SPRECHER ON THE NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE BELL PODIUM.When we touched on future innovation and how ICEhandles research and development, Sprecher mentioned“I’m often asked about our R&D and people are shocked tohear we don’t have a formal department. We believe thatour customers and the market should drive our innovationrather than us telling them what products they need. Effectively, all employees at ICE are in the R&D department.”Sprecher added, “Our goal is to get there faster and betterthan our competitors and help create solutions that can bescaled.” In that moment, I was reminded that the ICE CEOhas been disrupting the markets for almost 25 years and isan entrepreneur at heart.As our interview wound down, I noted that the ICECEO has seen Atlanta and Georgia dramatically evolvesince Bill Campbell was the capital city’s mayor and RoyBarnes was the state’s governor. Today, I noted that AndreDickens is Atlanta’s mayor and Brian Kemp is Georgia’sgovernor. What allowed this city and state to thrive, Iasked, and how has it helped create a great home for ICEin Sandy Springs?“When I was first settling in, I was visited by Atlantaleaders and learned about the ‘Atlanta way,’” he replied.“I learned there was a camaraderie to advancing thiscity and state and it goes beyond politics, age, race andreligion. At first, I thought I wasn’t qualified to get involvedin the civic affairs of Atlanta, but I was told just the opposite— you need to get involved. It was explained to me thatit’s the ‘Atlanta way’ whereby if you achieve a certain levelof success, you give back.” And when I got started, heremembers, “those business leaders said they would guideme and help me to give back.”As the Atlanta community has been pivotal in building ICE, the company has supported several community efforts to give back over the years. As an example,Sprecher and ICE invested in the redevelopment of theWestside 10 years ago. This past spring, ICE launched ayearly event on the Westside with the Westside FutureFund and Warrick Dunn Charities/WD Communities.The event brought together 300+ ICE employees as wellas residents of the Westside for the first time to offer atangible opportunity to give back. Through the event,volunteers planted trees and worked on the local historicgarden, assembled hygiene kits as well as provided homerepairs for a senior resident alongside medical check-ups,financial literacy training sign ups and other awarenessprogramming for residents.Sprecher especially emphasizes that “the state ofGeorgia and city of Atlanta have tremendous assets.” Wediscussed the expanding list of global companies that decided to have their headquarters in metro Atlanta over theyears, and that Atlanta has the world’s busiest airport anda world-class pool of talent that comes out of Georgia’stechnical and higher education system. He also praisesthe tremendous investment that Georgia has made, andcontinues to make, with the Port of Savannah.“Since I arrived in this state,” he concluded, “I givegreat credit to Atlanta’s and Georgia’s past and presentleaders and governors for building a business-friendlyenvironment that continues to attract and retain entrepreneurs and global companies.”Phil Kent is the CEO and publisher of James and James Magazine Online.
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