Terry Sound Business

Bernie Marcus is chairman of the board of The Marcus Foundation, which focuses on Jewish causes, children, medical research, free enterprise and the community.

Mr. Marcus co-founded The Home Depot, Inc., the world's largest home improvement retailer, and served as chairman of the board until his retirement in 2002. His company revolutionized the home improvement business with its warehouse concept.

Encouraged by his mother to "always give back," Mr. Marcus' contributions are given with the expectation that they will make a significant difference. For instance, the Georgia Aquarium, which was dedicated to the people of Georgia and the associates, customers and shareholders of The Home Depot, is the largest aquarium in the world with over 11 million visitors since its opening. Its construction in downtown Atlanta has not only brought millions of people to the area, it has generated more than $6 billion in construction and development in the area.

In 2009, The Marcus Foundation presented a $20 million gift to Grady Health System to improve emergency care to trauma and acute neurological injury victims throughout Georgia. The Marcus Stroke & Neuroscience Center at Grady and The Marcus Trauma Center at Grady expand hospital space for trauma and brain injury victims and improve time-dependent therapies for stroke and acute neurological emergencies.

In conjunction with The Shepherd Center in Atlanta, Mr. Marcus announced the creation of Project Share, renowned for treatment of brain and spinal injuries. To ensure that members of the military and veterans get diagnosed and cared for without financial constraint, the Marcus Foundation underwrites the housing, transportation and care costs of any military personnel with brain or spinal injuries who are sent to Shepherd. Bernie and his wife Billi were inducted into the National Spinal Cord Injury Association's "Hall of Fame."

In 2008, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta joined forces with The Marcus Institute, founded in 1991, to create the Marcus Autism Center, which offers expanded services for children with autism. Mr. Marcus and The Home Depot broke ground on the Marcus/Home Depot Hospitality House to assist families who travel to Atlanta for medical care.

As part of a public/private partnership with the State of Georgia, the Georgia Institute of Technology broke ground on the $90 million Marcus Nanotechnology Building. Comprised of 30,000 square feet of cleanroom space, the building will become one of the nation's largest cleanroom facilities and the first one designed to provide significant space for research that applies nanoscience and nanotechnology to the emerging field of biotechnology. Work in the Marcus Nanotechnology Building will focus on creating innovative systems that include new approaches to drug delivery, cancer detection and treatment, DNA damage repair, and the detection and analysis of plaque formation for artery and cardiac disease prevention.

Mr. Marcus considers the founding of the Israel Democracy Institute in Jerusalem among his most important efforts. This non-partisan and non-political think tank deals with the complex issues facing the Israeli democratic society.

Recognizing the urgent need for job creation in the US, Mr. Marcus funded and founded Job Creators Alliance (www.jobcreatorsalliance.org), a group of current and retired CEOs and entrepreneurs who have come together to preserve the free enterprise system for succeeding generations. JCA members are spokespeople for a national marketing campaign to educate Americans on what it takes to make jobs, from a business perspective, the benefits of our free market society and how vital it is for America's future.

Mr. Marcus serves in numerous leadership roles including The Shepherd Center, The City of Hope, The Marcus Jewish Community Center, and Business Executives for National Security.

Bernie and his wife Billi received The Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service, given to individuals who have served with distinction in public life. Mr. Marcus was named the inaugural recipient of Inc. 500’s Bernard A. Goldhirsh Award, inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame, and has received the USO Patriot Award, the SeaKeeper Award for promoting the restoration & protection of the world’s oceans, Jewish Federation of Great Atlanta’s Lifetime of Achievement Award, the Golden Plate Award from the Academy of Achievement, Hearthstone Builder Humanitarian Award as one of Builder Magazine Innovators, the Anti-Defamation League’s America’s Democratic Legacy Award and recognized with the TiE Award for his Lifetime Contribution to Entrepreneurship.

A native of Newark, New Jersey, Mr. Marcus received his B.S. degree in Pharmacy from Rutgers University.

Jere W. Morehead became the University of Georgia's 22nd president on July 1, 2013, having previously served as UGA's senior vice president for academic affairs and provost since 2010.

President Morehead's career covers a wide range of faculty and administrative roles. Prior to 2010, he served UGA in several key administrative assignments, including vice president for instruction, vice provost for academic affairs, associate provost and director of the Honors Program, and acting executive director of legal affairs. From 2003 to 2010, he served as the University's Faculty Athletics Representative.

