you don’t have the crew or infrastructure, it´s not enough. Studios are looking for places that have everything, and Georgia really is that place.

It is built for the industry.

We already had the basis: the crew, infrastructure and diverse locations.

We can find a location for almost any script that comes across our office: mountains, a metropolitan city, small towns, coastline, etc. We have a temperate climate. And we have easy access to the world’s busiest airport The film with 26 flights a day to Los Angeles.

Since 2010, 14 new sound stages industry in Georgia is have been built here including EUE/ a relevant economic Screen Gems, Pinewood, Atlanta sector & employs Metro Studios, Third Rail and Tyler 80,000 Georgians.” Perry Studios.

The film industry in Georgia is a relevant economic sector and employs 92,000 Georgians. Other destinations like Hollywood or New York are definitely aware of Georgia and know what is going on right now here in our state as far as film production.

Does the film industry help tourism in Georgia?

Do you have the workforce and talent to work in the industry?

Every year, Georgia Tourism picks an industry to focus on. “Year of We definitely do, but it has been our biggest challenge because of such Culinary”, “Year of Georgia Music” and 2017 is the “Year of Georgia a rapid growth. Compared to most other markets, we have a substantial Film”.

Our office deals mainly with the production side trying to get movies crew base. Governor Deal put in place the High Demand Career Initiative to be filmed here. But we know that the economic (HDCI) and the film industry was one of the impact from each film does not come only from priorities. As a result of the HDCI, Governor Deal production money, but also money that comes created the Georgia Film Academy, which has been afterwards from what we call ‘film tourism’. An up and running for about a year and a half now. film industry’s example of that is the 5 episodes of Dukes of Hazard It was a great foresight by the Governor. We shot here in 1979, it is still one of the biggest tourism used to sell ourselves on location, location, location, economic impact drivers for Newton County many years later. but producers were more worried if they’re able to A lot of films shot here brought a lot of tourists: find the right crew and equipment. We have shown Driving Miss Daisy, My Cousin Vinny, In the Heat that we heard them and addressed the problem and of the Night, Midnight in the Garden of Good and that they will be able to find experienced crew here Evil, to name a few. More recently, movies like in Georgia. feature films & TV Catching Fire and the Hunger Games attracted a productions in 2016 Is it hard to brand Georgia as a film production lot of young people the Atlanta History Center. destination?

We’re home to the Marvel movies and The It is as far as coming up with a name. I think it has Walking Dead, which have a huge international been difficult because people use Hollywood of fan base. People from Iceland, Germany and other the South, Y’allywood, etc. But we don’t want that, countries come to Georgia to see Woodbury, the Year of Georgia Film because we are a unique place and not a derivative fictional town in Senoia, Georgia. We have several of Hollywood. movie tours popping up.

$9.5 billion 320

2017

Building workforce to strengthen growing economy Ben Hames, Deputy Commissioner, Workforce (GDEcD) What is your workforce development strategy?

One of Georgia’s strengths is that we tend to sing from the same sheet of music. I think that’s what you hear from folks that choose Georgia, folks that expand into Georgia as opposed to our competitor states or other regions around the world.

Governor Deal focused on economic development right from the beginning and his goal was to make Georgia the number one state in the nation in which to do business. He focused on tax policy, business friendly policies, low regulation, but also on a strong workforce that could support a growing economy.

We have created a demandWe have created a driven workforce system in which we engage with demand driven workforce system in which we engage businesses to understand their needs. When you post a with businesses to understand position and you can’t fill it, their needs.” we want to know so that we can identify those workforce gaps and come up with policies, new programming, and expand capacity in order to bridge the gap and meet those needs.

We’re committed to a process and that process is to listen to the private sector. Last month, we had 60,000 job postings in Georgia. We have our hands full trying to meet demand today and we look to the private sector to tell us what their needs will be 5 to 10 years down the road.

What is the HDCI? The Governor’s High Demand Career Initiative (HDCI) is a platform for the public-private conversation to understand what has to be done policy wise. One success of HDCI is the extension of 100% free tuition in 12 program areas in over 200 different programs in our technical college system covering areas where there is critical workforce shortage.

The HDCI is actually an exercise between the Georgia Department of Economic Development, the University System of Georgia and the Technical College System of Georgia. Those three entities are the key players in this initiative, which is designed to identify, examine and address the workforce shortages in key industries across the state.

What can you tell us about WorkSource Georgia?

WorkSource Georgia is the brand that we’re operating under across the state. Our focus is to bring all the partners that do workforce development together and have a very unified front. We’re focused on training folks that are not in the workforce, fill those open positions and also, hopefully, unlock their gifts and talents so that they can take their rightful place in the workforce. We also work with Georgians who have reached a turning point in their careers and need upskilling to remain competitive in the workforce.

Regardless of where you are in your career, there is a WorkSource Georgia resource in place to help.

What are the challenges that you are facing?

We have some shortages in areas which you can

consider national or even global trends; commercial truck drivers, registered nurses, information technology. If you don’t have a shortage in information technology, you probably don’t have a strong economy. It’s an area of the economy that has exploded and experiencing some tightness there is understandable. We’ve also created some of our own problems of prosperity.

Take the film industry, where we’ve had incredible growth, going from a $250 million to a $9.5 billion industry in nine years, we have created a real workforce challenge, but that is a good problem to have.

What is the uniqueness of the economy of Georgia and why should companies relocate here?

We’ve done a number of things in Georgia that are somewhat unique. The collaborative nature between government, private sector and the education sector is one. Governor Deal has from day one been a real champion in bringing people together. Any honest conversation about economic development would recognize that this is a region in the world graduate students that is growing, that is attracting investment and capital. Georgia may be doing a little better than per year some of our neighboring states, but nonetheless, this is the place where people want to be and I think we’re going to continue to benefit from that.

60,000+ 5

state-wide workforcedevelopment programs

#1 state

in all U.S. surveys of site selection professionals for the last 14 years

What would be your key message to businesses looking to relocate?

The Georgia leadership is very focused on hearing from you and supporting your needs as a business.

A number of states would talk about being business friendly, but they probably don’t have the same level of collaboration and buy-in to ensure they make things work for them.

Start planning your trip to Georgia Kevin Langston, Deputy Commissioner, Tourism (GDEcD) Last year tourism revenue reached $61.1 billion. What are the reasons for this success?

It is the first time we passed the $60 billion mark and the first time we welcomed more than 100 million visitors. These numbers reflect not only a strong economy but also the fact that we have a very diverse tourism product. We have beautiful scenic mountains up north; the biggest city in the southeast with all the attractions that a great city offers in terms of arts, culture, entertainment, shopping, restaurants; charming and historic small towns scattered all over the state; and 100 miles of beautiful coastline. Not We offer the many states have all of those assets to best of the South & offer, we’re fortunate.

all the things this region has to offer.”

What’s special about Georgia as a tourism destination?

We offer the best of the South and all the things this region has to offer which includes cuisine, culture and warm, southern hospitality. Southern people are very warm and welcoming. Our diverse offerings make Georgia an attractive vacation destination because our visitors can find everything they are looking for.

What about Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Events (MICE) tourism, how strong is this segment?

Atlanta has always been a big market for meetings and conventions, and it is constantly growing. The Georgia World Congress Center (GWCC) will soon embark on a major construction project which will give us over 1 million square feet of contiguous space. This will put us back at the top level of convention cities in the country and we will be able to compete for almost any type of business. We want people to come for the meetings and conventions that are held here but we want them to come earlier or stay longer and bring their families. There are great tourism opportunities here so we want to make people aware of this possibility.

Are your tourists national or international?

International tourism is still a small part of our market at about 10%, but it’s by far the fastest growing portion of our visitors.

Two years ago, we were the fastest growing state in the country for international tourism. Our visitors are not just from Canada and Western Europe, our in tourism two traditional markets, but from other countries too. Our top 10 markets now include China, Japan, Korea, Brazil and Australia.

later, every month Covington still has people who come to see the sites from the show.

We invite people to check out the movie tours, which cover every genre, such as the Gone with the Wind tour, the Zombie tour, and the Heroes tour which combines sites from all of the Marvel and Hunger Games movies that were shot here. There are numerous sites across the state that can put film fans in the scenes from their favourite film or television shows.

$61.1 billion

How does the film industry affect tourism?

The film industry has a huge impact on tourism.

There are two stages, the first is during production, when movies are a huge consumer of rooms, one recent project as an example, used over 23,000 room nights during production. But film tourism also has a “long tail,” and the best illustration of this is the Dukes of Hazzard, a TV show that shot five episodes in Covington, Georgia in 1979. Thirty-eight years

revenue

105 million visitors

3.5% growth in 2016

What is your goal going forward?

To become the number one tourism destination in the American south and continue being one of the top industries in Georgia. We constantly focus on growing Georgia’s economy by promoting our tourism offerings and successfully marketing the state as a preferred travel destination. This goal guides our efforts in ensuring that we make it easy for people to find the things that they’d like to see and do in our state. On our website, ExploreGeorgia.org, we’re constantly adding new content and ideas for folks to discover and explore while they’re here. We are always adding new content that is specific to the season or growing travel trends. We want to make sure every traveller has “Georgia On Their Mind.”

Continuing to surpass expectations Bart Gobeil, Senior Director of Economic Development & Governmental Affairs, Georgia Ports Authority What is the Georgia Ports Authority (GPA)’s economic and social impact in the state’s development?

We have 1,100 employees working at the GPA, but through economic models and different assessments that we’ve enlisted, we support around 380,000 jobs around the state of Georgia. We also contribute about 7.5% to the state’s GDP, around $33.2 billion out of $340 billion. While the main activity is in Savannah and Garden City, we also have inland ports in Cordele in Central Georgia and another planned up in Murray County in Northwest Georgia. We are now looking at new areas in the northeast for other inland port opportunities there.

Major investments are being committed to the port expansion and infrastructure.

The expansion plan is set up in different projects and overall, 35% has been done. The outer harbor expansion is already about 60% complete.

We’re also deepening the inner harbor to support larger ships. Currently, we are serving 14,000-unit ships. To best serve those massive vessels, we must provide not only the depth, but also the capacity to move the goods off the ships. We’re spending billions of dollars of port revenue to It’s been a facilitate this capacity, and can now handle 5,000-6,000 transactions per great year with ship, whether it is into the US or from tremendous Georgia to the world. results.”

We have also purchased $7577 million worth of cranes that will be delivered in two years. This isn’t just an automatic, next election cycle, it is an investment that the state has made. Same thing with the transportation and infrastructure bill that was passed three years ago.

We need people to see the bigger picture and we’ve been blessed through Governor Deal’s leadership and others that have served the state to have had that foresight. A lot of other states don’t have that at all. They are just looking two to four years down the road. We’re looking 20 to 40 years down the road.

When do you expect the expansion project to finalise?

We’re looking at 2020-2021 timeframe. We’re seeing heavy and big ships come in now because we have a generous tide, but it’s going to be much easier once the harbor expansion project is completed.

How important is the environment for the GPA? We are a big, heavy operation and the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project (SHEP) has dedicated 50% cost to environmental mitigation, and that’s something that we’re proud of.

The GPA has had excellent results this year.

It’s been a great year with tremendous results. Another record year for the past fiscal year which ended on June 30th. And now, we have had a record July, so we’re moving into the next fiscal year with a new

record too. Our budget —what we’re projected to accomplish in this fiscal year— will be another record. So, we’re continuing to surpass expectations. It just doesn’t benefit the region, it benefits the state and the Southeastern U.S. too.

What are the key KSF when promoting Georgia?

$84 billion economic impact

380,000

jobs supported around the state of Georgia

7.5%

contribution to the state’s GDP

Everybody in Georgia is focused on workforce and we do that by going to the companies first asking what kind of skill set they need and then we approach academia. The Governor has been very forward thinking in this sense and consequently we train people that the industries need, whether they are welders, forklift drivers or logistics experts. We look at what the demand is and then supply that demand instead of trying to create a supply and hope the demand comes. This is one of the ways our agents all over the globe are selling the state of Georgia and why it’s such a phenomenal place to do business. Number one, it’s been validated four years in a row, and number two, we’re a right to work state. We are a state with a relatively low cost of living. We are a state with an outstanding educational system. We’re a state with the right attitude, which gets out of your way and lets you conduct your business. We cut through bureaucratic red tape and find a solution. We’re with the business people and investors through this whole integration.

The most efficient airport in the world Roosevelt Council Jr., Airport General Manager, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL) What is ATL’s role in Georgia’s economic prosperity?

Hartsfield-Jackson is the region’s top economic engine. It’s a role that we take very seriously, not only with the number of people that we employ but the number of people that are impacted by the airport. In the last economic study that was done, we contributed $35 billion to the Atlanta metro area, and I believe nearly $70 billion across the state.

For companies who choose to locate here, one of the most important elements in their decision-making process is mobility. We provide such mobility, as passengers and business leaders can get to over 80% of the country’s population within a two-hour flight from here. When we go out and promote the city, the airport always plays a major role in that promotion. We see ourselves as a very large part of the success Georgia plays in hosting business leaders; it is the best state in which to do business and we take our role very seriously.

The airport is investing heavily in major expansion and improvements.

One of the most important things airports do every 15-20 years is to produce a masterplan designed to understand, from a projection perspective, what the passenger and other demands will be and whether the current, existing infrastructure is enough to handle that. For us, it never When we go appears to be enough. In 2015, we had 101 million passengers and in 2016, we out and promote the city, the airport had 104 million, and we’re not seeing that growth slowing down much. We’re is always a part of currently looking at the 2030 projected that contingency.” demand and our capacity to accept that demand, in terms of our airfield, our terminals, and all other areas that would be impacted, including our parking capacity. We’re working with our airline partners and their strategies around scheduling, new flights, and new routes which will all come into play. The plan really becomes a very fully vested look in terms of what we need to do to make sure ATL remains the hub that it is.

