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April 2008
2008 LINK trip to Denver takes off
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
And they’re off.
A group of about 110 regional Atlanta leaders left Wednesday morning to study growth and development issues in Denver to see what lessons they can bring home.
It was the 12th annual LINK (Leadership, Involvement, Networking, Knowledge) trip with the delegation returning to the first city it visited in 1997.
Both Atlanta and Denver have been facing many of the same challenges that come with growth, but they have approached the issues differently - particularly when it comes to investing in transit.
Denver is slightly smaller than Atlanta, and it has not grown quite as rapidly as us. It currently has 2.7 million residents in its metro area while Atlanta has 4 million. Between 1997 and 2007, Denver grew by 21 percent while Atlanta grew by 28 percent.
Tom Weyandt, director of comprehensive planning for the Atlanta Regional Commission (which organizes the trip), called to give me a briefing of the first day.
The LINK group went to Fitzsimons Campus, which used to be the Fitzsimons Army Medical Center that was closed in 1995. Now it is being redeveloped into a medical complex and biomedical center.
Fitzsimons is one of three major redevelopment projects in the Denver metro area, mostly because of base closures. The topic is relevant to Atlanta because two military bases are scheduled to close here: Fort McPherson and Fort Gillem.
Denver also is facing the economic downturn that’s impacting most urban areas, but Weyandt said folks from Denver respond differently.
“When they’ve gotten into economic problems, they’ve taken the approach to build something - sports complexes or arts facilities,” Weyandt said. “They want to give the community a sense of progress.”
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Will Commerce Club Merge With 191 Club? Should Commerce Club Leave Five Points?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Commerce Club board is considering a merger with the 191 Club.
At its board meeting today, Chairman David Ratcliffe will recommend that the historic club conduct a thorough review to move to the 191 building, about five blocks north of Five Points.
The Commerce Club has been a fixture at Five Points since 1960, serving as a gathering place for the business and civic power structure of Atlanta.
Now leaders are exploring merging the two clubs’ memberships and relocating the Commerce Club. Ratcliffe said the 191 Club would either be expanded or a new location on the top two floors of the building would be the new home of the prestigious Commerce Club.
But he stressed that no decision has been made. Ratcliffe said the board will take a hard look at the options over the summer and likely make a decision sometime in the fall.
To read more about this story, go to my business column.
So what are your thoughts about a possible merger of the Commerce Club and the 191 Club?
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Former Georgia Tech President Pat Crecine Passes Away
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
J. Patrick Crecine, a controversial yet ground-breaking president of Georgia Tech from August, 1987 to January, 1994, passed away from colon cancer on Monday.
Bill Todd, president of the Georgia Cancer Coalition and incoming chairman of Georgia Tech’s Alumni Association, emailed me about Crecine’s death saying it would be of interest to many of you.
Todd, who was the founding president of the Georgia Research Alliance, said Crecine was instrumental in setting up the consortium that helped tear down walls between the state’s major educational institutions.
During his tenure at Tech, Crecine also recognized the potential of Atlanta winning the 1996 Olympic Games, and he was able to place Georgia Tech in the center of the competition.
Crecine, 68, also implemented several academic reforms at Georgia Tech, but his style rubbed many people the wrong way.
Soon after he took the job as Georgia Tech’s President in 1994, Wayne Clough said he couldn’t pass judgment on Crecine’s administration, “but I was impressed by the great progress the institution had made in recent years.”
This past March, Clough sent an email to his associates, saying he had distressing news about Crecine:
“Pat was diagnosed last year with colon cancer and learned the cancer had spread to his liver. He has been undergoing chemotherapy in hopes of shrinking the tumors. Recently, however, he learned that the cancer has continued to metastasize to other parts of his body and his condition is inoperable.”
Todd, who borrowed a sentiment expressed by the late Larry Gellerstedt Jr., one of GRA’s first chairmen, said of Crecine: “He was clearly a visionary, and he was good for Georgia Tech for the long run.”
By the way, Clough now is stepping down as Georgia Tech’s president to head up the Smithsonian Institution in Washington. Todd, who is involved with the search for Georgia Tech’s next president, said he is daunted by the task.
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Humann retires from SunTrust board; Isdell is not at annual meet
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Coca-Cola CEO Neville Isdell didn’t show up to his last annual meeting Tuesday as a director of SunTrust because he was traveling out of the country. With Isdell’s departure, SunTrust will be without Coca-Cola’s sitting CEO on its board.
Three other directors also stepped down from the board. J. Hyatt Brown, chairman of Brown & Brown in Florida; and Thomas Farnsworth, chairman of Farnsworth Investment Co. in Tennessee; both reached the mandatory retirement age of 70.
