Contending that the 21st century will be a period of unprecedented change, ex-Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina urged metro Atlanta executives Wednesday to act fast to embrace the technological advancements and globalization of markets sweeping the business world.

Speaking at the Georgia 100 breakfast sponsored by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Fiorina used some of her experiences at H-P, which fired her in 2005 after six years on the job, to make her point.

John Spink/AJC (ENLARGE)

Former Hewlett-Packard Chairman and CEO Carly Fiorina speaks at the Georgia 100 breakfast Wednesday at the Cobb Galleria Centre.

RELATED • Business Insider: Women still face hurdles, Fiorina says • Photos: Georgia 100 breakfast • Compare how Georgia's top public companies rank BUSINESS Latest Headlines: Delta flight to Atlanta diverted to Chattanooga  Lenox Square adds 6 new stores, Italian restaurant  ASA furloughs 56 more pilots  St. Joseph's, United Healthcare contract may end  Invesco picked to help revive 'toxic asset' market  • More business news • Business photo galleries

She trumpeted her decision to buy Compaq in 2001 amid a slowing economy that ground to a halt Sept. 11, a week after the announcement.

Her counterpoint was Kodak. She said the king of the photography world waited too long to realize its industry was going digital. The company had to lay off thousands of people and write off millions of dollars in losses.

"We made the hard moves in time, so by the time the economy started to pick up again, we were a different company, and that was clearly reflected in Hewlett-Packard's long-term success," she said. "Kodak made the move too late."

Today's business leaders will face similar crossroads sooner rather than later, she said. To make good decisions, they need to look beyond quarterly financial reports and other backward-looking indicators and focus on customer service, the pace of innovation in their industries, the diversity of their workforce and client basis, and ethics, she said.

"So if businesses only look in the rear view mirror, they will miss the season of change," Fiorina said.

The Georgia 100 looks at a company's performance — defined as what a company's management does with the resources it had in the same economic environment. It is based on a formula of five weighted variables: annual revenue; year-over-year revenue; annual percent change in profit margin; return on equity; and total return for calendar year 2007, or the change in stock price taking into account dividends that were reinvested in the company's shares.

This year's Georgia 100 is made up of large and small companies, ranging from less than $50 million in market value to more than $140 billion. The AJC will publish a special section Sunday focusing on those companies.

At the top of this year's list is Transcend Services, a provider of records and record-keeping services for hospitals and other health care companies.

CEO Larry Gerdes echoed Fiorina's emphasis on customer service.

"Georgia is a great environment to work in and to grow companies," Gerdes told the crowd. "Companies grow because of a commitment to the customer and to their employees. We expect to continue to grow and continue to thrive because of that."

The rest of the top 10, in order, are:

• Ebix Inc., an Atlanta-based provider of software programs to the insurance industry
• AGCO, a farm equipment manufacturer in Duluth
• The Coca-Cola Co., the world's largest beverage firm
• InterContinental Exchange, an Atlanta-based electronic commodities market that tried to buy the Chicago Board of Trade last year
• Immucor, a Norcross-based blood-donor products maker
• Cbeyond, a telecom provider to small businesses in Atlanta
• Interface, a carpet and flooring manufacturing in Atlanta
• Eclipsys Corp., a medical management services provider in Atlanta
• Aflac, Columbus-based supplemental life and cancer insurer

Gerdes and four other executives from companies in top 10 were part of a panel discussion that focused mostly on how they have led their companies through a rocky economy. Each of the executives stated obvious challenges, but they also said the uncertain economic times have presented them with opportunities.

"While the United States is going through a credit crisis, the rest of the world is booming," said Jeffrey Sprecher, CEO for Intercontinental Exchange, an electric energy market. The company trades half of the world's crude oil, he said.

"The rest of the world is demanding basic goods and services for an emerging middle class," Sprecher said. "Our biggest challenge is trying to communicate that not everything is so bad around the world, and we have to think more globally."

WINNING EXECS ON THE CURRENT BUSINESS CLIMATE:

Given the economic downturn, how is your company faring?

How are you guiding your company through this period?

James Geiger, CEO of Cbeyond, provider of telecom services to small businesses:

"In real estate and mortgage-related small businesses, there have been more failures, and we have felt that nominally. We have changed our credit and collections policies, we're doing more screening on the front end. I think that's a reality that's been happening in small business and has had a nominal impact on our customers."

Darren Joseph, general manager of Ebix Inc., maker of software programs for the insurance industry:

"We've become a little more aggressive during the downturn, taking advantage of some acquisitions to gain market share. Because we play both sides of the market, we drive costs down and create efficiencies. While we're not immune to any kind of economic downturn, we're relatively risk-free" except for the weakened dollar. "But we've actually taken this as an opportunity to increase our market share."

Jeffrey Sprecher, CEO of IntercontinentalExchange, an electronic commodities trading market:

"We're having to really deal with Congress, which is trying to legislate prices of products, thinking somehow we shouldn't have $130 (per barrel of) oil. ... We've witnessed strikes on the prices of food. The rest of the world is demanding basic goods and services for an emerging middle class. Our biggest challenge is trying to communicate that not everything is so bad around the world, and we have to think more globally."

Daniel Hendrix, CEO of Interface, a maker of carpet tiles, panel fabrics and other products:

"We were really tied to the United States office market" when the last recession hit. "Now 50 percent of our business is outside the United States. We really diversified our business and got away from being a United States' commercial office business," including selling to health care, residential and other sectors.

Larry Gerdes, CEO, Transcend Services, a transcription and record-keeping services firm for medical providers:

"Transcend has the good fortune of being in the health care business, and a lot of you know when there is chaos or uncertainty it creates an opportunity. Even though we are generally in an economic downturn, health care is not, and health care creates lots of opportunities for lots of companies. We've thrived. Health care has lots of needs; and information is at the heart of that."