Any areas of the expansion project that you would like to highlight?

Yes, there are actually several things. One of the things that is most important, just below the safety and security for all of our passengers and employees, is our customer service component. We take that very seriously. Although we’re the world’s busiest airport, this place still needs to be aesthetically pleasing and an experience for our travellers, so we will modernize some of the terminal facilities for this purpose.

We will also expand our Concourse T, adding five additional gates to address demand. We are also planning another parking deck, which will have about 5,200 parking spaces. We’re looking to expand our cargo footprint as we also want the airport to be humming at night, which means more jobs and more people working. We aim to triple our current cargo capacity, also in terms of warehouse space.

ATL has five parallel runways, which allows us to manage about 2,700 landings and take-offs per day. That is almost a million a year and we have about 900,000 right now. We’ll also extend our train system to where the turnaround time is quicker for our current 285,000 daily passengers. When you have 104 million passengers, you need to have as many efficiencies as possible, there’s no room, no time to spare. We’re also first year ATL going to be doing an end-around taxiway to allow declared world’s quick exit of airplanes from the runway. This will busiest airport literally save the airlines millions of dollars in fuel as taxiing and waiting will be reduced.

1998

104 million passengers in 2016

2,700

landings & take-offs per day

Final message to our readers?

We’re proud to be labelled the world’s busiest airport, but for the past 14 years in a row, we’ve also been named the world’s most efficient airport. Believe it or not, that’s the one that means more to us because it is really a true indication of how we handle operations.

Efficiency is crucial, but so is the safety and security of our passengers, which is at the forefront of what we do. It is a very large and very dynamic system that drives the success of Hartsfield-Jackson and it will always be that way.

The airline of choice for the next generation of travelers & employees Ed Bastian, CEO, Delta Air Lines What is Delta’s economic and social impact and contribution to Georgia as one of the top employers in the state?

I’m extremely proud of Delta’s status as a major economic engine and force for job creation in Georgia. Delta is here because nearly 90 year ago, leaders of the then-fledgling airline and the City of Atlanta recognized the power of aviation and the potential it held for the future. Together they crafted a plan that brought Delta to Georgia and laid the foundation for what would become the world’s busiest airport in Atlanta, where Delta operates our largest international hub.

Today the annual economic impact of that airport is estimated at $65 billion, and directly and indirectly it supports about 450,00 jobs – nearly one in seven of the region’s jobs!

Delta alone directly employs Outstanding about 35,000 people in Georgia, customer service is part and we’re proud to be the state’s single largest employer. of our people-focused Beyond the numbers, it’s culture.” important to consider that Delta’s international gateway at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport connects Georgia with the world, and it’s the driving force behind Georgia’s emergence as a center for global commerce.

Employee-driven and customer-focused define the airline’s culture. What is the company doing to improve its customer service?

the nation; and examining all aspects of the travel experience from security to board to in-flight entertainment to find a new and different approach.

Technology is a big part of that focus on innovation. We’re deploying biometric technology to speed access through airport facilities; RFID technology to improve baggage tracking; constant real-time updates via the Fly Delta app on flight and baggage information; and upgrading to high-speed 2Ku WiFi on our flights. Delta is very much a technology company and it’s exciting to think about how it is reshaping the travel experience.

Delta has always been known for its outstanding customer service, it’s part of our people-focused culture. That dates to our founder, C.E. Woolman, who always advised Delta people to “put yourself on the other side of the counter” and always treat customers with care, dignity and respect.

But we’re always striving to improve our performance, and we’ve made great strides in the past few years. One of the standout achievements has been our reliability, which today is consistently the best in the industry. We got there by investing in our people, our systems and our estimated technology, and it took years of planning and work. annual economic Our customers certainly appreciate it and it’s a reason impact in the state our net promoter scores, which gauge how willing our customers are to recommend our service to others, continues to rise.

One of our most exciting initiatives is the fact that we’ll be hiring 25,000 new employees over the next five years and welcoming them to the Delta family. jobs supported

$65 billion

450,000

Where does Delta stand out in terms of innovation and technology?

For the past decade, we have been slowly transforming the airline business model, and innovation is at the heart of that effort. It ranges from our international partnership strategy, in which we have been investing in the best international carriers and creating joint ventures that expand our global footprint; offering one of the most generous employee profit-sharing plans in

directly & indirectly

35,000

people employed in Georgia

Please share your vision going forward for Delta.

As Delta’s CEO my main job is taking care of our people.

We follow a philosophy we call the “virtuous circle,” that if you take care of your people, they take care of your customers and your business succeeds as a result.

Another of my long-term goals is to position Delta as the airline of choice for the next generation of travelers and employees. We want to give them the experience that they expect from the brands they choose to associate with.

Finally, as a significant corporate citizen of the State of Georgia we take our responsibility to the region seriously. That’s why Delta supports organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, Covenant House, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Public Schools and many, many others. Supporting the communities where we live, work and serve is in our DNA, and we’re proud to be a significant partner of so many great civic, arts, business and community organizations in Georgia.

Delta, committed to its social responsibility Peter Carter, EVP, Chief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary, Delta Air Lines How has Georgia managed to keep its position as the best place to do business four years in a row?

Having one of the largest airports in the world is a huge competitive advantage for Georgia and we’re proud to be part of that. The other thing I’d say is that the state is quite intentional about how it is recruiting businesses. The message is clear: Georgia is open for business and they understand that to have jobs in Georgia they need to create policies that encourage jobs creation. Our current state government is also quite committed to make sure that the tax structure remains competitive so every dollar saved in taxes can be invested back into businesses and ultimately, To make a create jobs. Another reason Georgia difference in the area has become such a strong haven for of human trafficking businesses is because it has focused on the development of talent.

has become a priority for Delta as a corporate citizen.”

Something Delta is proud of?

We’re very proud of our operational performance because month after month we outperform the industry. We’re proud of our financial performance; our operating margins are extremely strong. And we’re very proud of how we invest in and treat our employees. We have, in the last three years, paid out more than $1 billion in profit sharing to our employees.

Delta has been assisting victims of human trafficking. Can you tell us about this initiative?

What are the company’s current challenges?

What has become a priority for Delta as a corporate citizen and a citizen of the world is to try to make a difference in the area of human trafficking.

One of the sad realities is that many victims of human trafficking are brought through the airport/airline system and nobody knows. So, we have trained our frontline people, those who have contact with our travelers, to make sure that they are able to recognize situations that might be considered human trafficking. It’s something that we’re very proud that we’re taking on and we think we can help be part of the solution.

We also provide legal services to victims of human trafficking through a partnership with the Georgia Asylum and Immigration Network (GAIN). Even before Ed Bastian became CEO, Delta realized that as one of the largest global carriers it was in a unique employees position to help, which is something that we try to do every day.

There’s always going to be the challenge of competing with low cost carriers that are entering the market place. We think we can compete with them and win, but we have to be nimble and ready. We also have the threat of the Middle East carriers (Qatar, Emirates and Etihad) because those airlines are subsidized by their governments to the tune of $50 billion.

We’re happy to compete with anybody who is subject to the same market forces, but we cannot compete with governments that have pockets that are endlessly deep, and we can’t compete with airlines that are violating trade agreements and are subsidized.

How important is the Hartsfield-Jackson airport’s expansion to Delta?

We focus on our hub airports, including Atlanta, LAX, LaGuardia and JFK in New York, Seattle, Minneapolis and Detroit, and any improvement made is positive. Airports must be designed and updated to ensure an efficient and comfortable as possible experience for our passengers. We need to take into account security issues that are our customers face, the fact that everybody wants to get where they’re going to as quickly as possible, the weather, and the fact that our air traffic control system has to be updated to include next generation technology. Delta is partnering with the various airport authorities and city councils to transform the airport customer experience and build the airports of the future.

80,000+

180 million passengers a year

$1 billion

in profit shared with employees

What is Delta’s vision going forward?

We want to be the very best airline for our employees and our customers. It means making sure our employees feel the satisfaction of coming to work every day and making sure our customers feel taken care of when they are on our flights, and harnessing the power of technology to provide the convenience and transparency that today’s travelers demand. All of this is being driven by a spirit of innovation at all levels of the company – something that’s long been a part of Delta’s culture.

We Deliver Power… Responsibly ® Rich Stinson, President & CEO, Southwire What is your take on why Georgia is the best state to do business?

I would say that the collaboration between the businesses, the government and education is a key factor, which provides for a strong economy and a good business friendly environment. Southwire is investing, our peer companies are investing, which creates jobs and it’s all, again, going back to the people and their willingness to drive the economy forward. It’s a great work environment to be in.

How important is workforce development?

Workforce is a key factor that is being addressed across the state. One of the big megatrends is related to skilled workers retiring and the gap that is left to be filled. If you look at our industry, the electrical industry, this trend is clear both from a contractor and manufacturing standpoint. So, Southwire’s we’re working with local high schools, technical colleges like West Georgia commitment to Technical College and universities sustainability is like the University of West Georgia visible in every aspect on workforce development and we’ve of our company.” also seen a lot of success through our 12 for Life® program, which is focused on at-risk high school kids, providing them with an education and work experience at the same time. We’ve had 2,000 students graduate from the program since its inception 10 years ago and now we’re seeing them as strong contributors to society, and that’s exciting.

What are you doing in terms of innovation?

From the very beginning, innovation has been at the foundation of Southwire. The Southwire Continuous Rod (SCR) mills that make rod, aluminium and copper, which is used to produce wire and cable globally, were innovated here at Southwire. More than 50% of all the wire and cable produced globally today comes from one of those SCR mills, and about a third of all wire and cable used in the United States comes out of Southwire.

We’re the leading wire and cable manufacturer in North America, and we have numerous innovations in our field. Some of those innovations are with the wire and cable itself and some of them are focused on how to help productivity.

You have been quite aggressive on the acquisition front.

And we will continue to be aggressive as it relates to M&A. Being a private company, we’re in a good position - our debt ratio is extremely low, our cash flow is good, our profitability is good and you’ll see us buying other companies again as we move forward.

We’re looking to expand geographically, horizontally and in adjacent spaces, as well as get us new channels to market our core business.

What does sustainability mean for Southwire?

Southwire’s commitment to sustainability is visible in every aspect of our company, which we approach within the realm of five tenets: Growing Green,

Living Well, Giving Back, Doing Right and Building Worth. In the realm of Growing Green, we recently signed the UN Global Compact and we are making strides toward zero landfill, which will be a remarkable achievement. In terms of Living Well, safety is our top priority and we also provide education and opportunities to ensure our employees remain healthy. Giving Back is how we contribute to the communities in which we live and work. And for Doing Right, we’re a very ethical company and want to ensure we continue to maintain our values.

And finally, as a private company we have to Build Worth, not only for our five shareholders, but also for our many stakeholders. revenue

$5.5 billion projected for 2017

2,000

students graduated through 12 for Life®

900+

Project GIFT® Blackshirt Volunteers

How do you see the future for Southwire?

We are in very good shape to continue to lead in our industry. We’re projecting to be a $5.5 billion company this year, and I see sights on being able to grow to $7.5 billion over the course of the next five years. It’s ambitious, but we have some great ideas. Our vision going forward is to make sure that this company is a multigenerational company, so my number one job in life is to continue to further develop our culture of empowerment, trust, consistency and inclusion, build organizational capability to make it an even stronger organization and grow the company relative to strategies. I feel really good about the future.

Focusing on business creation Dr. Eloisa Klementich, President & CEO, Invest Atlanta What are your priorities as the CEO of Invest Atlanta?

As the economic development arm of the City of Atlanta, Invest Atlanta is focused on building a more dynamic and competitive city for the future. Our priorities have evolved based on changes in the economy. Five years ago, we were coming out of a recession, so there was a targeted effort toward creating new jobs and economic stimulus.

We have been very successful in this regard, creating more than 36,000 new jobs since 2010 through our economic development programs.

Now that the economy is stronger, we are expanding our efforts further with new economic development strategies.

How easy is it to attract talent?

Ask the 94,000 new residents that have come to the Atlanta metro area since last year. They would say it’s the great quality of life, job opportunities and over all neighborhood environment that attracted them to the city. We understand that people must have access to cultural amenities, affordable housing, transit and employment to prosper. Hence, we focus on these crucial areas. Millennials are changing the paradigm of business location decisions. First, they choose where to live and then where they want to work.

We want to Companies have responded to this shift ensure that Atlanta by moving into the core of the city to continues to be a city be in close proximity to where people are choosing to live. I’ve seen some for everyone.” numbers suggest that Atlanta will grow from 500,000 to 1.2 million over the next decade, double the size of the city today. We want to ensure that Atlanta continues to be a city for everyone.

Atlanta has been very successful in creating a conducive environment for start-ups.

Atlanta has a robust start-up community that continues to grow. For example, I don’t know of any other city that has 20 corporate business innovation centers clustered together less than 1.5 miles from each other. The message is clear; you can come to Atlanta to not only launch a business, but also to innovate your product(s) through our start-up and technology ecosystem.

Atlanta’s academic institutions like Georgia Tech, the Atlanta University Center schools, Savannah College of Art and Design, and Georgia State University play a big part in this ecosystem by cultivating talented engineers, mathematicians, data scientists and other highly-skilled people who are essential to both start-up companies and established businesses looking to innovate.

Is Atlanta effectively an enabler in tech entrepreneurship?

Atlanta is a tech enabler due in part to the strong relationship between city and state government working together to bring in new investment. Both the Mayor and Governor are in lock step when it comes to business. As Atlanta’s technology industry continues to grow, we’re

working with our partners at the state level to expand key industry clusters like logistics, health IT, fintech, IoT, mobile and others. From products and services to government to education, everything today is built on technology.

