Georgianomics: Playing the long game
Welcome back to Georgianomics, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s newsletter reporting on the businesses, people and ideas shaping the unique economy here in Georgia.
I’m Scott Trubey, the AJC’s senior editor for business, climate and environment coverage.
We’re hitting the homestretch of 2026, y’all. The fourth quarter starts Thursday, bringing the gauntlet of Halloween, Election Day, Thanksgiving, office holiday parties and the holidays themselves. Phew.
Highlights for this week include:
🌐 Italian opportunities
🌟 A Georgia winning streak
🆚 A pipeline battle
Time is money, so let’s hit it.
1. Incredible timing
Last week, Gov. Brian Kemp announced Italian automotive giant Pirelli plans a $1.2 billion expansion of its northwest Georgia factory. It came with some incredible timing.
The same day, a business delegation from the Italian region of Liguria landed in Georgia on a four-day mission. Liguria’s capital, Genoa, boasts the busiest port in Italy, and is a southern gateway to Europe. It already enjoys a direct link to Georgia’s bustling Savannah port.
Massimiliano Nannini, a Liguria official and retired Italian Navy rear admiral, said the timing of the Pirelli announcement was coincidental, but the company’s 10-figure commitment gave the leaders great confidence in Georgia.
“We’re here to know each other, to create connections, and when we go back to Italy, we start our homework,” Nannini said.
Liguria is investing billions in its ports, rail system and other infrastructure. It boasts key access to undersea communications cables, something coveted by tech companies. And Italy is a player in automation and robotics.
All are key sectors for Georgia.
While here, the Liguria leaders met officials with the Savannah port and Delta Air Lines. Other stops included the Georgia Department of Economic Development, the Metro Atlanta Chamber and Gwinnett Chamber.
Italy is Georgia’s 20th-largest trade partner, according to Trade Data Monitor. The Georgia Department of Economic Development said it has worked with Italian companies on projects totaling $1.5 billion in direct investment and 3,660 jobs over the past decade, not including Pirelli.
“Pirelli’s investment is the latest proof that Italian companies see Georgia as a place to build for the long term, and metro Atlanta is a big part of that story,” Stefan Harrigan, the Metro Atlanta Chamber’s senior manager for global business development, said in a statement. Harrigan noted more than 55 Italian firms operate in metro Atlanta, including logistics giant JAS, which was founded in Milan and has its global headquarters in Sandy Springs.
“We see a lot of room for that relationship to keep expanding,” Harrigan said.
Not signed up yet? Why wait? Get Georgianomics in your inbox each Wednesday. And keep scrolling for more news.
2. No. 1 … again 🏆
Thirteen for some is unlucky. Not for Georgia.
Kemp announced last week that Georgia had been named the No. 1 state for business by Area Development magazine for the 13th straight year. The streak started under then-Gov. Nathan Deal, and Kemp and state leaders have kept it going.
Area Development might not be a household name like Forbes or Fortune, but it is influential in the business recruiting world.
3. A Dewberry divestment? 🧾
Developer John Dewberry is reportedly under contract to sell a skeletal building he owns. But it’s not the one in Atlanta.
Dewberry controls an unfinished tower in Charlottesville, Virginia, that he’s long planned to turn into a luxury hotel. But it’s been in limbo for years, much like his unfinished office tower in Midtown Atlanta. The delays have not made the locals in Charlottesville very happy.
Cville Right Now reports the building is under contract for sale, citing a city spokesperson. This comes after the city sent a letter demanding a plan for the building within 60 days, according to the report. Dewberry did not immediately respond to a message from the AJC.
4. Eyesore no more? 🏗️
The former Presidential Hotel, “a solo skyline of blight” that’s passed by a gazillion commuters a day near Spaghetti Junction, could soon be redeveloped, reports the AJC’s Zachary Hansen.
🔍 READ MORE: Recognize this eyesore near Spaghetti Junction? It’s being redeveloped.
