On Leadership

Danita Knight On Leadership

As President and CEO of the YWCA of Greater Atlanta, Danita Knight is dedicated to the organization’s mission: “Eliminating racism, empowering women and promoting peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all.” She’s leading the nonprofit in a $19.5 million fundraising...

Kathy Colbenson On Leadership

As president and CEO of CHRIS 180, Kathy Colbenson has been on a mission, “to try to make the world a better place and help people to be their best selves.” That’s been her North Star since she took the...

Jill Savitt On Leadership

From policing to politics to protests, Jill Savitt has a unique ability to put current events in historical context. She is president and CEO of the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, an organization that aims to inspire and...

Steve Cannon On Leadership

Adam Noyes On Leadership

Adam Noyes leads Atlanta’s largest catering company. He’s CEO of Proof of the Pudding. It provides food services for a variety of venues from the Atlanta Botanical Garden to the University of Georgia’s athletics stadiums, overseeing more than 20,000 events...

Christine Whitaker On Leadership

As Christine Whitaker sees it, she’s at the center of “technology and innovation powering the global economy.” She is the president of Comcast’s Central Division based in Atlanta. That division spans 12 states, has 21 million customers and about 17,000...

Milton Little Jr On Leadership

When Milton Little Jr.’s mother told him as a child to “make sure you help people,” he had no idea how much those words would prove to illuminate his career path. As president and CEO of United Way of Greater Atlanta,...

Jeff Call On Leadership

When Jeff Call joined Bennett Thrasher in 2002, the company had about 50 employees. Today, that number has increased to 500 nationwide. Call is Managing Partner at the financial services firm. Bennett Thrasher reached a milestone in 2023 of $100...

Helene Lollis On Leadership

Mentoring helped Helene Lollis move from developing plastics to people. For more than two decades, the former BP engineer has been president and CEO of Pathbuilders, a firm that uses mentorship to transform top female talent “to change people and...

Jay Bailey On Leadership

From age 11, Jay Bailey knew he wanted to be an entrepreneur. Now as CEO of the Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs (RICE), he leads the nation’s largest hub for developing and scaling Black-owned businesses. Since launching in 2019, RICE...

Morgan Shaw Parker On Leadership

It’s not lost on Morgan Shaw Parker that Atlanta’s WNBA franchise is named after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “I Have a Dream" speech. When she joined the Atlanta Dream as its president and COO in 2021, she sought...

Victoria Seals On Leadership

As president of Atlanta Technical College, Victoria Seals is on a mission—to connect students with industry in a way that leads to greater economic mobility. Now entering her eighth year as president, Seals is well on her way to achieving...

Jesslyn Rollins On Leadership

Jesslyn Rollins has a deep connection to the company she leads. Not only is she Biolye’s CEO, Rollins’ family started the business as a solution for her mother, who in 2016, was battling breast cancer, and needed medical-grade hydration to...

Pam Shipley On Leadership

Pam Shipley has spent more than 30 years in healthcare, and one thing she says she’s learned, “It’s all about the people.” As Georgia Regional President of Kaiser Permanente, Shipley oversees 700 physicians and more than 315,000 members across the...

Fay Twersky On Leadership

Fay Twersky never sought a career in philanthropy. “I just wanted to do the work,” she said, and that she has, at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and in 2021 she became president...

Nate Hybl On Leadership

Former college football quarterback and NFL player Nate Hybl is using lessons learned on the gridiron to now grow his restaurant brand. Hybl is founder and CEO of Gusto, a healthy, fast-casual restaurant chain based in Atlanta. “Competition is fierce,”...

Bill Coontz On Leadership

There are as many as 200 businesses in the metro Atlanta area that consider themselves advertising agencies. That’s stiff competition for Bill Coontz, CEO of Dalton, a 34-year-old firm with three offices in Atlanta, Nashville, and Jacksonville, FL. Coontz says...