It’s a driving force in the Atlanta economy that employs a substantial share of our workforce.

94,000

new residents in Metro Atlanta since 2016

36,000+

new jobs created in the City of Atlanta since 2010

18

major company relocations & expansions in Atlanta since 2010

How does Atlanta rate in competitiveness?

I would like to think that numbers speak for themselves.

Since 2010, 18 major companies moved their headquarters to Atlanta or announced a headquarters expansion in the city. This includes names such as NCR, Porsche, Merchants e-Solutions, GE Digital and Global Payments.

There are many reasons why companies come to Atlanta, including our abundance of talented workers, particularly in high-demand sectors like technology, low cost of living, favorable business environment and other factors compared to other big cities. We also have tremendous connectivity through Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, which enables you to get to 80 percent of the country in two hours or less.

On the ground, companies can move products by truck in two days or less, which is one of the reasons why our logistics and supply chain sector continues to expand. All of this together creates a very competitive value proposition for companies looking to relocate or expand their business.

The choice destination William Pate, President & CEO, Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau (ACVB) You have had record-breaking figures in 2014, 2015, 2016.

Yes, we’ve been on a really, really great run. I always tell people that Atlanta’s hospitality industry is the gasoline that helps run the city’s economic engine. Most people don’t pay attention to it, but due to the scale of our business, the amount of tax money it generates and the amount of money that is spent when you bring a lot of people We will into the city, it has a significant impact. end the decade As in many cities around the with between world, tourism is one of the top 55 & 60 million economic drivers and Atlanta is no visitors annually.” different. Our business is driven mostly by conventions, although we do have a lot of leisure visitors too. A majority of what we do is focused around conventions and those who come to attend corporate meetings. It fills up the city during the week and then we pepper in big sporting events, which typically occur on the weekends. Those tend to be incremental to the portfolio and when you put it all together, it’s a strong economic force.

What will be the role of the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium now that it is open?

Mercedes-Benz Stadium is a state-of-the-art facility which is a wonderful new asset to the city and an icon on our skyline. It is not just the home for our NFL football team, the Falcons, and our MLS soccer team, Atlanta United. We will also put numerous events inside the stadium that will be associated with conventions and corporate meetings. One of the great features of Mercedes-Benz Stadium is that the roof can open and close very quickly so it can be used in all weather conditions.

With 52 million visitors last year, what are your expectations for 2017?

I believe our visitation numbers will continue to grow. My longer-term expectation is that we will end the decade with between 55 and 60 million visitors annually. We are now the number four destination for domestic travelers in the United States, and we have made great progress in becoming a top destination of choice.

A lot of that is driven by the fact that it’s very easy to get here, as 80 percent of the U.S. population is within a two-hour direct flight of Atlanta. We also have three interstates that intersect in the middle of Downtown so if you live in the Southeast and don’t want to fly, it’s very easy to drive here.

Atlanta is at the top of a lot of categories that travelers consider when they want to visit a destination. We have exceptional restaurants and

52 million visitors in 2016

$15 billion in spending

700

meetings, conventions & events hosted in 2016

attractions, wonderful cultural institutions and the best shopping in the Southeast.

Atlanta is also a great business city, from housing Fortune 500 company headquarters to a robust entrepreneurial presence. This helps sustain our transient traveler business – people that come here for two or three days for business meetings. They frequent our luxury hotels and restaurants, further increasing the economic impact of travel in the city.

We think Atlanta’s tourism business is going to continue to expand through the end of the decade. While we are in a very good position, we have to constantly refresh people’s perspective about the growth in our city. Over the next few years, Philips Arena will complete renovations, Georgia World Congress Center will finish a transformation to its campus and more residential units will be built in Downtown. We need to stay in front of customers to keep them up to date on all the exciting things going on in our city.

Inspiring awareness & preservation of our ocean & aquatic animals worldwide Michael A. Leven, Chairman & CEO, Georgia Aquarium How important is Georgia Aquarium for the City of Atlanta?

This is the number one tourist attraction in the state and in the City of Atlanta and the largest aquarium in the Western Hemisphere. It’s one of the largest in the entire world. It’s an entertainment facility, it’s a research facility, it’s a conservation facility, it’s a tourist facility and a gift from Bernie and Billi Marcus to the City of Atlanta.

This is the We educate people of all ages. It has the broadest appeal of any facility number one tourist attraction in the state I’ve ever seen and my job is to keep it active and interesting and to price and & City of Atlanta.” market it appropriately. It’s important to make the adjustments necessary to have the right balance between the science, maintenance and the business parts of the Aquarium, so that we continue to reinvest in our facility.

2016 was a good year for Georgia Aquarium.

We had a very good year. In fact, the second-best year in the history of the Aquarium from an attendance standpoint with around 2,450,000 visitors.

Aquariums generally have a big first year and then gradually reduce until they stabilize, but we were able to turn this around. This year, we continue to run slightly ahead of last year. Our budget was based on meeting last year’s attendance because we didn’t have anything new and if you don’t have anything new, it’s very difficult to maintain your level of business.

What new exhibits do you have planned?

We are going to open a seabird exhibit, featuring horned and tufted puffins, common murres and pigeon guillemots, which will open in January 2018.

The seabird exhibit will expand our Cold Water Quest gallery and provide a unique chance to see four new species of aquatic birds. Our African penguin exhibit is one of our most popular and we expect the same for the new seabirds. I personally find aquatic birds fascinating and I have been working with our zoological experts to identify what other species we could bring to the City of Atlanta in the near future.

I am also working to get approval for a major exhibit that would open at the end of 2020. This major exhibit will include many exciting opportunities for our guests.

It will be immersive and bring some really special, visitors recognizable species to Georgia Aquarium. I am very excited about it because it will guarantee the future of the Aquarium for many years.

Wolfgang Puck Catering provides all of our food and beverage and is our exclusive catering partner. There is no other ballroom or exclusive facility in the city like it.

How important is research and conservation to Georgia Aquarium?

It’s an important part of what we do. We rescue wild California sea lions and southern sea otters and assist in the rehabilitation of sea turtles. We have extensive research programs that span the globe. Our researchers have traveled to study beluga whales in the Arctic, whale sharks in the Galapagos, Indonesia and St. Helena, manta rays, in 2016 spotted eagle rays, African penguins, several species of sharks and bottlenose dolphins to name a few. We have the largest state-of-the-art laboratory and animal health facility onsite. We have a team of experts, from on staff veterinarians to marine biologists and scientists gallons of water that are doing important research here at the Aquarium in more than 100 and around the world. These experts have published habitats more than 100 academic papers since the Aquarium has been open. We also have a conservation field station in Marineland, Florida where we do a lot of our research and participate in all kinds of activities such as rescuing dolphins, manatees and turtles from entanglements.

2.45 million

You also have a major event venue at the Aquarium.

Yes, Oceans Ballroom is 23,000 square feet of flexible private meeting and event space. It’s one of the biggest and most unique banquet facilities in the city. There are large windows that look into two of our most popular exhibits - beluga whales and whale sharks swim by while you’re having dinner and cocktails. At full capacity, the ballroom can hold up to 1,000 people for a seated function, 1,200 people for a reception and 1,500 people theater style. For a larger event, the entire Aquarium can be a reception space for 5,000. In addition, smaller more intimate events can also be held in our exhibit galleries.

10 million+

23,000

square foot Oceans Ballroom event venue

Do you have a final message?

We have had a very good couple of years and now I’m working on the future.

Promoting positive change in people’s lives Penelope McPhee, President, The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation (AMBFF) Mercedes-Benz Stadium is the latest addition to this city and a landmark for Georgia. Can you tell us a little bit about the scope of this project?

What was important to Mr. Blank and his family when they were considering a new stadium was to stay in downtown Atlanta and be part of the energy and vibrancy of the The social city. Atlanta has many wonderful attractions, but Mercedes-Benz justice part of our work filters through Stadium is set to be the biggest economic driver and the only one everything we do.” that is architecturally iconic.

Part of the project, and equally important, includes revitalizing the neighborhoods around the stadium and improving the lives of residents of Atlanta’s historic Westside. To achieve this, we created the Westside Neighborhood Prosperity Fund.

Tell us more about the Westside Project.

First of all, I think it’s important to say that these are historic AfricanAmerican neighborhoods that were once vibrant, rich, prosperous, and at the heart of the civil rights movement with upwards of 50,000 people. Martin Luther King lived there, along with Julian Bond’s family and Maynard Jackson’s family, so it was an important middle-class African-American neighborhood. Then, the unintended consequence of desegregation enabled many of the African-Americans who had the means to live anywhere they wanted, to leave these neighborhoods.

Consequently, the population diminished and concentrated poverty took hold. Today, many of those still living there, who chose to stay, are long-term residents, and they don’t want to be pushed out of the neighborhood. So that’s a number one priority for us at the Foundation.

As a foundation, we focus more on human capital than on the built We’re proud, but we still have a long way to go. I think the next environment. That doesn’t mean that we won’t make some investments challenge for us is getting them not just entry-level jobs but into a pipeline in parks and greenspace, and other kinds of amenities, but our real for skilled jobs and to climb up the ladder of professional development. interest, passion and what the family cares about, is I’m very optimistic and pretty proud that we’ve kept a the human capital. That means investments around promise to employ a large number of individuals from education, around keeping people in their homes, the Westside neighborhoods, so that’s rewarding. around health and wellness, and, very importantly, What differentiates the Arthur Blank Family around jobs. invested in

$300m+

What do you do in terms of workforce development?

We’re proud of our accomplishments so far in the workforce development area because when the stadium was announced we made a promise that we would employ residents from the Westside as part of the construction team, then the operating and hospitality teams.

That meant that we had to first train them, so we established Westside Works. Every graduate of Westside Works graduates with a job and today we have placed 450 Westside residents in living wage jobs. We don’t discriminate against former felons, and we try to help deal with literacy issues or drug and mental health issues to ensure they can be part of the program.

different programs

450

Westside residents employed through Westside Works

$37 million invested in Westside Atlanta

Foundation?

I think their investment in the National Center for Civil and Human Rights speaks a lot to who the Blanks are as a family. The social justice part of our work filters through everything we do, on the Westside, in our education work, everything we do is for those children and families who are the most underserved. I think the other thing that’s different about our foundation, is that the family is willing to take risks and willing to be early investors, first in, on projects they think are important.

We’re an unusual balance of working on the ground and affecting the lives of individuals, while at the same time, working at the policy and systems level to try to address the root causes. And finally, I think we do a good job of bringing people together to have hard conversations about issues of civic importance.

Where Atlanta comes together Rob Brawner, Executive Director, Atlanta BeltLine Partnership (ABLP) How important is the Atlanta BeltLine for the city?

Very important. The Atlanta BeltLine is connecting the city in unprecedented ways.

Atlanta has been separated by highways, rail lines, race, class and socioeconomics. The Atlanta BeltLine as a project, was a community vision to knit the city back together and connect it through transportation, through trails and parks, creating better access to jobs through transportation networks and spurring economic growth.

It has already connected us culturally and socially, through public spaces where people can come together and relate with their neighbors.

It also brings people from parts of the city to other parts of the city where they would not otherwise go. So, it’s really starting to unify us in many ways that are absolutely unprecedented for Atlanta and I think a model for other cities.

How did the ABLP start?

The Atlanta BeltLine was first conceived as a 1999 master’s thesis by Georgia Tech student Ryan Gravel. Together All of that work to engage the public is absolutely critical for a with Cathy Woolard who was on City Council at the time, they started project that has a 25-year implementation. We’re going to have multiple a group called Friends of the BeltLine that led a grassroots campaign for mayors. Mayor Franklin got it started, Mayor Reed has been fantastic in a robust new vision of an Atlanta dedicated to an integrated approach to his support of the BeltLine, we’re going to have a new mayor next year transportation, land use, greenspace, and then we’ll have at least one more before the project is done. The The Atlanta and sustainable growth. thing that keeps the BeltLine a priority for the city, no matter who’s the With broad community support, mayor or City Council, is that people love it and they want more of it BeltLine is connecting the city in Mayor Franklin, the mayor at the and they’re going to make sure it’s a priority. time, secured buy-in from top Then empowering the residents is work that we do primarily with unprecedented ways.” CEOs, university presidents, and other partners who are service providers in the areas of public health, foundations affordable housing, and workforce development and through the Atlanta Committee for Progress. Friends of we help them focus their resources and their efforts the BeltLine became the Atlanta BeltLine Partnership in BeltLine communities so that the investments and civic leader Ray Weeks served as our founding that are being made to build the BeltLine end up chair, leading the effort to launch the project in benefitting the residents who live along it. of pedestrian partnership with the City. So, we’re really the union friendly rail transit What is your assessment on this initiative of grassroots community organizing, private and today? philanthropic support and leadership, and corporate I think the Atlanta BeltLine is unprecedented in its and non-profit partners coming together to advance success for this city and improving quality of life for something that’s going to make the city stronger. our residents. I don’t think you can do anything as units of What are your main priorities today? bold as the BeltLine and expect it to be an absolutely Our focus is in three areas, which we call the three E’s. smooth ride. I think there is still opportunity for us affordable housing Enable, engage and empower. We enable the project to be as groundbreaking and visionary in areas like by raising philanthropic dollars and advocating for affordable housing as we’ve been with other parts of public dollars to support implementation and catalyze the project. But when you look at the companies that the project. are choosing to either expand in town or move into We also have programs, including free fitness town or relocate from other cities, it is definitely also in economic classes, races, festivals and other special events, that attracting and retaining a strong workforce. Overall, development activate the parks and trails and get people to use and I think the Atlanta BeltLine is an unmitigated success love the BeltLine. in bringing people together.