And Phil Humann, the past CEO who most recently was executive board chairman, resigned from the board altogether.
Humann, however, did share a passing thought about the timing of the bank’s annual meeting this year. As a break from the past, SunTrust’;s annual meeting wasn’t held the same week as Coca-Cola’s annual meeting.
The timing of annual meetings among Atlanta companies was much broader than just Coca-Cola and SunTrust, Humann said.
“As I recall, maybe 30 years ago, when boards were even much more overlapping than they are today, several companies said: ‘Why don’t we do all these annual meetings the same week,’” Humann said. “It was a matter of convenience.”
By holding the annual meetings the same week, executives and directors would be free to travel and work on other business for the rest of the month. Humann said some of those companies included Genuine Parts, Rollins, among others.
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The passing of Ron Brown of Atlanta Life
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The sudden death of Ron Brown, the CEO of Atlanta Life Financial Group, came as an emotional blow to Bill Clement, a long time friend who is chairman of Atlanta Life.
“He was very, very special,” Clement said. “We’ve been down here with the employees this morning, and everybody spoke so fondly of him.” More here.
Brown, 54, passed away late Monday following complications from a surgery he had last Wednesday.
“It was just three weeks ago that he told me he wasn’t feeling well,” said Clement, who said he didn’t have any details on what kind of surgery Brown had or what the complications were.
Brown joined the board of Atlanta Life in 2002, and he became its CEO in 2004. He was CEO for the African-American institution for its 100th anniversary in 2005. And Clement said he had been doing a wonderful job running the insurance and financial services company.
“He had put together a strong management team.” Clement said. “This will be one of the best years that we’ve had in the last 20 to 25 years in terms of profit. He just did a superb job.”
Clement, president of Dobbs, Ram & Co., said he was going to serve as interim CEO of Atlanta Life while the company conducts a search. The Atlanta Life board will meet on Thursday. Atlanta Life will hold its annual meeting on May 21.
“We are all re-dedicating ourselves to making the company a living legacy for Ron Brown,” Clement said. “He had this term called: ‘a double bottom line.’ He believed Atlanta Life had to be fiscally responsible but also socially engaged to the community.”
Brown served in several civic roles including as a director of the Commerce Club, the Atlanta Committee for Progress, the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, among others.
Before joining Atlanta Life, Brown had been running the software firm of Synavant, which he took public. Under his watch at Atlanta Life, the insurance company acquired Jackson Securities, the underwriting firm that had been founded by the late Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson.
Clement said he was having a hard time with the loss. “We’ve had an emotional morning,” Clement said while his voice cracked. “Ron Brown was a very, very special person.”
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Paula Rosput Reynolds executive role unknown
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Paula Rosput Reynolds, CEO of Seattle-based Safeco, does not know what the future holds. Or at least she didn’t share her plans with me.
Just last week, Safeco agreed to be acquired by Boston-based Liberty Mutual, a privately-held insurance company, for $6.2 billion. But there was no mention of who would hold the executive positions at the new merged company.
So I emailed Reynolds, and she chose to give me a poetic answer rather than disclose her future plans.
“I am always ready to head my sail into the gusty winds of fate,” she wrote.
Before becoming Safeco’s CEO, Reynolds was CEO of Atlanta-based AGL Resources.
One reason Reynolds moved to Seattle was so she could live in the same city as her husband, Steve Reynolds. who is CEO of Puget Sound Energy.
Interestingly enough, Puget Sound Energy also is in the process of being acquired by Australian and Canadian investors.
But Paula Reynolds told the Seattle Times that her husband plans to remain as CEO of Puget Sound Energy.
Meanwhile, Paula Reynolds continues to serve on the board of Delta Air Lines. It is not yet known which directors will serve on the board after Delta’s merger with Northwest Airlines.
But last summer she did resign from the board of Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Enterprises, which held its annual meeting last week. She said it was too much to travel to Atlanta to serve on both boards, especially because the meetings were never held the same week.
“And it was clear that Delta was going to be a great time sink for awhile,” said Reynolds, who was involved in two announced mergers within nine days. “It has been busy.”
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GE’s John Rice worries about the economy
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlantan John Rice, who is vice chairman of infrastructure for GE, says: “These are turbulent times.” And if it were not for GE’s strong business outside the United States, the situation would be even bleaker.
Fortunately, demand for infrastructure is strong and is help offsetting the downturn in GE’s financial services.
Rice oversees a large share of GE’s business, roughly $60 billion in 2007. And 60 percent of his sales come from outside the United States. His division includes avionics, energy, wind power, jet engines, water, gas and rail.
“Absent some global dislocation, we see no reason that these businesses won’t continue to grow,” Rice told members of the Atlanta Rotary Club on Monday.