Alana Shepherd On Leadership

Alana Shepherd never planned to co-found one of the nation’s top rehabilitation hospitals. But when her son sustained a spinal cord injury in 1973, Shepherd, her husband, son and an orthopedic surgery specialist, sprang into action. In 1975, Shepherd Center...

Jared Belsky On Leadership

Jared Belsky is “living his dream job.” He is CEO and Co-founder of Acadia, an Atlanta-based digital marketing agency. He launched the company in 2021 with co-founder Sean Belnick, and hasn’t looked back. Acadia serves mid-market companies including brands such...

Gary Stokan On Leadership

Gary Stokan is as competitive as they come, especially when trying to score sporting events for metro Atlanta. He is president and CEO of Peach Bowl, Inc., the nonprofit organization that owns and operates, among other things, the Chick-fil-A Peach...

Paige Alexander On Leadership

As CEO of The Carter Center, Paige Alexander is focused on “doing hard things in hard places.” With the backing of the organization’s founders, President Jimmy Carter and First Lady Rosalynn Carter, Alexander leads a team of 3,300 who are...

Cal Morgan On Leadership

As president and CEO of the Atlanta Humane Society, Cal Morgan is focused on the organization’s middle name, ensuring that the 150-year-old nonprofit is humane to employees, animals and members of the community. While it continues the work it’s known...

Garrett Langley On Leadership

Garrett Langley is out to change the world, one neighborhood at a time. He is the founder and CEO of Flock Safety, a fast-growing company that makes surveillance products to help law enforcement solve crimes. Its cameras and license plate...

Paul Donahue On Leadership

Paul Donahue is only the fifth CEO Genuine Parts Company has had in its 95-year history. The company owns NAPA Auto Parts and also distributes industrial parts to manufacturers. While he admits, it’s not especially sexy, Genuine Parts Company also...

Paul Donahue On Leadership

Paul Donahue is only the fifth CEO Genuine Parts Company has had in its 95-year history. The company owns NAPA Auto Parts and also distributes industrial parts to manufacturers. While he admits, it’s not especially sexy, Genuine Parts Company also...

Kevin Gillespie On Leadership

Kevin Gillespie has come up with his own recipe for successful leadership. The award-winning chef and founder of Red Beard Restaurants aims for what he calls “honest leadership” where people follow him because they trust him and believe in the...

Kevin Gillespie On Leadership

Kevin Gillespie has come up with his own recipe for successful leadership. The award-winning chef and founder of Red Beard Restaurants aims for what he calls “honest leadership” where people follow him because they trust him and believe in the...

Kyle Waide On Leadership

As president and CEO of the Atlanta Community Food Bank, Kyle Waide’s figurative plate is full. He oversees the distribution of nearly 100 million pounds of food each year across 29 counties in Georgia. While the organization is taking on...

Kyle Waide On Leadership

As president and CEO of the Atlanta Community Food Bank, Kyle Waide’s figurative plate is full. He oversees the distribution of nearly 100 million pounds of food each year across 29 counties in Georgia. While the organization is taking on...

Stephanie Nadi Olson On Leadership

Even prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, Stephanie Nadi Olson saw a need in the marketplace for more flexibility for workers whose lifestyles required time to care for children or an aging family member. She said she felt compelled to act....

Stephanie Nadi Olson On Leadership

Even prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, Stephanie Nadi Olson saw a need in the marketplace for more flexibility for workers whose lifestyles required time to care for children or an aging family member. She said she felt compelled to act....

Mike Doss On Leadership

As president and CEO of Graphic Packaging, Mike Doss believes in the circular economy. The company makes paperboard from trees for everything from fast food cups to cereal boxes. The goal is to recycle them many times over, then compost...

Mike Doss On Leadership

As president and CEO of Graphic Packaging, Mike Doss believes in the circular economy. The company makes paperboard from trees for everything from fast food cups to cereal boxes. The goal is to recycle them many times over, then compost...

Lauren Koontz On Leadership

Lauren Koontz leads one of the oldest nonprofits in Atlanta. She is president and CEO of the YMCA of Metro Atlanta. The organization was founded in 1858, but Koontz calls it “a 165-year-old start up” because it has had to...