22 miles 5,600

$10-20bn

Atlanta knowledge capital of the world Hala Moddelmog, President & CEO, Metro Atlanta Chamber What are your priorities as President of the Metro Atlanta Chamber?

We have three main priorities here at the Metro Atlanta Chamber. Our number one task is economic development and job creation. Our second responsibility is public policy, as we advocate for policy that maintains a business-friendly climate and high quality of life. The third priority we focus on is promoting the metro Atlanta region along with Governor We want more Deal, Mayor Reed and the business community that supports our venture capital to drive our innovation.” economic development work. When everyone has the same goal and the same mission and vision in mind, it becomes very powerful; the alignment and shared common goals are what’s driving this city and state.

How important is a diverse talent base?

Metro Atlanta has the privilege of possessing the diversity of the third largest concentration of Fortune 500s in the U.S. and a very diverse set of companies that are putting their IoTs and future growth hubs here, which is really transformational and undergirds everything.

If you ask them why they are doing that, the number one answer is talent - the diversity of talent, both ethnic and gender, among engineers coming out of Georgia Tech and other universities. We graduate more African American engineers and more female engineers than any other group. And the truth of the matter is, we graduate more engineers per year than MIT and Stanford together. So it’s a big number, it’s very diverse and it has a great reputation.

What is Choose ATL? About three years ago, we turned economic development on its head by introducing something that we refer to as Choose ATL. It’s a marketing movement to make sure that we get our fair share of millennials moving to and remaining in Atlanta.

assets that make an already great city even stronger. Any city, any market, any region that’s going to be great and a place of the future is going to be a smart city. We launched our first Smart Corridor demonstration earlier this summer.

Metro Atlanta is also one of 11 cities that are going mobile-friendly to be a part of the 5G testing and that’s Sigfox and LoRa equipped which has to do with the infrastructure we U.S. city already have in this market. We really have the same goals around IoT and smart cities as we do around FinTech and around cyber security.

#1

What particular sectors are you focusing on?

I would name three sectors that we are really focused on right now, because they are the future. We have a phenomenal depth in FinTech, but not everybody knows it, so we need to get that word out. We want to claim it and own it. We’ve gone so far as to work with the university system to get curriculum done for FinTech to make sure that we’re also growing our own talent.

Another area that we’re working in a big way is cyber security, and there are a couple of reasons there. Part of it has to do with the fact that 25% of the world’s cyber security revenue goes to Atlanta, that’s a significant chunk. We also have the Cyber Command center near Augusta at Fort Gordon, so we sort of have both ends of this anchor.

Then the third area is IoT/smart cities. Our vision here at the chamber is to be a top-tier, globally competitive market. The fact of the matter is we have a lot of those

#1

Industrial Engineering undergraduate & graduate programs in the nation

#5

U.S. city for tech start-ups in 2016

Which accolade do you like best for Atlanta?

We are proud that Brookings Institution named Atlanta a global capital last October and one of 19 knowledge capitals of the world along with cities like Boston and Stockholm.

What does Atlanta need for a brighter future?

I believe we need more venture capital to drive our innovation, and that’s a message I want to put out there. We are definitely looking for more investments to continue the momentum that is happening here across our innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Helping people move from financial stress to financial confidence Allison Dukes, Chairman & CEO, Atlanta Division of SunTrust Banks Which markets does SunTrust service?

SunTrust is the largest bank headquartered in Georgia. We’re coming off of five years of sequential earnings per share growth which has been driven by the growth in Georgia among other states. Our retail and consumer footprint is in the southeast and mid-Atlantic, but our wholesale business is national in its scope with a We’d love to significant concentration of our portfolio in the southeast and see continued focus around infrastructure, mid-Atlantic states. Georgia is an important growth market transportation & which is driven by good policies education.” and the pro-growth structure that’s been built around this state over the last several years. We think Georgia will continue to be a big driver of growth for SunTrust.

How do you assess workforce development in Georgia?

Workforce is a big driver of underlying business growth. The state did an amazing job with the help of the Governor in creating the right incentives to put the private workforce to work. I have confidence that what’s going to continue to attract more business is our ability to generate the right workforce.

Workforce is strong, where else would you like to see continued efforts?

I think the places where we need to see continued policy and structural enhancement is around infrastructure, transportation and education to make Georgia the state where people want to continue to move their businesses to. Investments in infrastructure and around transportation are going to be critical to sustain the growth and making it a livable city where people want and move their families in town, education is another big part of that, and continuing to reform and improve our public education systems and access to affordable housing with good school systems which make circular reference back to transportation and infrastructure.

What’s SunTrust’s vision?

Our purpose is lighting the way to financial wellbeing. We did some soul searching five or six years ago around how do we make sure that we are communicating to our clients in a way that is in keeping with our origins and our DNA. That was when we decided to galvanize the company around the shared purpose of lighting the way to financial wellbeing, which is really an amplification of who we are. It means that we think that everyone deserves and should have access to the tools and the resources they need to reach that financial confidence. For businesses, it means helping businesses really understand what smart growth looks like for them and then customizing and crafting solutions for business to reach that. to bring

$1 million

You’re involved in the Westside District project.

We’re all focused on the Westside. We are a partner of the Atlanta Falcons and financed the stadium there.

We have retail branches in the area and access to financial services is a very important part of growth in the Westside district and a big part of our purpose.

We’ve been at it for a few years and as a team, it really comes back to the Atlanta way where we are partnering across many different levels of leadership in the city to make sure we focus on all the elements of reform necessary to take what is today our most blighted neighborhood sitting in the shadows of the country’s most beautiful stadium. We’re also working with leaders across the Westside to bring our institutional knowledge around affordable housing and access to financial services, financial counseling, and education.

donation student-teacher ratio down

2 million+

people have taken steps for financial confidence (onUp)

40,000 units

of affordable housing finances throughout the community

Tell us about onUp. In keeping with our purpose, we launched the onUp Movement last year, which is to encourage people to take steps and actions for greater financial wellbeing.

We want to help move people from financial stress to financial confidence. Financial confidence and financial wellbeing is not specific to any income level, it’s not specific to any socioeconomic level, it’s really about making wise financial decisions that are important at every stage in life and at every economic level. We partner with schools, organizations like Junior Achievement and SunTrust Park, the home of the Atlanta Braves. One of our early founders said you build your community, you build your bank, so we think very locally about everything we do.

An integrated academic health care system Dr. Jonathan Lewin, President & CEO of Emory Healthcare What are the advantages of Emory as an academic healthcare system?

One of the greatest advantages of Emory is the comprehensive nature of the institution as a healthcare delivery system, an educational institution training future caregivers, and as a nidus of discovery and innovation, creating tomorrow’s cures.

Emory University School of Medicine, the School of Public Health and the School of Nursing, along with the Winship Cancer Institute, the Yerkes National Primate Research Center and Emory Healthcare are all A big part wrapped under one roof: the Woodruff Health Sciences Center, a major of our mission is training experts for component of Emory University.

Another advantage is that it is the world.” one of the most comprehensive and predominant health sciences centers in the nation. We’re one of a handful of places around the country that combine a world-class, leading comprehensive health system along with top-tier health science schools and other academic units all under one roof. That allows us to have a level of integration between the research, educational and clinical care and prevention missions that is really the envy of many of our peers around the country.

Is Emory’s reputation recognized on a national level?

A number of our programs are considered amongst the top in the nation and we’re recognized around the world for a number of our academic areas. Emory health system is one of the busiest, largest health systems in so while we’re delighted that we keep many of the best of the best here the region and our doctors see 4.4 million outpatients per year. We have in Georgia, we intentionally take people who have outstanding Emory over 71,000 inpatient admissions to our hospitals per year benefiting the training and send them around the world. community with outstanding healthcare.

To a patient who’s coming to an outpatient center, it’s like the “Intel What is Emory’s social and economic contribution to the state?

Inside” sticker on a computer, they may not see what’s inside, but what’s Emory’s Health Science Center, the Woodruff Health Science Center, has behind the doctor they’re seeing are thousands of scientists, researchers about a $7.5 billion positive impact to the state’s economy. We have and educators who are really bringing the best and the latest to that about 25,000 employees in health sciences, and there are many more when you include the rest of Emory. Apart from patient. I believe this is Emory’s most distinctive being the biggest employer in DeKalb county, we’re competency as a health care provider as well as a the second biggest employer in Metro Atlanta. I health sciences organization. would say we’re the brain drain from the rest of The demand for highest level and highest acuity positive impact to the the country to Atlanta; when you look at what care at Emory is a very satisfying and remarkable state’s economy brings people in the health sciences to Atlanta, phenomenon. it is predominantly Emory because of the size of We have been able to provide a uniform level of our biomedical research programs and educational high quality in our physician practices, second to enterprise. none, by virtue of the fact that the people who want to be on faculty at a medical school and who want employees How do you see the current state of the to be closely affiliated with an academic health health sector in Georgia and the US? center have a passion for being at the cutting-edge in health sciences At the top of the list of our guiding principles is and being the best. that everyone in the US deserves to have access to Are Emory graduates staying in Georgia? good care. How the system is organized to provide We are generating talent at a rate that is wonderful. that can vary in many different ways, but the idea Approximately one third of our graduates from of taking care away from people fundamentally in research awards the medical school stay in Georgia. A big part of goes against our core values as Emory Healthcare in 2016 our mission is training the experts for the world and the Woodruff Health Sciences Center.

$7.5 billion 25,000

$541 million

Changing the way cancer is treated Dr. Walter Curran Jr., Executive Director, Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University Can you brief us on the Winship Cancer Institute?

Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University is the organizational unit within Emory University that coordinates cancer care, cancer research, and cancer education. Our mission as a new National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated comprehensive cancer center is to lessen the burden of cancer on the State of Georgia and to align our research and education programs with our care and prevention. We know if we do this effectively in Georgia, it can have a national and global effect. We have global partners and global ambitions, and we know that if we execute our mission in a state of 10 million people there can be implications on a national global basis. We’re an NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center within a great university and the advantage of that is that we have the resources of a great research university and great scientists. We do not believe We focus on there’s one blueprint to be a great recruiting and keeping center. What we do know is that Mr. Robert Woodruff’s mission that the very strongest no Georgian had to leave the state people here.” for outstanding cancer care, when he created Winship 80 years ago, is still congruent with our mission. We want people to get second opinions, be it out of state or in state, but we want to be there as an outstanding option for any Georgian if they so choose.

Is Atlanta’s spirit of collaboration, innovation, science and technology important to the Winship Cancer Institute?

Yes, there’s no question. Atlanta is a great city of innovation, technology, and engineering. Atlanta also needs a great cancer research center, and we believe we’re fulfilling that role. The Department of Biomedical Engineering that we work with is both part of Emory described as a 10+ year process from discovery to the potential of FDA School of Medicine and Georgia Tech’s College of approval as a fast track. It’s getting shorter but there’s Engineering. It’s a wonderful bridge and we look to still a wide valley of death between the discovery and that department to figure out which clever people its clinical use that involves all kinds of entrepreneurial can develop tools relevant to cancer diagnosis or activities, which we’re trying to address but it remains anniversary of the therapy. It’s a very positive relationship. We also have a big challenge. founding of Winship relationships with some of the start-up companies in What would be your short-term goals Atlanta that are focused on cancer research as well.

Cancer Institute

80th

What are the major challenges that you’re facing?

One of the major challenges is the inherent fact that cancers are clever. That you can find a new and promising therapy and the cancer will find a way around it. Cancers are complicated, the more you know the less you know. Another challenge is infrastructure for clinical trials. Only 3% or fewer adults go on cancer clinical trials and that’s not due to a lack of good ideas, it’s due to a lack of infrastructure.

We have by far the largest infrastructure in the state to enroll people in trials, by far the largest number of patients, but it’s still insufficient.

The final challenge is how to accelerate the flow of discoveries in the lab to the clinic. It used to be

as executive director of Winship Cancer Institute?

15,000+

newly diagnosed cancer patients are seen annually

1,600

published peer-reviewed articles in 2016

We have five domains we are working every day to excel in. One is to strengthen how our research lessens the burden of cancer in Georgia. We also want our education, training and mentoring to be part of that, and we focus on recruiting and keeping the very strongest people here.

We have a clear idea how cancer care is delivered and we want to be a leader not a follower in this aspect. We’re creating some very interesting models of how care is delivered on multiple campuses with the same outstanding approach to innovation.

Finally, we want this to be a place where the culture is such that great people want to come to be cared for, trained, and have their career.

Making patient care better tomorrow through discovery & innovation Dr. Thomas Pearson MD, DPhil, Executive Director, Emory Transplant Center Emory Transplant Center is a national leader in transplanting organs today. How did it all start?

Emory has a long history in solid organ transplant. The first kidney in the State of Georgia was done here in 1966 and then, heart and liver programs were introduced in the mid-1980s, and pancreas transplants towards the end of the 1980s. I guess the last program to come on was islet transplantation to treat Type I Diabetes in 2003.

I understand patient care is at the heart of Emory transplant…

We have always put an emphasis on trying to develop the systems for efficient, high quality patient-centered care delivery for our transplant population. We have a very large, robust clinical care delivery program, it’s a multidisciplinary program with both medical and surgical physicians as well The biggest as all of the other key components for taking care of complex patients. challenge in organ A huge advantage for our patients transplantation is the is that they can get everything done supply of organs.” here in the Emory Transplant Center, in one central location. Providers rotate through as opposed to our patients going to all the providers. So, whether it’s thoracic and abdominal surgery, cardiology, pulmonology, hepatology, nephrology, dermatology, psychiatry or infectious disease, Emory physicians come to the transplant clinic and so do the coordinators, financial counselors, pharmacists, dieticians, and social workers.

