James March-April 2025 web - Flipbook - Page 35
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ALEX TAYLOR
ERIC TOLER
FANI WILLIS
CHAIRMAN & CEO, COX ENTERPRISES
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, GEORGIA CYBER CENTER
FULTON COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY
The great grandson of founder
James M. Cox is leading this iconic
Georgia family and company into
the modern era, bringing a
commitment to innovation to its more than
50,000 employees worldwide. Cox’s holdings
have expanded into everything from clean
technology to advanced recycling, while
retaining core operating businesses in
broadband, automotive services and media,
including the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
A retired U.S. Army colonel and
former commander of NSA
Georgia, Toler and his team have
created an ecosystem of collaboration between government, academia and
private industry that has made the Center
one of the most prestigious cybersecurity
institutes in the world and a key industry in
Middle Georgia.
Willis has been DA of Georgia’s
largest county since 2021 but this
year serious allegations and
discoveries emerged against her
and her special prosecutor (and accused
romantic partner) Nathan Wade. They
initiated prosecution against former President Donald Trump and co-defendants for
alleged 2020 election interference, and now
her ethics problems are damaging her
professionally and politically.
GREG TEAGUE
CEO, CROY ENGINEERING
Teague leads one of the top
engineering firms in the Southeast,
taking the reins from founder Jim
Croy three years ago. Croy’s
impressive project list includes major
infrastructure ventures across the Southeast,
while Teague has maintained the firm’s local
roots, recently serving as the chairman of the
board of directors for the Cobb Chamber.
DAVID THOMAS
PRESIDENT, MOREHOUSE COLLEGE
Morehouse’s 12th president kicked
off his tenure in 2018 by embarking on the most successful capital
campaign in school history, raising
more than $240 million. An award-winning
author, Thomas has extended the school’s
reach by launching its first online degree
programs and cemented its position as a
center of intellectual discourse.
HUGH “TRIP” TOLLISON
PRESIDENT & CEO, SAVANNAH ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY
With a background in politics,
having served as an aide to former
U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn and former
U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston, Tollison’s
fingerprints can be found on nearly every
major economic development initiative in the
Savannah area over the past decade, one of
the fastest-growing in the U.S.
CAROL TOMÉ
CEO, UPS
This former Home Depot executive
has twice been named to the
Forbes list of “The World’s 100
Most Powerful Women,” ranking as
high as 6th in 2023. She’s been honored as a
Georgia Trustee by the Georgia Historical
Society and her civic endeavors include board
seats for the Grady Memorial Hospital
Corporation and the Buckhead Coalition,
among others.
WILLIAM UNDERWOOD
LEE THOMAS
PRESIDENT, MERCER UNIVERSITY
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER, GEORGIA FILM, MUSIC
& DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT
Mercer’s 18th president has led the
university through an unmatched
period of growth, featuring a 25
percent increase in enrollment,
two new medical school campuses and a
huge expansion of PhD programs. Underwood has also buffed the school’s research
credentials and more than doubled its
endowment to more than $500 million.
When Thomas began her career in
the Georgia Film and Videotape
Office in 1996, the state’s film
industry was an afterthought. That
is no longer the case, and few have played a
bigger role in turning Georgia into “The
Hollywood of the South.” Thomas continues
to serve as a key link between state and
industry leaders.
MICHAEL THURMOND
POLITICIAN, AUTHOR
This longtime Democratic lawmaker is fresh off a successful eightyear stint as CEO of DeKalb
County, where he established a
$140 million rainy day fund, created a master
transit plan and passed multiple key
SPLOSTs. His name is now being floated as a
serious contender for governor in 2026.
PAULA WALLACE
PRESIDENT, SAVANNAH COLLEGE OF ART
AND DESIGN
SCAD has come a long way since
Wallace helped found it in 1978,
when the tiny Savannah art school
had only seven faculty members
and 71 students. Today it enrolls more than
16,000 students and is recognized as one of
the premier art and design schools in the
world, with prestigious satellite campuses in
Atlanta and Lacoste, France.
DAVE WILLS
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ASSOCIATED COUNTY
COMMISSIONERS OF GEORGIA
As the lead advocate at the Georgia
Capitol for all 159 of the state’s
county governments, Wills has
quite a lot on his plate. Policy priorities for the group’s 80,000-member county
employees include broadband expansion,
homestead tax exemptions and the implementation of a next-generation 911 system.
PAT WILSON
COMMISSIONER, GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Wilson’s Republican roots as a
staffer for former Gov. Sonny
Perdue helped him work well with
former Gov. Nathan Deal and now
Gov. Brian Kemp as the head of the state’s
wildly successful economic development
wing. James’ 2022 “Georgian of the Year” is a
key reason why Georgia maintains its position
as the “No. 1 state to do business” and why
GDEcD rates as the nation’s best state-level
economic development organization.
CHRIS WOMACK
CHAIRMAN, PRESIDENT & CEO, SOUTHERN COMPANY
Womack started his career on
Capitol Hill as an aide to former
Congressman Leon E. Panetta
before joining Southern Company
in 1988. He worked his way up, eventually
rising to the very top when he succeeded
Tom Fanning as president and CEO in 2023.
One of the nation’s largest utilities, Southern
serves more than 9 million gas and electric
utility customers across six Southern states.
CAL WRAY
PRESIDENT, AUGUSTA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
AUTHORITY
AEDA is the single point of contact
for economic development projects
in Augusta-Richmond County, and
based on the region’s growth over
the past decade that makes Wray a very busy
man. In recent years that meant a focus on
military-related companies to work with Fort
Eisenhower’s Cyber Command Headquarters.