Lauren Koontz On Leadership

Lauren Koontz leads one of the oldest nonprofits in Atlanta. She is president and CEO of the YMCA of Metro Atlanta. The organization was founded in 1858, but Koontz calls it a 165-year-old start up because it has had to...

Nancy Flake Johnson On Leadership

Armed with its inaugural, “State of Black Georgia” report, the Urban League of Greater Atlanta, under the leadership of its president and CEO Nancy Flake Johnson, aims to make the Peach State more equitable for people of color. It has...

Nancy Flake Johnson On Leadership

Armed with its inaugural “State of Black Georgia” report, the Urban League of Greater Atlanta, under the leadership of its president and CEO Nancy Flake Johnson, aims to make the Peach State more equitable for people of color. It has...

Mit Shah On Leadership

For 30 years, Mit Shah has been buying and developing hotels across the country through his company, Noble Investment Group. While the COVID-19 pandemic created some unique challenges for the industry, it also produced opportunities. During the past two years,...

Mit Shah On Leadership

For 30 years, Mit Shah has been buying and developing hotels across the country through his company, Noble Investment Group. While the Covid-19 pandemic created some unique challenges for the industry, it also produced opportunities. During the past two years,...

Egbert Perry On Leadership

Egbert Perry has found a way to balance the profitability of commercial real estate with projects that have positive community impact. Since he founded The Integral Group in 1993, the Atlanta-based development firm has produced 10,000 units of multifamily housing...

Egbert Perry On Leadership

Egbert Perry has found a way to balance the profitability of commercial real estate with projects that have positive community impact. Since he founded The Integral Group in 1993, the Atlanta-based development firm has produced 10,000 units of multifamily housing...

Ed Heys On Leadership

As managing partner of Deloitte for Atlanta and Birmingham, Ed Heys leads one of the largest professional services firms in the region. When he joined the Atlanta office nearly 40 years ago, there were about 110 employees. Now he oversees...

Ed Heys On Leadership

As managing partner of Deloitte for Atlanta and Birmingham, Ed Heys leads one of the largest professional services firms in the region. When he joined the Atlanta office nearly 40 years ago, there were about 110 employees. Now he oversees...

Bill Nordmark III and John Grant On Leadership

Bill Nordmark III is a tech executive and John Grant is executive director of major college football championship bowl games. On the surface, they’re as different as two people can be. That’s exactly what makes them an ideal duo to...

Bill Nordmark III and John Grant On Leadership

Bill Nordmark III is a tech executive and John Grant is executive director of major college football championship bowl games. On the surface, they’re as different as two people can be. That’s exactly what makes them an ideal duo to...

John Yates On Leadership

John Yates is the partner in charge of Morris Manning & Martin’s corporate technology practice. But the long-time attorney is probably best known as a master connector—of people to positions, nonprofits to donors and tech founders to funders. He helped launch Venture Atlanta. Since starting in...

John Yates On Leadership

John Yates is the partner in charge of Morris Manning & Martin’s corporate technology practice. But the long-time attorney is probably best known as a master connector—of people to positions, nonprofits to donors and tech founders to funders. He helped...

Rodney Bullard, CEO, The Same House

After 12 years as vice president of global corporate social responsibility for Chick-fil-A, Rodney Bullard is taking on a new challenge, leading a new nonprofit called The Same House. It will promote education, employment and entrepreneurship. The organization will also put on the...

Rodney Bullard On Leadership

After 12 years as vice president of global corporate social responsibility for Chick-fil-A, Rodney Bullard is taking on a new challenge, leading a new nonprofit called The Same House. It will promote education, employment and entrepreneurship. The organization will also...

Bruce Deel On Leadership

For more than two decades, Bruce Deel founder and CEO of City of Refuge, has served some of Atlanta’s poorest residents, those living in the 30314 zip code. The nonprofit provides a variety of services including workforce training, housing and childcare. To mark its...