That has been a huge advantage to the patients but I think we still have opportunity in terms of improving the patient experience in that environment, which is certainly high-on the list.

What are the major challenges that you’re facing at the moment?

use to maintain the organs. We’ve worked hard the last 25 years to minimize The biggest challenge in organ transplantation overall, is the supply of the side effects of immunosuppression and we will continue to do so. organs for transplant. Our ability to deliver this life Being part of Emory as an academic health saving or life extending therapy across all the different system should be beneficial for research… organs is limited by organ availability. There’s an effort Yes, it’s hugely beneficial. For example, we get to to increase the public awareness of the need and benefit in the nation to earn interact with state of the art immunologists and of organ donation, and we partner with our colleagues Patient-Centered whereas their area may not be directly related to at the organ procurement organization, LifeLink of Specialty Practice transplants their understanding of the immune Georgia and other national groups such as Donate Life. response system and ability to investigate its nuances But because of the local, regional, national system, Recognition helps us optimize the response to the transplanted there are geographic differences in access to transplant. organ. We also have one of the NIH funded regional One of the current controversies is if should we change non-human primate centers here, the Yerkes National that and have broader sharing. There is no right answer Primate Research Center, and the ability to partake in as long as the supply doesn’t meet the demand. One of that infrastructure to do pre-clinical studies is hugely the ways I believe that we can increase the availability first kidney important. Our goal through the whole gamut of basic of donor organs for transplant is to make the first transplant done research, translational research and clinical research is transplants last longer so that the patients don’t need a in Georgia to optimize our care delivery strategy. second transplant and therefore, don’t add to the need part of that equation.

What is the rate of success for a transplant?

The second big challenge is immunosuppression.

If you get a kidney transplant at Emory Transplant So, if you would ask what’s the biggest downside to Center now, the likelihood that you would be well with transplantation, the biggest risk, the biggest downside transplants to date your transplant a year later, would be north of 95%. It’s to transplant overall, it’s the long-term negative not perfect, it’s not 100%, but it’s high. consequences of the immunosuppression that we need to

1st

1966

8,000+

Creating a new model for collaborative patient care Dr. Allan Levey, Professor & Chairman, Department of Neurology, Emory University What is the burden of neurological diseases?

The global burden of brain health disorders far outweighs any other area of medicine, in terms of numbers of people, the cost of these diseases and certainly, the devastation that brain health diseases have on people.

For example, Alzheimer’s disease alone affects over 5 million Americans, costing over $200 billion a year, and is expected to increase rapidly over the next several decades.

Most major neurologic diseases are age related. Stroke is the major cause of disability, Alzheimer’s is the most feared condition of the elderly, and other common conditions such as As an academic Parkinson’s disease, falls, and epilepsy also affect millions of older individuals medical center, our goal is to change the each year.

Both motor dysfunction and future of medicine.” non-motor aspects of the diseases are really important for addressing the global burden. So, what we’re doing on the brain health front at Emory is creating a patient-centered approach with integration of services across brain health specialties.

What does integrated approach mean for the Brain Health Center?

The first principle is outstanding clinical care and delivery in a holistic manner. As an academic medical center, our goal is to change the future of medicine. The current healthcare system doesn’t work well for many with brain diseases. Our strategy is to innovate and develop new models of healthcare around patient and family needs and to develop new disorders. Exciting research at Emory has shown that a drug commonly treatments that offer hope. Thus, our integrated approach also includes used to treat attention disorders has promise to reduce inflammation in science and discovery. This approach will allow us to rapidly bring forth Alzheimer’s disease and slow its progression; we are currently testing this new discoveries. We also integrate education in everything we do by possibility in a phase 2 clinical trial. training the next generation to sustain and continually For Parkinson’s disease, pioneering researchers led by improve healthcare through the Brain Health Center.

Dr. Mahlon DeLong at Emory discovered that a small but We have one of the largest neuroscience communities critical part of the brain becomes overactive, producing anywhere. Emory also has one of the leading PhD the hallmark symptoms. Our team quickly translated programs for neuroscientists in the country so we have research publications this research observation into new surgical treatments, incredibly talented young people who are part of the on neurodegenerative leading to deep brain stimulation as the standard of care mix. We also have a unique partnership with Georgia for medication refractory cases. Moreover, the same team disease Tech including the number one biomedical engineering is now identifying the circuits that are responsible for department in the country. Another area which makes depression and developing similar treatment strategies. the environment unique is our Yerkes National Primate Recently, our Brain Health Center teams have also Research Center which provides a unique opportunity made huge breakthroughs in the treatment of stroke. We to learn from primate models of brain diseases. have two of the leading comprehensive stroke centers neuroscientists in the country at our Marcus Stroke and Neuroscience and clinicians Can you share some of the discoveries and cures?

Center at Grady and Emory University Hospitals. Our One of the things that we are doing is to repurpose faculty have led the international research studies that medications to accelerate the unacceptably long timeline demonstrated the effectiveness of “thrombectomy”, that it currently takes to test new drugs and get them using catheters to remove blood clots. In short order, approved. For example, basic research has identified this research is now used clinically to reverse the biomedical inflammation as playing a key role in many brain diseases, catastrophic effects of strokes. Today we are able to engineering ranging from depression, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, to rescue a lot of people that otherwise never would have department in epilepsy. Drugs to combat inflammation or alter immune been rescued, even hours after the onset of symptoms. functions are increasingly in clinical use for disorders We are proud of the outstanding clinical care the country such as arthritis, cancer, and other conditions, with great research, and education provided by world-changing opportunities to repurpose these treatments for brain experts in the Emory Brain Health Center.

300+

400+ #1

Giving Georgia an unfair advantage Dr. Lee Herron, Vice President, Venture Development, Georgia Research Alliance (GRA) Could you give us an insight into the Georgia Research Alliance (GRA)?

The GRA is in its 27th year and was originally conceived with a view toward long-term economic development and as a mean to increase research capability. It was started as a government private initiative in response to, as many things are, the loss of two major economic development projects.

The first was the loss of a pharmaceutical company called Yamanouchi Pharmaceuticals. Georgia made the shortlist for relocation but the company finally set up their US operation in California. The second loss was a semiconductor consortium, which ended up in Austin, Texas.

Can you name the GRA’s programs?

We have three primary programs. The first one, our Eminent Scholars program has survived for 27 years and was started with a view to increase the research capabilities in the state’s universities. In that program, faculty members that are at the top, or on their way to the top of their field in certain targeted areas are identified by the universities with the aim to develop research capability within the state. The GRA is involved the recruitments undertaken by the institution. Initially we had six member institutions, today we have eight with the addition of Mercer We’re an University and Morehouse School enabler of technology of Medicine.

One area that is great example commercialization.” of the way the Eminent Scholars program works is the Emory Vaccine Center which started with the requirement of an Eminent Scholar, Rafi Ahmed, from UCLA. Now, the Emory Vaccine Center has to the universities, loans directly to companies and we also provide four Eminent Scholars and generates revenue of close to $200 million per mentoring services. Again, we’re enablers, we help identify potential year, primarily in grant funding for developing novel therapeutics, vaccine management for companies, service providers, contract manufacturers, approaches, vaccine adjuvants and employs at least 150 people. vendors and prototype manufacturers. We’re not the intensive care unit The second program is one of building infrastructure, and while it’s related for start-ups nor are we an incubator or an accelerator, we’re an enabler of to the Eminent Scholars program it’s not dependent on technology commercialization. it. In this program, the GRA in partnership with the What about financing? universities, help acquire state of the art laboratory or Really good companies are typically going to be other equipment. Whether it be laboratory equipment years growing financed. We do provide some initial seed funding, or manufacturing equipment, it is typically beyond the scope of the university themselves, as they are often Georgia’s technology but companies can rarely get to profitability or sustainability based on GRA funds alone, they have to multimillion-dollar investments. An example would economy have external investment capital. One of our goals is be Marcus Nanotechnology Center, a state of the art to help position these companies for venture capitalist, nanotechnology manufacturing center at Georgia angel investment or strategic partner investment.

Tech. So, we’re providing the tools to accomplish state Some funding, through grants and loans, will come of the art research. Research is a big economic driver from the state and then matched with private money. representing a $2 billion industry for the state, about a research industry’s Public private partnerships, is where we’re very big quarter of that is done by the GRA Eminent Scholars. contribution for on leverage, whether it be with state dollars, federal The third program, which is where I spend my the state dollars or private donor dollars. For instance, Atlanta time, is a program we call GRA Ventures, which is is fairly strong philanthropic town and many of the our commercialization program. In that program, Fortune 100 companies are fortunately headed by we’ll work with faculty at any institution throughout folks and founded by folks that love to give back to the state to identify technology that appears to have the community so there’s a lot of that that does match commercial potential and then we apply resources Eminent Scholars GRA funds. If you had to pick one word to describe to help realize that potential. The resources come in what we do, it would be enable. different forms, they can be grants and loans, grants

25

$2 billion

68

Improving care, value & access for patients Amy Comeau, Vice President, Marketing, Emory Healthcare Can you give us one unique point of Emory Health Healthcare?

continue our research mission to find new discoveries that will one day become mainstream. This is very inspiring work.

Our multi-disciplinary teams of specialists are unique.

For example, psychiatry teams in our brain health center are working with oncologists at Winship Cancer Institute on behavioral health issues related to a cancer diagnosis. You don’t get that in just a single specialty hospital.

What are the benefits of partnerships with professional and collegiate teams like the Atlanta Hawks, Atlanta Braves, Atlanta Falcons, etc?

Treatment or prevention?

They’re both equally important. As an academic health system we treat patients on a daily basis, but equally important is our mission to talk about and focus on prevention. It’s at the core of what we do and the research that our teams do day in and out.

How important is continued investment into research for Emory?

We’re able to come up with many discoveries and continuously find new treatments and new therapies because of our research mission which is funded through grants and generous donors. It’s really important that we are able to

7.4 million outpatients per year

71,000 inpatient admissions

We are extremely proud to be the health providers for three of our professional local teams: the Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta Braves and Atlanta Hawks. We have a unique partnership with the Atlanta Hawks, not only providing their sports medicine care, but their comprehensive care throughout our system. Together, we’re building a combined practice facility and sports medicine outpatient center, the only one of its kind in the country, which is attractive for the patients and as well as for the athletes because they’re sideby-side with our sports medicine physicians. Another unique element is the addition of P3. They are leaders in peak performance enhancement and applied sports science for athletes.

Therefore, this facility will be very attractive, not just for the Hawks players, but for professional athletes across the country.

Delivering quality care to patients at a cost they can afford Patrick Hammond, CEO, Emory Healthcare Network Can you give us a few numbers related to the Emory Healthcare Network?

happen here at Emory. The HIV drugs that are now mainstream were developed here and more recently, the drugs treating Hepatitis C. We are constantly asking ourselves how we can do something better.

Our clinically integrated network, established in 2011, has six hospitals, 200 provider locations, more than 120 primary care locations, over 20 urgent care locations and 38 MinuteClinics. We also have 2,000 physicians in more than 70 specialties. Our network joins together Emory-employed and private practice physicians in communities throughout metro Atlanta and the state, in collaboration with Emory Healthcare into a single comprehensive care management system.

What are the unique points and competitive advantages of Emory Health System?

It’s not unusual to have centers of excellence for liver or heart transplants, but it’s very unusual to be considered at the top across every single transplant program that you do.

That’s Emory. We may not be the number one or two in everything, but we’re in the top 10 or 15 across the board.

Emory was the first place where angioplasty was done in the entire country. We are really pushing the envelope so that a lot of the firsts, not only in Georgia but in to across the US,

How important is continued investment into research for Emory?

$72 million charity care per year

104 specialties

trained in Emory institutions

It’s very important to continue to invest in research.

The advancements seen in the brain health area such as treatment of Parkinson’s disease and MLS or cardiovascular heart diseases have all been achieved through research.

Why was your social media management of Ebola communications so successful?

Emory was ready as it had prepared for situations like this for years. We knew we would have to manage it carefully because there was going to be changed. But our message stayed consistent and consequently changing the negative feedback to positive. We have subsequently treated a number of patients and that led to additional research funding.

Collaboration toward better cancer care Nancy Paris, President & CEO, Georgia CORE Can you give us a brief introduction on Georgia CORE? Georgia CORE is a public private partnership that was created as a governor’s initiative. It is funded in part by the state because Georgia recognizes that cancer is a significant cross-cutting health problem that affected its citizens, but there is also a great opportunity for health and economic impact if we addressed the problem in a unique and statewide way. Our organization started in 2003 as a non-profit clinical trials network, with a blend of state and private funding, and a leadership from a group of cancer experts. Our board of directors is made up of representatives from There’s academic and community cancer centers, education and public health and clinical no other research and basic science, with the aim organization to promote collaboration and innovation like ours in the that would not necessarily, or automatically country.” occur.

What is Georgia CORE’s business model?

We concentrated on a process for clinical trials and efficiency models early on, providing research training to investigators and personnel who would conduct the studies and educate the public about the value of clinical trials.

Then we discovered that there was a need for the investigators to come together and no infrastructure for this, so as CORE we brought people together on a platform to influence the direction of science. It all came back to collaboration – interdisciplinary collaboration, organizational collaboration and partnerships.

the kind of intervention and education that we’re providing to populations for screening and early detection.

How has Georgia’s diversity helped Georgia CORE? The majority of Georgians are Caucasian, with great economic, racial and ethnic diversity. A third or so are of African ancestry, which could be very significant in certain types of cancer, and beneficial as far as treatment if you have a certain genetic profile. But there are also growing groups of Latino and Asian populations from different parts of the world.

The cultural norms about prevention and treatment of cancer are very different. This opened up a whole new opportunity for us to educate, innovate, and reach out to different populations and also to give them the opportunity to access the best possible care, which is one of our cancer guiding principles.