4. Stat of the week: $43.85 million 💸
That’s what the state of Texas offered Morgan Stanley from its Texas Enterprise Fund to locate a regional headquarters in Dallas along with 3,800 promised jobs. Dallas previously approved $23 million in grants and tax breaks for the project. Morgan Stanley picked Dallas over Alpharetta.
🔍 READ MORE: Morgan Stanley chooses site for $684M campus that pitted Dallas vs. Alpharetta
5. Pipeline dispute 📍
A man near Columbus is challenging the route of a gas pipeline that would cut through his property but miss land owned by his neighbors, including a utility manager. Officials from Kinder Morgan and Southern Co. deny that the 25-year employee and manager of a pair of power plants received special treatment, but the path has raised some eyebrows.
🔍 READ MORE: A $3B Georgia pipeline changed course — away from a utility leader’s property
6. Flying through glass ceilings 👩✈️
Inside Georgia Tech’s aerospace engineering department is a powerhouse who has broken barriers in a male-dominated industry.
Marilyn Smith started her career as a flight test engineer and is now a professor in rotorcraft and director of Georgia Tech’s Vertical Lift Research Center of Excellence.
“With the exception of one job that I’ve had in my career, I was always the first woman in my department,” Smith said. “Very much the only woman in the room.”
🔍 READ MORE: This Georgia Tech professor broke barriers for women in aerospace
7. From forest to flight ✈️
On Wednesday, some of the biggest names in Georgia business are set to announce a new alliance to build a sustainable aviation fuel industry here.
The Georgia Sustainable Aviation Fuel Coalition aims to make the state a leader in development of lower-carbon jet fuels, which produce fewer planet-warming greenhouse gases. The aviation sector has committed to reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
The International Air Transport Association estimates SAF production will account for less than 1% of global aviation fuel use this year. So there’s a long way to go.
Georgia is a big forestry and agriculture state. Given the state’s research institutions, Delta Air Lines, the world’s busiest airport and a recently passed state tax credit designed to promote biofuel projects, Georgia would seem to be well-positioned.
8. Heard on the street 🗣️
The AJC’s Amy Wenk recently attended Adweek’s marketing conference in downtown Atlanta. Bernice King, daughter of civil rights icons the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, was asked during a panel how fear has become such a “powerful marketing tactic.”
“I think part of it is there’s been a lack of courageous and moral leadership in our society,” said King, CEO of The King Center. She then referenced recent news about artificial intelligence’s potential to destroy humanity.
“The interesting thing is I don’t hear enough voices disputing that, especially those of us who are in spiritual communities,” she said. “The fear works because … we allow it to work.”
9. More top stories 📰
💻 Data centers, factories bring billions to Georgia. New report asks who benefits.
🦌 Former North Georgia wildlife preserve eyed for development to be saved
⚖️ National law firm recruits Atlanta partners to open Midtown office
🍴 A mover and shaker in Atlanta’s restaurant scene hits money troubles
🎥 National film incentive legislation introduced with Ga. lawmaker as co-sponsor
🏫 Shuttered high school in Roswell advertised for mixed-use redevelopment
10. The Ladder 🪜
Atlanta-based Merit Financial Advisors has announced changes to its top leadership. Rick Kent is transitioning from CEO to executive chairman, with President Kay Lynn Mayhue taking on the chief executive role. Zach Mersberger will take on the role of president.
Rob Gehring, the top executive at Monster Energy’s Americas business, will become president of Coca-Cola’s North America operating unit.
Donnell Suggs, who served as editor-in-chief for the Atlanta Voice, has taken a new role as editor and publisher of the Courier Herald in Dublin, a publication of the Georgia Trust for Local News.
Stuart Wilkinson has joined insurance technology startup Corgi as vice president of state government affairs, he announced on LinkedIn.
Thanks for reading to the bottom. Help us shape future editions of Georgianomics. Got a tip or an idea worthy of coverage or a key new hire you want to tout? Email us at businessnews@ajc.com.