As UGA President, he also serves as chair of the Georgia Athletic Association Board of Directors, chair of the UGA Research Foundation, a UGA Foundation trustee and a UGA Real Estate Foundation trustee. He has been appointed to a one-year term on the Committee of Research Intensive Public Universities by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, and is included in Georgia Trend’s 2014 Most Influential list.

President Morehead is the Meigs Professor of Legal Studies in the Terry College of Business, where he has held a faculty appointment since 1986. He is a co-author of several books and book chapters, including The Legal and Regulatory Environment of Business, and he has published scholarly articles on legal topics ranging from export controls to jury selection. He has served as editor-in-chief of the American Business Law Journal and previously held several other editorial board positions with the ABLJ.

President Morehead has received several University-wide teaching awards, including the Josiah Meigs Award—UGA's highest honor for teaching excellence—the Richard B. Russell Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, the Teacher of the Year Award in the Terry College of Business, and the Lothar Tresp Outstanding Honors Professor Award.

Jack Harris is the president of Junior Achievement of Georgia, an organization dedicated to inspiring and preparing young people to succeed in a global economy. JA of Georgia currently reaches over 160,000 students annually, working in partnership with over 500 schools, 200 corporate partners, and 7000 business and community volunteers across the state. In 2013, Junior Achievement of Georgia completed a $15 million campaign to open the latest JA BizTown/JA Finance Park capstone facility in the country—Junior Achievement's Chick-fil-A Foundation Discovery Center—which will serve 30,000 students annually.

Jack has been with Junior Achievement since 2002, beginning his JA career with the international organization as director of International Operations, and was promoted to VP-International Operations for JA Worldwide following the merger of Junior Achievement, Inc. (U.S) and Junior Achievement International in 2004. Following a move from the international organization to Junior Achievement of Georgia in 2005, Jack served in progressing roles as senior vice president of development and then as chief operating officer until 2008, at which time he was named president.

Prior to Junior Achievement, Jack worked with Smith Barney and also taught for two years at the Wesleyan School in Norcross, Georgia. Jack holds a degree in Politics and a certificate in Political Economy from Princeton University.

Within the community, Jack was recognized for his work with Junior Achievement as one of the Atlanta Business Chronicle’s 40 under 40 award recipients in 2009, and serves on the board of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and the Emory University Board of Visitors. He is a member of the Rotary Club of Atlanta and a 2010 graduate of Leadership Atlanta.

Author and motivational speaker Andy Lipman has built an extraordinary life while living with cystic fibrosis.

The director of purchasing at DiversiTech, Lipman has defied all odds to become a college graduate, Olympic-torch bearer, community advocate, husband and father. His experiences dealing with the genetic disorder inspired him to write Alive at 25: How I’m Beating Cystic Fibrosis, and the novel A Superhero Needs No Cape. His most recent book, The Drive at 35, describes his journey of discovering how to beat cystic fibrosis mentally as well as physically.

In 2000 Andy started the Wish for Wendy Softball Challenge in memory of his older sister, who died from cystic fibrosis. In 15 years, the event has raised nearly $2 million in order to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

In 2012, Andy was chosen as one of the UGA Alumni Association's 40 under 40. Last year, he received the Inspiritor Award at the Turknett Leadership Awards. He currently serves on the board of directors of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of Georgia, the first CF patient ever to do so, and is also a board member of the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business. Lipman is also a certified Toastmaster and has spoken in such venues as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Children’s Hospital of Orange County in California and Wexford, Ireland.

John is a sought after speaker on the topics of creating consistently great customer experiences that drive customer loyalty and growing business by creating, leading and sustaining remarkable service. He is the co-author of three books with Chip Bell including the award winning international best seller Wired and Dangerous; How Customers Have Changed and What to do About It, the national best seller Take Their Breath Away: How Imaginative Service Creates Devoted Customers and Customer Loyalty Guaranteed: Create Lead, and Sustain Remarkable Customer Service. His articles have appeared in Customer Relationship Management, Incentive Magazine, SBusiness, Quality Digest,Customer Service Excellence, M World, Sales and Service Excellence, and Leadership Excellence. He has appeared live on ABC News and Fox Business.