What are the challenges for growth?

Being small, being nimble and being public-private means that we can move quickly, but it also means that we can’t spin all the plates at once. We tend to work on one innovation, then share the development with other organizations so that they can continue and then move on to another.

So, growth and sustainability can be a challenge with a small enterprise like ours but on the other hand it’s very dynamic and gratifying because we always see new projects coming along. This said, I do think that it’s a model that could be taken to a bigger scale.

589

clinical trials in Georgia

Prevention or cure?

We have a program for navigation and we have a program for survivorship. What I would love is for cancer care to become a holistic model, and its very close. I think we’re in a place now where these are being merged into a very dynamic interdisciplinary model that can start way before the diagnosis of cancer because genetics is now being incorporated into treatment and there are genetically targeted therapies that are available.

Is it possible to prevent cancers? A lot of them, yes, and we know somethings to do to prevent cancer. Is it possible to diagnose earlier? Yes, so that’s

840

cancer doctors in Georgia

39

hospital systems accredited by Commission on Cancer

Is there a role for CORE on a national level?

Yes, there is. As far as we know, there’s no other organization like ours in the country. It’s unique and we have some accomplishments that we’re really proud of. In fact, when Vice President Biden, who we sympathize with for the loss of his son; came out with his plan for the Cancer Moonshot, we realized that this was the plan that we had 12 years ago. There’s still a need for a national playbook that links community and academic oncology and that ensures that survivors are actively engaged in the process and I believe Georgia CORE can play an important role engaging with institutions across the country and share our experience.

Investing in Georgia communications networks & people for 137 years Bill Leahy, President, Georgia & Southeast Region, AT&T What is your assessment on the current tech ecosystem in Atlanta?

As a newcomer to the city, business community and the political and public-sector environment, I am extraordinarily impressed about the feeling for the city and what the City of Atlanta and the state of Georgia are doing to grow the economy. It’s an innovative and international economy driven by the business and community leaders and political infrastructure in Georgia. I have lived in other parts of the country, but what’s We invest in impressive about Georgia and the our employees & in Atlanta metro area is the attitude: we can the community but get this done rather than no, we really can’t do that.

at the core, we’re investing in our network.”

What can you tell us about AT&T’s involvement with start-ups and incubators?

We saw the vibrancy of the innovative economy here, so we have located three of our premier incubators in Atlanta. The one here opened in 2013. We have the AT&T Foundry at the Georgia Tech Innovator Center, which is predominantly focused on wireless technology and the future of wireless technology. We also have a Drive Studio and that’s where we do a lot of our basic research and interaction with automobile manufacturers, for the connected car and the car of the future. Also, our whole organization’s focus on Internet of Things, which is also located here. So those are three pretty gold star type business lines which we felt Georgia was the best place to locate them. I think that’s a credit to the state’s focus on the university system as well which is very good.

AT&T has invested more than $5 billion from 2014-2016 in Georgia to enhance local networks.

AT&T just became a partner of the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, exciting times?

Yes, it is. We’re the official communications provider and it will be an opportunity to show visitors to the stadium the full breadth of our technology. We’ll have a very robust wireless capability and we’ll manage the Wi-Fi network and 2,000 video displays that will showcase our DIRECTV video product. For us the visibility of our technology year after year after year will be magnificent.

We invest a lot in our employees and in the community but at the core, we’re obviously investing in our network, bringing AT&T fiber to homes and businesses. Today more than half a million locations have this What would you highlight about AT&T here in Georgia?

I’d like to highlight our employees, who love service available. These investments drive a wide working here and love living here because it’s a range of upgrades to reliability, coverage, speed and great environment with good schools and good overall performance for residents and businesses. education. Our company is focused on supporting Our company is all about connectivity so that employees them to develop themselves, increase their consumers and businesses can enjoy content, education, learnings and capabilities. We partner communication, web surfing and we know that we with Georgia Tech on online degree programs have to invest to give them that connectivity. because our company is transforming. We’re a How important is Georgia as part of AT&T’s software company that provides technology, but invested in Georgia markets across the US? at our core, our network is becoming a software I would say this is a huge growth market. We network so our employees have to be trained or between 2014 & 2016 invest differently in some other parts of the country learn new skills for that. We’re very proud that just because we weren’t the traditional phone we’ve given our employees the opportunity to company years ago, but California, the Southwest, grow their career without leaving the company the Southeast up to the Midwest is our traditional and I think that’s is something unique and not footprint and in the Southeast, Georgia in particular, many companies are doing that. I think it really spent on goods is a growth environment. It’s a population growth comes down to that collaborative attitude of policy & services in environment, it’s an economic growth environment, makers, business leaders and community leaders Georgia in 2016 it’s a business growth environment. and the feeling that we’re in it together.

19.000+

$5 billion+

$1.5 billion

410,740 CANCER SURVIVORS

We promote collaboration to ensure high quality cancer care is available in every corner of the state.

And patients have access to the latest treatments through clinical trials.

So we can all celebrate the lives of cancer survivors we love.

TOGETHER WE DO A LOT OF GOOD

LEARN MORE:

GeorgiaCORE.org GeorgiaCancerInfo.org

The city that truly has it all David Belle Isle, Mayor, City of Alpharetta Alpharetta has changed tremendously since you took office.

What’s your story?

We’ve been around since 1858 and 30 years ago we were a town of only 3,000 people. Today we’re 65,000 with a daytime population of 120,000 people. One of the big but fun challenges we faced, which we have addressed very well, was how to make Alpharetta an irresistible city, one that people would love, feel connected to, and never want to leave because at least 97% of Alpharetta residents grew up somewhere else, so there are no childhood memories to grab onto.

Until recently we had a downtown that was for a population of 1,500 not 65,000 and the idea of redoing downtown was one of the reasons I ran for office. People come to Alpharetta for business, retail and restaurants. Six years ago, we had about three restaurants; today, there are about 17. This new City Center portion will add The vision to about 10-15 new restaurants, 2030 stores and there’s a residential do three top-notch conferences a year will component to it as well.

What’s happening downtown put us on the map.”

Alpharetta is really tremendous.

People who live in the surrounding area want to be part of this downtown, they want to live near it. We’re the first anywhere outside the perimeter of Atlanta to have something similar to Atlanta’s very famed beltline. We are creating a vibrant downtown, which is really where the heart and soul of the city is, but a little over half a mile away we have Avalon which is kind of the glitz and high-end portion of the city. We decided to connect downtown and Avalon with Haynes Bridge, a new area that I think is just on the verge of becoming something just as unique. So now we have this incredible 8-mile greenway going north and south and connected by an inner and outer loop. This loop is connecting our attractions – downtown, Avalon and Haynes Bridge – with every office, every residential neighborhood and every restaurant and store.

Top education and healthcare are also part of Alpharetta’s attractiveness?

What really drew my wife and me to Alpharetta was that we wanted to be in an area where the schools were good. This is a big state, we have 10.5 million people in Georgia and 4 of the top 10 high schools in the state serve some portion of the Alpharetta population.

I would say that we are a cross between Mayberry and Austin, Texas. We have the best things of an urban environment, the best things of a suburban environment and schools that are top-notch. When you start mixing all these best things you get that connection piece where people feel a part of something.

How has your vision of becoming the Technology City of the South contributed to the success of Alpharetta?

The reason that we have been able to succeed

is because we have cast a vision, and not only have we cast a vision of where we’re going, but we’ve shown how the parts play into that vision.

I would never have guessed how far we would move when we started this technology motion and embracing who we are six years ago. Now we have over 640 technology companies in Alpharetta, which is more than double the amount in Atlanta and more than in Austin, Texas and we have added over 1,200 technology technology companies jobs alone since 2012. The interesting thing is in Alpharetta that beyond our borders there are 300 technology companies with Alpharetta addresses that aren’t actually in Alpharetta. They want to have an Alpharetta address which really underlines part of that success.

Going forward, I think that we have a really technology jobs added great opportunity to lead in terms of innovation since 2012 and opportunities for start-up companies. I also think, that once the conference center comes online, the vision to do three top-notch conferences a year will put us on the map. And longer-term, as the conferences continue, they will become profitable and that profit will go to our Technology opening of Commission, which can then reinvest those funds the Alpharetta into doing the job that they’re already doing. So, Convention Center with more capital and more means, the horizon for Alpharetta is limitless.

640+

1,200

January 2018

Alpharetta is home to the brightest talent Peter Tokar, Economic Development Director, City of Alpharetta The Alpharetta Innovation Center (AIC) was launched less than two years ago.

The Alpharetta Innovation Center is an active innovation center which the city has sponsored and in just over 2 years, has graduated 6 start-up tech companies.

Our first graduate, BaseCamp Networks, is now a thriving business in Alpharetta. Juice Analytics, Echo360, Worthix, LivFul and EvIDent are all start-up tech companies that have roots in the Alpharetta Innovation Center. One of our graduates, Worthix, was actually a Silicon Valley start-up that relocated to Alpharetta We want following their series-A funding round. They found they could find Alpharetta to be known as a city where the same talent in Alpharetta as in Silicon Valley, but much more innovation happens.” affordable while still being in a tech ecosystem. Our innovation center is thriving and we have a continual waiting list for companies wanting to take the temporary office space we have available for rent at the innovation center. We currently have over 60 start-up companies and entrepreneurs being served by the center with new members joining every month. We are already looking at expanding the innovation center.

What is the AIC’s mission?

The aim of our innovation center is to provide a platform for people to be able to grow their business, make connections, get mentorship, training and everything else that they need and then hopefully stay here in Alpharetta or the region.

We have many executive entrepreneurs, tech employees that have been From a regional perspective, we have those two-tier millennials in the workforce for a while that still have great ideas, but also a family, moving to Alpharetta and a perfect feeder system from downtown Atlanta a good job, kids at good schools, and still want to flex their creativity through Georgia Tech, the Tech Village as well as the different incubators muscle. So, the innovation center also serves as an outlet where those at ATDC. From a community perspective, we’ve been making leaps and entrepreneurs can go and build something without bounds and added many community amenities that having to give up their security. make Alpharetta livable for everybody.

I think one of the important things to realize about What is the Avalon development? innovation entrepreneurship is that the media generally The Avalon development has come online in the tends to focus on the entrepreneur that’s 20-something city for women last three years. It’s a ‘fiberhood’ so it’s connected to a looking for the next Snapchat or a similar invention entrepreneurs gigabit fiber that’s basically a smart community. We thought up in college and become a big success story. just launched phase two of Avalon a couple weeks ago, However, all four of the startups that have graduated out which will include a hotel and convention center. The of the AIC are serial entrepreneurs, and this was either convention center will open in January 2018. Our first their second or third start-up. in Georgia to tech conference is already scheduled for July of next year.

#1

1st city

Alpharetta has seen a tremendous growth in the last few years, both in companies and talent.

Since Mayor Belle Isle developed Alpharetta’s tagline of being the Technology City of the South, we did a deep dive and now have 642 technology companies in Alpharetta, which is the most of any city in the Metro Atlanta region. We have around 65,000 residents but over 90,000 people that commute into Alpharetta every day, so we’re effectively also a work destination. We’re seeing a high influx of the older millennials coming into Alpharetta which I think is more of a strength than a weakness.

receive economic development accreditation

#6 fastest growing city in the US

Alpharetta has been named # 1 city to relocate (according to Forbes) and # 6 fastest growing city in the US. We’re also the first municipality in Georgia to get an Accredited Economic Development Organization certification and the 57th organization out of 10,000 economic development organizations in the country.

We’re dedicated to being as professional as we can in dealing with the community, with businesses and with every aspect of the city.

Propelling business Trip Tollison, President & CEO, Savannah Economic Development Authority (SEDA) What are the key economic sectors in Savannah?

We have spent a lot of time trying to cultivate and maintain our bread and butter of the economy which is the five sectors – manufacturing, tourism, ports & logistics, military and healthcare- I think that we have been successful at making sure that these sectors are thriving. But it is also incumbent upon us to look at other ways to expand the economy so we’ve been busy trying to promote creative technologies. As you know, Georgia is a top destination for film and entertainment With the production and we’re making efforts exception of Airbus, to strengthen this economic sector. We don’t think we’ll have an Atlanta here as we have more far as entertainment production, but we aerospace activity certainly think we’re the number two spot here than anywhere in Georgia for that type of activity. So, with else in the world.” creative technologies, Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) and some of the other resources we have here, we’re trying to boost that industry so that we have six major economic sectors and not just five.

What are you doing to promote the film industry?

We’ve created a regional film division (Film Savannah) and employed the necessary people to help us market and sell Savannah as a top destination for film and TV production. We’ve garnered a lot of support in the industry because the MovieMaker Magazine, a top trade publication in the entertainment industry, has ranked the Savannah area as the number one small to mid-sized town for film production in all of the United States two years in a row. So, the word is out there, there’s a lot of buzz. We’re seeing crews moving in, sound stages coming online and we’ve also created an incentive program in addition to what the state does that has been very successful.

How would you qualify workforce development in Savannah?

We have 18 different colleges and universities within an hour of downtown Savannah and we have 60,000 students that are in some sort of post-secondary education program. We have partnerships with all of our high schools, we have a technical high school and another one is coming online. We have Savannah Technical College, which is one of the best in the state for aerospace development programs. Georgia Southern is doing the advanced manufacturing engineering program, which is a big deal, in partnership with companies like JCB, Gulfstream and Mitsubishi. With the exception of Airbus in Europe, we have more aerospace activity here than anywhere else in the world.

We have a highly trained workforce, not just here in Savannah, but all over the southeast that have the skillset necessary for this industry and that makes us very, very competitive. Having Gulfstream here, the largest aerospace manufacturer in the southeastern United States, with 9,000-10,000 employees, really elevates our presence in this area.

