James March-April 2024 online - Flipbook - Page 16
We again present our yearly roster
of bios and charts of Georgia’s major
business, political, legal & media players.
DAN AMOS
CHAIRMAN & CEO, AFLAC
Amos first worked as a salesman
and then, in 1990, became CEO of
the Columbus-based, publicly traded Fortune 500 insurance giant.
He also became board chairman in 2001 and
is now one of the country’s longest serving
CEOs. Today Aflac insures more than 50 million people worldwide with annual revenue
of close to $20 billion.
ROY BARNES
FORMER GOVERNOR, ATTORNEY
It has been 14 years since “‘King
Roy” last ran for office— in 2010
when Nathan Deal derailed his
gubernatorial comeback. Yet Georgia’s 80th chief executive (1999-2003) and last
Democrat governor has remained a political
and legal presence since his heyday, maintaining his Cobb County law practice and ably
defending clients while dispensing advice and
campaign donations to favored candidates.
ED BASTIAN
CEO, DELTA AIR LINES
The James “2021 Georgian of the
Year” has guided Delta to new
heights since being named CEO in
2016, with the airline ranked top
of its class among domestic carriers. Bastian
also garnered international acclaim for his
leadership in navigating the pandemic, which
some other airlines have yet to recover from
while Delta soars ahead.
BRANDON BEACH
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, TRUE NORTH 400
This Alpharetta-based state senator
represents parts of Fulton and
Cherokee Counties under the Gold
Dome, giving him valuable connections and political knowhow to excel at the
helm of True North 400. He and his team and
board have rebranded the North Fulton CID,
a major public-private partnership.
BALRAM BHEODARI
GENERAL MANAGER, HARTSFIELD-JACKSON
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
A retired Army helicopter pilot
with over three decades of experience in the aviation industry,
Bheodari, or “B” as he is known
in the office, oversees the world’s busiest
airport and the state’s largest single employer
with more than 63,000 jobs on site. He’s also
leading a multibillion-dollar capital improvement program to ensure Hartsfield-Jackson
remains a world class airport.
KEVIN BLAIR
CHAIRMAN, PRESIDENT & CEO, SYNOVUS
Having joined Synovus in 2016
as its chief financial officer, Blair
steadily rose through the ranks and
in 2021 became president and CEO
of Columbus-based Synovus (founded in 1888
as Columbus Bank and Trust). He later also
became chairman of the board, overseeing
$62 billion in assets.
SARA BLAKELY
FOUNDER, SPANX
In the mid-90s Blakely, then a
door-to-door fax machine saleswoman, cut the feet off her pantyhose to smooth out the look under
her slacks. That experiment kicked off a chain
of events that evolved into her becoming
the world’s youngest self-made billionaire
through her apparel company and even one
of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world.
ARTHUR BLANK
BUSINESSMAN, PHILANTHROPIST
The Atlanta Falcons have kept
Blank in the headlines as of late,
but his impact on his adopted
hometown goes far beyond football. The Home Depot co-founder’s charitable