He is founder and president of Progressive Insights, a member of the Chip Bell Group. He has over 20 years of executive leadership experience in the hospitality, business services, real estate and financial services industries. John holds a graduate degree in business from the Darden School at the University of Virginia and a B.S. in Business Administration from The Citadel.

His consulting practice specializes in helping leaders and organizations effectively deliver great customer experiences that drive loyalty and bottom line growth. He has successfully completed engagements in a variety of industries including the healthcare, financial services, senior living, insurance, quick service restaurant, utility, commercial construction, trade show management, retail, public transportation, wholesale auto auction, technology, hospitality, real estate, education and business services industries.

His clients include, McDonald's Corporation, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, Inc., Rollins, Inc., Turner Construction Company, Allstate Insurance, The Arbor Company, Sodexo, The Jacob Javits Convention Center, First Bank and Trust, Atlanta Cycling, General Growth Properties, Texas Instruments, Banco de Finanzas, Northeast Utilities, Elavon (U.S. Bank), Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority, The National Hispanic University, Olmsted Medical Center, The Freeman Companies, Northeast Utilities, Banco Popular, EDiS Company, ELANCO (Division of Eli Lilly), Kaiser Permanente, FLEETCOR Technologies, Pegasus Solutions, Banco Continental de Panama, Southern California Edison, Cousins Properties, Navy Federal Financial Group, Hospitality Risk Controls, Manheim, Angelica Textile Services, Cannon Company, The College Board, and Compass Bank.

As President and CEO of Synovus, Kessel Stelling provides leadership in establishing the overall business objectives, policies and strategic plans to accomplish profitability, efficiency and growth for Synovus and its divisions. A 1978 Terry College graduate, Stelling leads the company's strategy for creating long-term shareholder return on investment, managing risk, facilitating deposit growth and caring for team members and customers.

Stelling began his career with Synovus in March 2006, when the company purchased Riverside Bancshares and merged it with Bank of North Georgia. At that time, Stelling was selected as the president and COO of the newly combined banks. In 2008, he was promoted to Synovus Regional CEO for the Atlanta market. In February 2010, he was named Synovus President and Chief Operating Officer. In October, he was named President and Chief Executive Officer. Stelling became Chairman of the Board in December 2011.

Allison Karl O'Kelly is the founder of Mom Corps and an award-winning entrepreneur. Mom Corps is a WBENC certified professional talent acquisition and career development firm.

Former sports broadcaster Pete Van Wieren called Atlanta Braves games for 33 years, from 1976–2008.

A 10-time winner of the Georgia Sportscaster of the Year Award, Van Wieren worked in Binghamton, NY, Toledo, Ohio, and Norfolk, VA, before arriving in Atlanta.

Known to fans as "The Professor" for his extensive preparedness and knowledge of baseball, Van Wieren was inducted into the Braves Hall of Fame in 2004 and the Georgia Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2012.

In addition to his work with the Braves, Van Wieren served as play-by-play announcer for the Atlanta Hawks basketball from 1991 to 1994. He also covered the Atlanta Flames of the National Hockey League, the Atlanta Hawks and Atlanta Falcons pre-season football. He has also served as a sports reporter for CNN.

Boland Jones is founder, chairman and CEO of PGi or Premiere Global Services Inc., a worldwide provider of conferencing and collaboration solutions.

Jones started his first business at age 16, paving driveways with a friend. In the mid 80s, he started his first company, American Network Exchange, which he sold in 1991.

After noticing that military men and women had a hard time connecting with their loved ones, Jones developed an award-winning prepaid calling card to help families keep in touch. That tool became the backbone of PGi, which has a presence in 25 countries, an established base of more than 40,000 enterprise customers and the trust of 75 percent of the Fortune 100.

Former NASA astronaut Gregory J. Harbaugh became the president and CEO of the Sigma Chi Foundation in 2006, taking the helm of one of the country’s preeminent collegiate leadership development organizations.

Prior to helming the Sigma Chi Foundation, he served as museum director of the Florida Air Museum and COO of Sun ‘n Fun Fly-In Inc., one of the largest aviation events in the U.S.

A veteran of four space flights, Harbaugh has logged a total of 818 hours in space. He received a bachelor of science degree in aeronautical and astronautical engineering from Purdue University in 1978 and a master of science degree in physical science from University of Houston–Clear Lake in 1986.