One of your key competitive sectors is advanced manufacturing.

We have a very diverse manufacturing portfolio with chemical, fluff pulp paper, cardboard, transportation equipment and fire arm manufacturers.

We also have manufacturing of advanced turbine and gas powered fan turbine devices that are used in the energy sector. We are also bringing online a 50,000-70,000 square feet state-of-the-art facility for advanced manufacturing and aerospace industries on the corner of I-95 and I-16.

So yes, absolutely, it’s one of our key sectors. small to mid-sized

#1

town for film production in the US

18

colleges & universities within 1 hour from downtown Savannah

60,000

students in post-secondary education programs

Where are companies locating from?

Probably 75% of our open projects right now are based in North America and 25% a combination from Europe and Asia.

Why do companies relocate here to Savannah?

Apart from great infrastructure, I think that regulation can be very tough on the West Coast and the northeastern part of the United States, making companies look at other opportunities to get out of that regulatory environment.

We have a great workforce and the cost of living and the cost of doing business are lower in the southeast. Georgia is the gateway to the south, nobody can argue that. We have the largest port in the south, we have the largest passenger airport in the world, so, if you want to do business in the south, at some point you’re going to have to deal with the State of Georgia.

The authentic southern hospitality experience Joseph Marinelli, President, Visit Savannah Georgia is seeing record numbers in tourism. How much is Savannah benefitting from this increase in number of visitors?

Last year was our strongest year ever. Over 13.8 million visitors came to Savannah in 2016, of which almost 8 million of them were overnight travelers and another 6 million were what we call daytrippers, those that come in from the surrounding areas and resorts.

Altogether, in economic terms, Savannah benefitted from So, our message almost $3 billion in visitor spending. Also, more than is simple. Visit 27,000 jobs in and around Savannah and expect the Savannah area are directly the unexpected.” attributed to tourism and the hospitality industry.

We’re fortunate because this part of the country is very popular right now among US nationals and people from around the world who want to experience the southern hospitality. We have had a lot of the high-profile travel, lifestyle and culinary magazines and websites giving us accolades- We were mentioned in Condé Nast and Travel & Leisure as one of the Top 10 Cities to Visit which gives cache when marketing our city.

What differentiates Savannah as a destination?

We like to joke locally that Charleston is the sophisticated sister and Savannah is the quirky cousin. Both cities are historic, beautiful, charming, romantic, haunted, coastal cities so they have lots of similarities. On the other hand, both cities couldn’t be more different.

We believe that Savannah offers a bit more casual and relaxed overall experience for our guests.

How important is the Atlanta airport for Savannah?

about authenticity and is built on the authentic southern hospitality experience. The live oaks and Spanish moss are real, the architecture that you see is real and the friendliness that you will experience is real. Everything in Savannah is in human scale. The largest building is five stories which is the equivalent of the largest trees. Everything here is in a scale that lends itself to “I feel comfortable visitors in 2016 here, I feel safe, I feel it’s clean.”

Our desire with the new ad campaign is to transition from authentic to more unexpected and evocative. You come here for the first time and you don’t expect to see beautiful live oaks and Spanish in visitor spending moss to the degree that you do. You don’t expect to see over 10,000 students from the Savannah College or Art and Design. You don’t expect to find one of the top-rated restaurants in America like The Grey or Elizabeth’s on 37th Street. And… you certainly don’t expect to see a 4+ star hotel being built in a century jobs directly old power plant. attributed to the We work hard to keep the historic, but we’re tourism & hospitality not afraid to embrace the hip and the cool and the industry vibrancy of a small city. So, our message is simple.

Visit Savannah and expect the unexpected.

It’s critical. Being the busiest airport in the world, it is the most important feeder to the Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport (SAV). SAV now offers more than 40 non-stop flights daily.

Tell us about the revitalization of the Savannah riverfront.

Savannah’s riverfront is seeing a total transformation including the Plant Riverside District and new J.W. Marriott Hotel, which is being built in an old power plant that generated electricity for our city for over 100 years. It’s set to be the anchor for the transformation of our River Street experience. On the opposite end of River Street, we see additional growth happening with more hotels, restaurants, shops and office space being developed. Both River Street projects combined are bringing over a half-billion dollars worth of development to our community.

What are your priorities at the moment?

We are working on a new ad campaign right now, which we plan to roll out for 2018. Savannah is

13.8 million $3 billion 27,000

Historic city by the sea Cornell Harvey, Mayor, City of Brunswick Brunswick is a small town and the home of one of the busiest port in the US. Brunswick has the perfect blend of everything one would want in a place they would call home. Offering both a small-town feel and a city bustling with vibrancy; restaurants and stores; businesses are able to thrive in our neighborly atmosphere. Everyone in Brunswick has a voice and we are constantly working on ways to improve. We like to ensure that when a business comes here, it stays here.

The port By doing so, we stimulate an upward trend in not only the economic growth also makes us international as of Brunswick, but also in the state of Georgia as a whole. cargo is shipped The port provides sustaining jobs here from all over for people who are hence able to the world.” flourish within our community. The port also makes us international as cargo is shipped here from all over the world. We are called Brunswick, the Key to the Golden Isles, but we are also one of the gateways to the United States.

Please explain your Building a Better Brunswick Initiative.

“To Build a Better Brunswick (B3)” was my slogan and once elected as Mayor, we began the initiative which has created interests in economic development and community involvement throughout the city. A number of our citizens have come onboard wanting to help and make it happen as they too shared the vision of Building a Better Brunswick. Thus, this initiative is about partnerships and community service.

As part the B3 initiative, one of our Commissioners started what we call Neighborhood Planning Assemblies (NPAs), which is a spinoff of Neighborhood Watches. NPAs initiates community involvement, galvanizing residents as to what’s happening in their community and what they would like to see happen. There have been many celebrated successes with our NPAs.

We are working hard to continue placing tourism and hospitality at the forefront with our four-year college, technical school, and Career Academy programs of study in the industry. We want tourists to have a spectacular experience while visiting and become our ambassadors for their return visit with others.

#1

How do you assess the people that have embarked on this initiative with you?

The vision became a reality when we started employing people who shared our vision and quickly trained others. The staff comes to the table with great ideas and plans that can be implemented to help build a better Brunswick. The City Council provides opportunities for employees; thus together, we move this important initiative forward. Putting ideas into action is vital and at the very core of our being. We cannot be paralyzed for fear of failure. We would rather fail by trying to do something than fail by doing nothing at all.

Tourism is important for Brunswick.

Brunswick is rich in history and culture; with a historic port city and buildings dating back to 1819. Brunswick also serves as the Gateway to the Golden Isles. Each year the City of Brunswick attracts thousands of visitors marveling at our historic sites and nearby beaches.

largest law enforcement training centre in the nation (FLETC)

1.4 million

vehicles shipped through the Port of Brunswick annually

1771

year of the city’s foundation

What’s your vision for Brunswick 5 years down the line?

We would like Brunswick to be a place where people would want not only to visit, but also live. We are working hard to improve the city and in the next five years Brunswick will experience a complete transformation.

Brunswick is conveniently located between Savannah and Jacksonville and this also helps our development We are now working on changing the city, but we are also changing the way people view Brunswick. They will see the city providing opportunities for them and creating new industries and jobs. Our Economic Development Director is providing entrepreneurship and promoting home-based companies. These sorts of initiatives help transform the community and further enhance our goal to be one of the premier cities on the coast of Georiga. Having already seen some of these changes, people have begun investing in the City of Brunswick and our downtown area is a prime example of our revitalization efforts.

Building a better Brunswick Travis Stegall, Director, Dept. of Economic & Community Development, City of Brunswick What would you like people to know about Brunswick?

We have a population of only 16,800 people, but because we’re centrally located, we service 225,000 individuals regionally. We have the only regional hospital, we have a regional airport and we have the 2nd busiest RO/RO port in the nation so though we’re small in population, we’re the Brunswick is central hub of this region.

The City of Brunswick was really poised for a serious designed for services and small change over the businesses, so I’m lucky to love small next 36 months.” businesses and understand what small businesses need. Our primary focus is on businesses that are $250 million and below. Small businesses feed America and we buy into that whole-heartedly. We have everything that everyone else has as far as incentives and tax opportunities and we’re open for business.

How important is workforce development?

We are using innovative and creative ways in every aspect of what we do including workforce development. As a small city, we can adjust quickly and we’re nimble. We have a streamline effect when it comes to workforce development. We are dealing with two fundings, the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), as well as the Golden Isles Career Academy and the Coastal Pines Technical College which allow us to create on the job training situations.

Tell us about some of the initiatives you’ve started.

and creative ideas to target Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and Community Development Entities (CDEs) to locate to Brunswick and from here service the whole South Georgia. We believe our strong suit is housing financial services. The premises behind building a better Brunswick, is for our entrepreneurs to have access to capital.

With the help of both The University of Georgia SBDC and Rita Tech I’ve been able to create a microenterprise program and the second thing I did was create a program that allows individuals that were already working in low wage paying jobs the opportunity to get certified and move from that $9-hour to the $15-hour pay range. We have finished the first companies created microenterprise initiative and started 18 businesses in in the last 6 months the last 6 months. As part of the program, they receive six weeks of intense training followed by another six through micro months of mentorship. We’ve had great results and it’s enterprise program been working out perfectly.

18

How does Quick Start play into that?

There are only a few cities in Georgia that have Quick Start facility and we are fortunate to have one in Brunswick.

This means that if you want to locate your business here, we can actually set up an assembly line that models the workforce you need and we will have them trained for you when you arrive. It is an awesome program both for the city and for the company that relocates.

How important is financial services?

During the market downturn, like others, we lost a lot of our financial power. But we are gaining momentum and we’re seeing banks and financial services moving back to the city. We’re also working on several new, innovative

983

students served by GACAA’s Headstart program

$3.9 billion Brunswick metropolitan area GDP

What does the future hold for your city?

Brunswick is poised for a serious change over the next 36 months. I want to make sure that the public-private partnerships are being cultivated and that both parties see the mutual benefit of working together. The publicprivate conversation can be quite difficult at times but usually, everyone is saying the same thing but in a different language, and so in the role that I play, I’m fortunate to to be bilingual. For those of us that share the title of economic and community development, it gives us that opportunity. It gives us an opportunity to fill gaps in plans that were laid out years ago and it enables us to fill gaps in new plans going forward.

Our job only demands one thing and that is for us to care and everything starts from there. That’s when the relationships of public-private start to happen, that’s when programs get put in place to provide workforce opportunities for individuals in the communities, that’s when opportunities are being provided to the business community and those become economic drivers. Our books have been thrown out the window a long time ago, we have to operate outside the box, we have to think in ways that other people don’t, but it all starts with caring.

Working hand in hand with state leaders Bill Linginfelter, Chairman, Georgia Chamber of Commerce & Area President (GA/SC), Regions Bank Why has Georgia been able to keep the accolade of # 1 state for business for so many years in a row?

Because of its leadership starting right at the top: the Governor is the first one who has been dedicated to making Georgia the number one place to do business. He’s got everybody rowing in the right direction, all the state agencies, our elected officials throughout the state including our legislature, and of course, business leaders, who saw it as a great opportunity. Georgia has a can-do, let me help you out, attitude and when you have everybody working towards the same objective, things happen.

What is your main goal as Chairman of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce?

Our basic mission is to make sure that economic opportunities are enjoyed across the whole state and not just in a handful of places. You have some people and places that do better than others, and they’re not necessarily the biggest cities every time. Sometimes there are wonderful smaller communities that know how to lay out an industrial or office park that’s I’m excited attractive to a firm that is looking to relocate or grow. about where As a chamber, we try to help and Georgia is headed.” partner with the state government to facilitate economic development. We also help local communities understand what is happening, what is going to happen, what is forecasted or projected to happen and what issues they may be facing so that they can be prepared to address those and take advantage of the opportunities.

Fortunately, for Georgia, there are several organizations dedicated to economic development in partnership.

One organization can’t do it all. It’s critical that we all work towards not only quality employment but quality of life. I admire the attention to detail that our local elected officials and our state have had towards improving the quality of life for people.

There’s elections next year to elect a new state government. What is your view on that?

I think every governor has the opportunity to put his or her own stamp on things, and Georgia has always been a good state to do business.

We’ve always ranked pretty high, according to different sites and being number one for four straight years is a real accomplishment. So, regardless of who is elected governor next year, he or she will be given one of the best opportunities any governor will ever have.

Once you said: “put people in the right job.”

What does that mean for you?

What it means for me is matching up a person’s talents and skills with the opportunities presented to them in the marketplace. If you do that, you’re going to be successful just about every single time.

How does this tremendous potential apply to Regions Bank?

Georgia is projected to grow 1.5 million people over the next ten years. I would like to make sure that Regions services every one of those households and businesses. It’s a daunting challenge when you think about the numbers, but we certainly want to be able to meet that opportunity. Regions is investing significantly in every possible channel for contact and for ways of meeting customers’ needs. There are at least four, maybe five, independent national marketing or polling companies including Temkin, Gallup and Javelin who rank us at the top within the top five in terms of customer satisfaction. While we’re not perfect, I can claim that we do a pretty darn good job in meeting the customer banking needs of our customers. experience in the nation I think Georgia will provide us, with the growth (Temkin) that’s projected here over the next 10 years, a really great opportunity to do more of that, so I’m excited about where Georgia is headed.

#1 15

state footprint

30

scholarships awarded in honour of Black History Month

Can you tell us about Regions in Georgia?

Regions has about 75 offices located around the state. We are bankers that are dedicated to following through our philosophy of shared value; what we do has to be good not only for the bank but also for our clients, shareholders, investors and communities in which we operate. One of the things we are proud of is our community involvement in Georgia. As one example, our associates spend volunteer hours providing financial literacy training to schools.

