Steve Green is a native of Savannah, Ga., where he attended Benedictine Military School and graduated from the University of Georgia. He began his professional career in his family's distribution business, Green Distributors, the exclusive franchisee for Frito-Lay products in Southeast Georgia. He was president of the company for 10 years, in which time its size tripled. In 1980, it was purchased by Frito-Lay, Inc. Following the sale, he joined Frito-Lay as vice president in charge of trade development for the Southeastern United States. In 1982, he left the private sector and moved to Washington, D.C., to become Special Assistant to Congressman Lindsay Thomas.