May 2015 Features

  • BCG Acquires Purpose-Driven Consulting Pioneer BrightHouse

    May 29, 2015

    Seeking to deepen its expertise in organizational transformation and bring the power of creativity to positively impact business, The Boston Consulting Group announced yesterday the acquisition of BrightHouse, LLC, a global consultancy in purpose-driven consulting, a field it pioneered and has continued to lead for 20 years. BCG also announced the hiring of Doug Shipman, founding CEO of the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta and a BCG alumnus, as incoming CEO of BrightHouse.

  • Metro Atlanta Chamber’s Economic Impact, Public Policy Help to “Imagine Atlanta” of the Future

    May 28, 2015

    Whether you’re a corporate executive, small businessperson, entrepreneur or resident of its 29-county MSA, the Metro Atlanta Chamber stands ready to welcome, address and enhance your business and quality of life, according to Hala Moddelmog, Chamber President and CEO.

  • Atlanta BeltLine Partnership Closes $12.5M Capital Campaign to Fund Westside Trail

    May 27, 2015

    The Atlanta BeltLine Partnership has successfully completed its most recent capital campaign to support the building of the Westside Trail. The $12.5 million campaign was completed in just one year. It was closed out with a matching gift from Richard and Susan Anderson and a final grant of $500,000 from Porsche Cars North America.

  • Incubator Kick-Off Event in Peachtree Corners a Big Hit

    May 26, 2015

    To say the city’s first foray into testing the waters to determine whether the community would support a business incubator was a success – would be a huge understatement. Nearly 220 excited hopeful entrepreneurs, business owners, investors, community leaders and citizens arrived at the Hilton Hotel in Peachtree Corners for “An Evening of Entrepreneurship & Innovation” this past to learn more of the city’s plans for a business incubator.

  • Q&A With GDEcD Deputy Commissioner of Tourism Kevin Langston

    May 22, 2015

    In the second of our series with the Georgia Department of Economic Development, deputy commissioner for tourism division Kevin Langston discusses growing agritourism, the film industry in the state, traveler demographics, and his love of economic development.

  • ACG Atlanta Announces the 40 Fastest-Growing Companies

    May 20, 2015

    ACG Atlanta, the Atlanta Chapter of The Association for Corporate Growth, a global professional organization with the mission of Driving Middle-Market Growth with a focus on mergers and acquisitions and private investment, today announced the 2015 Georgia Fast 40, representing the top 40 fastest-growing middle-market companies in Georgia.

  • Make 1 of These 3 Reporting Line Changes To Take Your IT From Dark Ages To Tech

    May 20, 2015

    Chief Marketing Officers are the new corporate executive stars today and boy are they frustrated with their Information Technologies (IT) departments. Companies that are lucky enough to have a tech savvy CMO with a passion to use and employ digital marketing tools correctly can easily beat their competition on all sales and marketing fronts if their IT does not inhibit them.

  • Sandy Springs Perimeter Chamber Announces CEO Roundtable

    May 19, 2015

    A group of Sandy Springs-based executives have found it extremely valuable to meet regularly to confidentially discuss issues and opportunities through a program of the Sandy Springs Perimeter Chamber of Commerce, the CEO Roundtable. With the inaugural program halfway through its first year, the Chamber is now inviting applications for the 2015-2016 CEO Roundtable, which will begin in October.

  • Knox Pest Control: Building on History, Creating a Future

    May 18, 2015

    Though four generations of the Knox family have been in the pest control industry, Knox Pest Control started as a team of a father and two teenage sons door-knocking during the day and treating restaurants during the night. Sean Knox and his brother Justin, who share the role of company president now, learned the meaning of grit and determination in the early 1990s when they helped their dad get the business going. “It was humble beginnings when we restarted,” Sean says. “We had no clients and no employees. It was just us.”

  • Staymobile Initiates Growth Strategy Anchored by New CEO, Atlanta Relocation & Outside Investment

    May 15, 2015

    Staymobile, a mobile device service company providing electronic repair, accessories and protection for businesses and consumers, has initiated an aggressive growth strategy, which includes the appointment of its new CEO, the relocation of its headquarters to Atlanta and a major investment from Detroit-based Kenwal Investment Group.

  • Batson-Cook Construction Celebrates 100th Anniversary by Giving Back

    May 14, 2015

    More than 60 employees of Batson-Cook Construction’s Atlanta office celebrated the firm’s 100th anniversary with a “Day of Service” project at Christian City, a non-profit organization located in Union City which provides a full spectrum of services to seniors and children alike.

  • Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau President, William Pate, Reports Banner Years for the ATL

    May 13, 2015

    How do you draw 37 million visitors, tourists and business people to Atlanta to spend over $11 billion in one year? To find answers, we asked William Pate, President of the ACVB.

  • Leadership Training vs Leadership Development - Is There a Difference?

    May 13, 2015

    In the past 10 years, The Leadership Institute at Columbus State has worked with more than 80 organizations and thousands of individuals in leadership development/training. Along the way, we found something important that we really weren’t looking for; we discovered an important distinction between leadership training and leadership development. Rather than being a semantic debate, this distinction is a paradigm changer.

  • Georgia GROW Green Promotes International Trade Development

    May 12, 2015

    The Georgia Department of Economic Development welcomes representatives from international companies as part of the GROW (Georgia Reaching Out Worldwide) Green program. International buyers from Israel, China, and Brazil are in Savannah and Atlanta, to meet with state exporters.

  • AGL Resources Employees Celebrate Commitment to Local Communities

    May 11, 2015

    As one of the nation's largest natural gas distribution companies, AGL Resources and its family of companies touch the lives of more than 4.5 million customers in 1,100 communities each day. While the company demonstrates its responsibility as a community partner year-round through various volunteer initiatives, employees collectively will focus their energy on making a positive difference in their communities during the company's second Volunteer Week.

  • Porsche Opens New $100 Million Experience Center and Headquarters in Atlanta

    May 08, 2015

    Porsche Cars North America Thursday officially opened its new $100 million Porsche Experience Center and headquarters in Atlanta. The 27-acre complex located at the Northeast corner of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is the largest investment outside Germany for the sports car manufacturer.

  • Ed Farley: Do You Have The Right Customers?

    May 08, 2015

    The phrase…”the customer is always right” may be wrong. One of the biggest challenges for business is to determine who their customers should be. Too often we do not realize that may of our customers cost us profit.

  • Cobb County Economic Development Team on a Four-Year Winning Streak

    May 07, 2015

    While most Georgians and baseball fans know that the Atlanta Braves are moving to Cobb County in 2017, perhaps they are not aware that, since 2011, the Cobb County Chamber’s Economic Development team has created or retained more than 14,000 jobs and over $2.2 billion in new investments, having surpassed its goals for both.

  • BOA Survey Finds 65% of Atlanta Small Business Owners Are Still Recovering From the Great Recession

    May 05, 2015

    Seven years after the Great Recession, nearly two-thirds of Atlanta small business owners (65 percent) report their businesses are still recovering, according to the spring 2015 Bank of America Small Business Owner Report, a semi-annual study exploring the concerns, aspirations and perspectives of small business owners in the Atlanta area and around the country.

  • Hartsfield-Jackson Announces Big Cargo Growth, ATL Cargo Award Winners

    May 01, 2015

    As Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and the Metro Atlanta Chamber co-hosted their annual Air Cargo Appreciation Day and Expo today, the world’s busiest airport also celebrated a solid increase in its first-quarter cargo traffic.