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 that goal. Its 2023 annual report shows ATC students have a 99% job placement rate, 79% find jobs in their field of study. The institution’s economic impact on the region, $202 million. 

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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 endure treatment and overcome the disease. Rollins began selling Biolyte beverages from the back of her car in 2017—generating six-figure revenue. At the time of this taping, Biolyte was on track for 2023 revenue to top $25 million.

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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 32-county metropolitan Atlanta area.

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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 and director of the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation. Since 1995 it has committed more than $1 billion to support positive change in mental health, democracy, environment, youth development and life on Atlanta’s westside.

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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,” Hybl says, with competitors that include Sweetgreen and Cava. But the former pro athlete is proving a formidable opponent. Founded in 2014, Gusto has a dozen locations, and has seen 2020-2022 revenue increase by about 82%.

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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 what sets Dalton apart is its focus on people—its clients and its 100 employees. This year, Dalton has increased its international business, and secured more Fortune 500 companies as clients.

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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 opened with six leased beds. Today, it has treated more than 35,000 patients who survived injuries to the brain or spinal cord, and other neurological disorders. It launched a $350 million campaign to fund new facilities and programs set to be completed by 2025.

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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 as Red Roof Inn, Message Envy and Atlanta Mission. In the past two years, the company has seen its employee count grow from zero to more than 200.

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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 Bowl and Aflac Kickoff Game. He helped lure the College Football Hall of Fame to Atlanta in 2014. And is a champion for philanthropic causes. Since 2002, Peach Bowl, Inc. has committed $60.9 million to charity.

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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 working on the center’s efforts of “waging peace, fighting disease and building hope,” in nearly 90 countries around the globe.

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