When asked about the future of the U.S. economy, Rice said: “I think the United States is in for a tough ride.” He added that he thought the economic downturn will continue for the next six to 12 months.
Meanwhile, Rice continues to stay involved in the Atlanta community. He currently chairs the Atlanta Education Foundation, a private non-profit that supports the Atlanta Board of Education.
Rice also complimented Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent Beverly Hall, who is a Rotarian, for the reforms she’s been implementing. But Rice said the reforms will take time, estimating that it will take Atlanta five to 10 years to get to where it wants to be.
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Welcome to Business Insider: Your comments are welcome. Do you believe big festivals should return to Piedmont Park?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Welcome to Business Insider, a new blog that will give you insight on what’s happening in the Atlanta business community, with a special emphasis on civic issues.
This will be an opportunity for you to weigh in with your own thoughts and insights. I hope Business Insider will become a town forum where all of us metro Atlantans can weigh in on what’s happening in our community.
For example, what is the future of Atlanta’s major festivals? Is the recent drought becoming an excuse to kick out the top festivals and events in Piedmont Park?
City officials say no. But festival organizers can’t get a straight answer about whether they would be able to move back to Piedmont Park once the drought is over.
The Atlanta Dogwood Festival, the city’s longest running festival, was forced to move to Lenox Square’s parking lot after 70 years in Piedmont Park. The Peachtree Road Race, the Atlanta Pride Festival and the Atlanta Jazz Festival also have had to find new locations this year.
But what about next year? Can these festivals thrive outside of Piedmont Park?
The larger question is whether Atlanta is anti-festival or a festival-friendly city. What do festivals mean to communities? And what role does Piedmont Park play in our region?
Read more about festivals in Piedmont.
Let me know what you think. And welcome to the beginning of what I hope will become a thoughtful dialogue on issues that impact our community.
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Sunny times for Tour de Georgia
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Only the skies were overcast Sunday as the sixth annual Tour de Georgia came to a close at Centennial Olympic Park.
Only last year, the future of the signature bicycle race was in question. Tour organizers had been scrambling for sponsors and trying to come up with a workable management structure for the race.
“I honestly believe we have solidified the future of the tour and opened a lot of eyes in terms of the tour’s potential,” said Chris Aronhalt, managing partner of Medalist Sports, which organizes the race. “Last year was a struggle. We feel great now. We are very excited about the future of the Tour de Georgia.”
AT&T, the $500,000 presenting sponsor of the race, also is pleased with the Tour.
“It was fantastic,” said Sylvia Anderson, president of AT&T Georgia. “When you have an event like this that is so successful and so well done, we certainly will look hard at this on an ongoing sponsorship basis. This is one event that touches the entire state, and then you have have to factor in the international exposure.”
Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, who chaired the non-profit board that oversaw the race, called the event “phenomenal,” because of the audience turnout at every stage of the competition.
“It’s really a chance to welcome the world to Georgia and showcase all that Georgia has to offer,” Cagle said. “It’s also an opportunity to promote healthy lifestyle choices. And it’s on the best financial footing it’s ever been in.”
That’s despite the tour not having had a title sponsor for the past two years. For the first three years, Dodge was the $1 million title sponsor; and Ford dealers were the title sponsor in 2006.
Aronhalt, who still hopes the race will attract a title sponsor next year, said the tour had more sponsors this year than any other year. They raised more than $3 million in sponsorships compared to $2.4 million the year before. Aronhalt said several new sponsors came on board, including Blue Cross Blue Shield and Georgia Power.
The Tour’s foundation also gave $250,000 to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s Aflac Cancer Center. And the Rock Racing bicycle team contributed another $250,000 — $165,000 to Children’s; and $85,000 to the Georgia Cancer Coalition. The combination of those two gifts is, by far, the largest philanthropic donation in the Tour’s history.
Anderson said the race is a good way of letting Georgians know that the telecommunications company continues to be committed to the state. “We actually have fared well in Atlanta,” she said, adding that at the time of BellSouth’s merger with AT&T, employment in the state was about 25,000. Today, she said the company “hovers between 24,000 and 25,000.”
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Meet Maria Saporta
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Maria Saporta, an intown Atlanta native, has been with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution since 1981; most of that time in business news. Saporta, got her bachelor’s degree in journalism from Boston University and her master’s degree in urban studies from Georgia State University. Saporta is fascinated with the pulse and special character of cities, her own and others. In her quest to figure out what makes Atlanta tick, she keeps coming back to business executives and their relationship with civic and government leaders. Saporta makes it her business to know the players and how they steer our region. And what makes Saporta tick? Her two children. Travel. Trains. Movies. Music. Cycling. Walking. Books. Newspapers. Pets. And people-watching.
