James March-April 2024 online - Flipbook - Page 19
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S P E A KE R OF T H E H O US E
Jon Burns
Newington
S P E A KE R P R O T EM PO R E
Jan Jones
Milton
STUART COUNTESS
M A J OR I TY L EA DER
Chuck Efstration
PRESIDENT & CEO, KIA GEORGIA
Dacula
M A J OR I TY WH IP
James Burchett
Waycross
M A J OR I TY C AU CUS C H A IR
Bruce Williamson
Monroe
M I N OR I TY L EA DER
James Beverly
Macon
M I N OR I TY WH IP
Sam Park
Lawrenceville
M I N OR I TY C AU C US C H A IR
Billy Mitchell
leadership at the Atlanta Sports Council, a
wing of the Metro Atlanta Chamber. Under
his watch the city has scored multiple College
Football Playoff National Championships,
WrestleMania, Final Fours, the Super Bowl
and, coming in 2026, the FIFA World Cup.
Stone Mountain
to head the CSRA Alliance and serve as a
liaison between the base and the Augusta
business community that supports it.
Countess has worked in the auto
industry for almost 30 years, has
been at Kia’s West Point plant since
it opened in 2009 and was named
president and CEO in 2021. Over that time
he helped grow Kia’s American market share
from three percent to nine percent and today
the west Georgia facility pumps out more
than 340,000 vehicles annually.
LISA CUPID
CHAIRWOMAN, COBB CO. BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Cupid’s rise has mirrored Cobb
County’s transformation from a Republican enclave to one that now
has a Democrat-majority Commission. Elected to the Commission in 2013, she
now leads it as chairwoman where a main
priority for the growing county is working to
expand public transportation options.
LAUREN CURRY
CHIEF OF STAFF, GOV. BRIAN KEMP
MANDY COHEN
DIRECTOR, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL
AND PREVENTION
One-time healthcare executive
Cohen was appointed by President
Joe Biden as director last year, and
she is trying to reestablish the
CDC’s reputation in the aftermath of conflicting COVID-19 era health pronouncements
by her predecessor. The fallout from those
COVID years remains a key focus, but the fact
remains that the CDC is a major Atlanta-area
employer with an annual budget of over $12
billion and close to 15,000 highly-trained
employees.
GRETCHEN CORBIN
PRESIDENT & CEO, GEORGIA LOTTERY CORP.
Georgia’s lottery is heralded as a
national success story, and under
Corbin’s leadership it continues to
break records and generate billions
of dollars for Georgia’s HOPE Scholarship and
Pre-K programs. She brings deep political/educational connections to the lottery as a former
commissioner for the Technical College System and Department of Community Affairs.
DAN CORSO
PRESIDENT, ATLANTA SPORTS COUNCIL
The wall inside Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium showing past
and future major events hosted
there is a testament to Corso’s
In January, deputy chief of staff
Curry became the first woman to
fill the governor’s chief of staff
role in Georgia’s 235-year history.
She has had a distinguished career in public
service, including stints at the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security
Agency and the Georgia Department of
Natural Resources.
Outside the office Decker sits on the board of
the Atlanta Committee for Progress.
TONY DelCAMPO
PRESIDENT, STATE BAR OF GEORGIA
The Lima, Peru native served as a
DeKalb County state court judge
before returning to private practice where he focuses on complex
civil litigation. As the 61st president of the
State Bar he represents some 54,000 Georgia
attorneys and their interests, but recent criticism of the Bar centers around lax enforcement when it comes to disciplining some
wayward lawyers.
PAUL DONAHUE
CHAIRMAN & CEO, GENUINE PARTS COMPANY
In 2016 Donahue became just
the fifth CEO of Genuine Parts
in its 99-year history. With close
to 50,000 employees worldwide
the company consists of multiple subsidiaries ranging from industrial parts to office
products, but its best-known brand remains
NAPA Auto Parts with over 6,000 stores
across the U.S.
GREG DOZIER
COMMISSIONER, TECHNICAL COLLEGE SYSTEM
OF GEORGIA
TCSG is more important than ever
in striving to meet Georgia’s growing workforce needs, and Dozier’s
emphasis on Career, Technical, and
Agricultural Education courses and the Georgia Quick Start program have proven vital.
A former aide to Gov. Brian Kemp, he brings
political/business know-how to the state’s
technical college system.
JIM DURRETT
RANDY DAVIDSON
PRESIDENT & CEO, BUCKHEAD COALITION
PRESIDENT, GEORGIA ENTERTAINMENT
Upon succeeding legendary former Atlanta Mayor Sam Massell
as head of the coalition in 2020,
Durrett had little time to settle in.
But he successfully navigated both the pandemic and a fierce Buckhead Cityhood secession movement, steering the prestigious
Atlanta business section and neighborhoods
into calmer waters.
As the film and TV industry has
exploded in Georgia over the past
15 years, Georgia Entertainment
has emerged as a go-to source
for entertainment news and connections.
Newsletter publisher Davidson is one of the
proponents of the state’s “creative economy”
that is especially important to legislators and
economic development professionals, as well
as all Georgians.
TED DECKER
CHAIR, PRESIDENT & CEO, HOME DEPOT
Business has never been better at
the Cobb County-based home improvement giant, where Decker has
worked for nearly a quarter-century, starting as a director of business valuation
in 2000. He now oversees an organization
that operates over 2,300 stores in all 50 states
and employs more than 500,000 associates.
GREGORY FENVES
PRESIDENT, EMORY UNIVERSITY
A former structural engineer,
Fenves’ unique scientific background made him a perfect fit for
one of the nation’s public health
leaders when he joined the school in 2020.
His 2036 fundraising campaign is the most
ambitious in Emory history and will be key
in his mission to offer more opportunities
to students from middle- and low-income
backgrounds.