The 2016-2017 State Chamber of the Year Chris Clark, President & CEO, Georgia Chamber of Commerce What are Georgia’s competitive advantages?

I think what has been critical for this success is that we have a very pro-business government. We have locally and state-wide elected leaders, both Republicans and Democrats, that understand and put a priority on the right tax policies, the right workforce policies and the right education policies. Also we’ve been blessed to have a Governor and a General Assembly that have focused on those issues above all others.

Besides that, you have to have the right infrastructure, which Georgia does with the fastest growing port, the busiest airport, investments in transportation and roads, bridges and transit systems, but all those are just the basic layers, which keep us in the game, but to be competitive, we have to continue to recruit and keep talent because businesses will go where they can find talent.

How do you recruit and retain talent?

We do this by making sure that our universities and our technical colleges are putting out the best and the brightest and that we keep them here.

Another component is the long-term pipeline. We know that the Atlanta region will increase their millennial workforce by about 25% over the next 10 years, but what about the generation after that? Do we have the right policies and programs in place to keep generation Z in Georgia, and particularly in some We have to continue of our rural areas? Atlanta, Savannah and the coast of to recruit and keep talent because businesses will go Georgia do extraordinarily well, but we have to look where they can find talent.” at all 159 counties, and 74 of our counties will lose population in the next decade so how do you keep talent in those smaller communities? We have a lot of discussions around quality of life and having vibrant downtowns, good schools and great hospitals, and I think that’s what’s going to make the difference. We’re blessed to be the best state to do business but we have to continue to work as policy makers, business leaders and spread that growth to every part of Georgia.

Tell us about your Georgia 2030 initiative.

It is our effort to get Georgia’s elected and business leaders to focus on those issues that are going to be important for the future. So, our effort is multi-fold.

Part of it is to help people understand the talent quotient and population projections to ensure that their communities and business are prepared.

We also develop recommendations for the next Governor and the candidates that are running in 2018, of things that we think will keep Georgia being the best place to do business.

There’s a lot of entrepreneurship in Georgia, why is that?

I think part of it is the work ethic that you have, and as an agrarian state many of our people are already entrepreneurs. Georgia Tech and the University of Georgia also have offices all over Georgia to help

people start businesses and connect with the intellectual property that they have. So, I think having flagship universities around the state and the history and the culture that we have, all play a role.

What about the capital needed to allow new ideas to flourish and grow.

Georgia ranks number five for access to capital. Obviously, we want more and more capital to come into the state but we’re pretty happy with being number five right now. I think part of the attractiveness is having a university system, that quite frankly, is focused on turning the intellectual capital and intellectual property into businesses.

2017

State Chamber of the Year

2 million+

employed by members

500

industry sectors

Looking forward, what are your key priorities?

First of all, we have to make sure that we continue to elect those pro-business, job creation people, and we have a big election cycle coming up next year, so that’s a priority for us. We are also working to spread that economic growth around the state to make sure that every community or at least every region has an opportunity. Again, I think that talent is the driving issue. It’s changed the equation and how you compete. So, what does talent need?

Talent needs a great quality of life, it needs quality education, it needs all those pieces, everything that we do. So that’s our story and we’re sticking to it.

Helping Georgia companies grow Knox Massey, Executive Director, Invest Georgia Tell us about Invest Georgia The Invest Georgia Program was created in 2013 and is a fund of funds model that offers early and growth stage, Georgia-based companies long- term access to capital.

Invest Georgia was initially funded with $20 million and the program is expected to grow to $100 million over the next few years.

We started making fund investments beginning in One of the intents 2015 and we’ve made three to date with a number of Invest Georgia is of additional allocations to showcase great anticipated by the end of opportunities.”

2017. We’re a standard LP (limited partner) in our portfolio funds and our investments have been between $1-3 million per fund, but as we grow we’d like to increase that to $5-7 million.

That larger amount will start to attract other (out of state) funds that want the State of Georgia to be a limited partner in their fund(s).

Invest Georgia mainly invests in early stage?

People have different definitions of early stage. Early stage can mean initial company formation, revenue between $100,000 up to $1,000,000 with perhaps as much as $5-$10 million. What we call growth funds look at companies with revenue of roughly $5 million up to $15+ million, and then there’s the late expansion stage which could be $20M+ million or more. There’s enough inventory of funds in the venture space in Georgia right now for us to consider all three stages. We can effectively put the initial How do you see Georgia as a potential “Silicon Valley of the South”? $20 million to work in early stage venture funds and be finished with our My take on that phrase is what they’re really saying is they want the region current allocations in 2017. When we receive more capital from the General to be viewed as innovative and supportive of entrepreneurs, supportive Assembly, hopefully next year, we can move up to growth or perhaps late of intellectual property and that entrepreneurs and young companies can flourish here. My vision, and Invest Georgia enables stage. There’s a couple of successful venture funds that do a big part of this, is the triangulation of the government, that here and there’s probably a handful or more private universities and the private enterprises. Fifteen years equity funds that have been successful in growth stage ago, in the State of Georgia you had competitive silos of investments. But to be honest, some of the larger private equity funds don’t really need our money. If we can put conceived to boost activity; the corporations, the universities, the government Georgia-based and the private entities. They talked to each other but they in $10 or $20 million, it may make a difference to them.

When we get to that level, we have to decide what we growth & early- didn’t really work together. With the growth of Silicon want to accomplish, but there’s plenty of opportunities stage companies Valley and the growth of collaborative efforts--we’ve seen collaboration grow and strengthen in Georgia, specifically in the early stage market, which is always needed here in the last three to five years. in Georgia.

Today the universities are working very closely with In which type of funds do you invest? the funds and private entities and we’re seeing the state We’re very Georgia specific—the Invest Georgia government starting to step in and say, “How can we total allocation Program can only invest in Georgia-based funds that help?”. With the passage of the Invest Georgia statute, we from the State have historically invested in a high percentage of have seen the State (of Georgia) government much more Georgia companies, have an office here (preferably involved in helping academic institutions, entrepreneurs, main HQ), and the principals of the fund have startup incubators, and private entities. extensive experience in the venture or private equity But what is most rewarding to see is that there is interest industries. Our involvement and capital will hopefully in what’s happening in Georgia, be it in Atlanta, Augusta invested allow funds in Georgia to take on a bit more risk with or Columbus. Invest Georgia can certainly showcase those since inception investment terms and capital to compete with some great opportunities, but it also can be supportive of the of the larger markets such as California, New York, venture funds in town that help many of Georgia’s most or Boston. successful companies grow and prosper.

2013

$100m $20m

Gateway for America

As the nation’s largest single-terminal operation, Garden City’s 1,200-acre footprint provides nine containership berths and delivers greater flexibility. www.gaports.com

Understanding the business opportunities that come out of technology Larry Williams, President & CEO, Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) How would you assess Georgia’s tech industry?

IIt’s an exciting time for Georgia when it comes to technology. We’ve spent the last decade building our assets and increasing our strengths in many different areas. Along with the private sector, this growth was primarily driven by Georgia Institute of Technology as well as our leading university systems. We view Georgia as the state where technology meets the real world, meaning we have companies here that are utilizing technology, creating innovations, and effectively using the technology to drive revenue. Georgia companies are cognizant on how they are It’s an exciting using technology to increase time for Georgia when it their customer-user experience; benefitting from the use of comes to technology.” technology to be more efficient in their operations and decreasing expenses; and the ways technology affects and improves the day-to-day lives of our citizens.

What is the driving force behind Georgia to attract innovators and companies?

Georgia is successful in attracting innovators who come to the state to grow their companies, as the value proposition is so much greater than anywhere else in the country. We are very competitive in terms of the direct cost of doing business, access to high quality human capital, and our innovation ecosystem that is built from collaboration with our universities, private sector and broader academia with research and development.

How important are the policies that have been put in place within the state?

mentors, professional development leaders as well as the legal and accounting services.

Georgia has implemented key policies that have influenced the business What is TAG doing to attract venture capital to Georgia? climate for our state to be a great, affordable place to do business. TAG is always working to make sure that we drive venture capital to the The policies that were put in place have helped to build an enriched state. A part of our mission is letting the world and the capital markets know environment, where one can enjoy a great quality of life. This attracts that we have great innovators, investments and companies in Georgia. individuals to come,live and work here. Our policies have improved We are a founding partner of Venture Atlanta, the leading conference that creates opportunities for top tier investors to connect the infrastructure which has made it attractive for with and fund the region’s most promising technology. companies to relocate here. With our airports and our Supporting annual events such as these are one of the seaports, we have the ability to get anywhere in the reasons we are able to bring capital markets here. The world from Atlanta. Another important factor is the other part of our mission is ensuring that we have fiber that we have in the ground which allows us some members homegrown capital working for us. We have tracked of the best capacity within digital infrastructure in the that private sector funds being generated by private world. So, all of this was policy driven, with much individuals and corporate Georgia are being reinvested foresight and investments made early on. in many of our innovation companies. So, the quality What can you tell us about the start-up scene? of deal flow and great companies providing solutions incubators & Georgia is home to over 200 incubators and to real world problems, is attracting both foreign and accelerators around accelerators around the state, which is a testament homegrown new capital. the state to the vibrancy of this sector. These facilities are How would you position Georgia as a technology filled with innovators who are incubating good hub? ideas in a wide range of verticals and they play a Every state wants to be the number one for technology very important part of the ecosystem in affordable in the country but we’re going to do it “The Georgia co-location space and communities. Establishing Way”. With TAG being the largest state technology start-ups in communities encourages the sharing of Georgia’s invested bright ideas to developing peer-to-peer and mentor venture capital in 2016 trade association in North America, Georgia already has a lead on that position. networks. Our thriving ecosystem includes advisors,

35,000 200

$836.1m

The future American Cancer Society Gary M. Reedy, Chief Executive Officer, American Cancer Society What are your key priorities?

Today, we are the largest not-for-profit, private funder of cancer research in the US. Since the late 1940s, we have funded about $4.6 billion worth of research, and 47 of the researchers that we have funded have gone on to win a Nobel Prize, many others have won the Lasker Award, which is often the preamble to the Nobel.

Research is going to be the answer to curing cancer or at the minimum make it a chronic as opposed to a deadly disease. In 2016, we made a decision to double our research funding in the next 5 years to about $250 million per year by 2021.

I would love Besides research, we have three other primary areas of focus. for us to be out First up: Patient Services. We are of business in there for patients throughout their 10 years.” journey. We have a toll-free number available 24/7 year-round for people to call any time, day or night and get questions answered about their cancer. They can find out how and where to get support, and where to find clinical trials. We have a massive volunteer network who drive patients to and from treatment. We also have more than 30 Hope Lodges including one in metro Atlanta where we provide free lodging for people and their caregivers who need to travel to get cancer treatment.

The second focus is on Education and Screening. More people are surviving cancer and the mortality rate has dropped 25% in the last 25 years. This means 2.1 million fewer cancer deaths nationwide. We’re doing everything we can to educate people on the actions they can take to reduce their risk of getting cancer and how screenings at the appropriate ages can help catch it as early as possible.

Our third area of focus is Advocacy. Our top-notch advocacy group works both at state and federal levels advocating for research funding, access to care, clean air, and increases in tobacco taxes to help reduce tobacco consumption in the US.

What partnerships have you formed since you became CEO? I feel fortunate that we are here in Atlanta, literally next door to Georgia Tech, Emory University, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, and the University of Georgia less than an hour away. Having our Global Headquarters in Atlanta enables us to reach out to these medical centers and universities and say, “what are you working on and what can we do together to help address cancer needs?”

We have also signed a partnership with IBM Watson to use Watson’s cognitive data program which will allow us to use the data we’ve collected all these years to personalize information for patients.

So, you’re effectively creating a cluster for cancer research and innovation here in Georgia.

From a mission stand-point we are working on some very fascinating initiatives right now. One of these is what we call the Cancer Blueprint. The Cancer

Blueprint is created from all the research generated by our network of researchers across the United States and the research we have done ourselves, combining everything we know about every type of cancer, their characteristics, different stages, behavioral patterns, the different types of treatments and their respective success rates. The next step is to look at what we don’t know and determine what we need to know and do to have a greater success rate in ACS’s goal for terms of outcome. research funding

$250m

per year by 2021

1.4 million+

calls received at the National Cancer Information Center in 2016

2.1 million fewer cancer deaths from 1991 to 2014

Where would you like to see the ACS 10 years from now?

In all honesty, I want to see it out of business. I don’t know if that will happen or not, but I would love for us to be out of business in 10 years. That would be awesome for everyone, for every person and for generations to come. But, assuming we are still needed, I want us to be viewed as the most relevant and impactful cancer fighting organization in the world.

I want people to think that the American Cancer Society has clarity of vision, clarity of purpose, is results driven, and is the best investment that you could make – because investing in us provides a return in saving lives, not only in Atlanta and across the United States, but around the world.

ATLANTA IS TRENDING

#atlmeetings #gwcc #gwccexpansion #gwccavision2020 #theworldisgettingbigger #smallworld #trendingatl #discoveratl

OUR WORLD IS GETTING BIGGER; YOURS JUST GOT SMALLER

The world’s largest LEED certified convention center is expanding, transforming the No.1 convention, sports and entertainment destination in the world. What does that mean for you? Everything you need for your meeting will happen on a much more compact campus.

• • • •

Multi-use expansion hall at GWCC creates 1M+ GSF of contiguous exhibit space (nearly 1.5M GSF overall) A new retractable-roof stadium, the Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Home to Super Bowl L111) New on-campus headquarter hotel $27 million reenvisioning of Centennial Olympic Park VISIT ATLANTAMEETINGS.COM TO LEARN MORE.