Category: ATL Business Chronicle

By Maria Saporta
Published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on Friday, June 14, 2013

If the Woodruff Arts Center had failed to make its $9.2 million goal this year, it would have been totally understandable.

The Atlanta economy is still in a recovery mode. It has been Virginia Hepner’s first campaign as CEO of the Woodruff Arts Center. It has been the first campaign in 35 years without the leadership of Beauchamp Carr organizing the effort.

And as if that weren’t enough, shortly after the campaign was launched, the Woodruff Arts Center disclosed that a former employee had stolen more than $1 million by issuing fraudulent invoices.

By Maria Saporta
Published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on Friday, June 14, 2013

The glue that has kept Atlanta’s civic and business communities intact for the past century has been the Rotary Club of Atlanta.

One hundred years ago — June 18, 1913, to be exact — Ivan Allen Sr. sent a letter to the secretary of the International Association of Rotary Clubs in Chicago requesting that Atlanta establish its own Rotary Club.

By Maria Saporta
Published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on Friday, June 7, 2013

After launching its venture capital effort — VentureLab — a decade ago, the Georgia Research Alliance and the Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts have concluded that the track record is quite good.

About 71 percent of the companies that have participated in GRA’s VentureLab since 2002 are still doing business in Georgia, while 29 percent are inactive. The survival rate of 133 VentureLab companies compares favorably to the survival rate of startup companies nationally, according to the Georgia Department of Audits.

As of September 2012, 87 percent of VentureLab companies survived to a second year compared with 67 percent nationally; and 76 percent survived to a fourth year compared with 44 percent nationally.

By Maria Saporta
Published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on Friday, June 7, 2013

Fifty years ago, Sam Williams came to Atlanta for the first time as a Georgia Tech freshman from a small Tennessee town of 900 people “where you knew whose check was good and whose husband wasn’t.”

When his parents dropped him off at the doorstep of his Tech dorm, Williams saw Atlanta as “a great big, scary place.” He was a young man leaving the farm and a 4-H scholarship in Tennessee to study electrical engineering at Georgia Tech.

By Maria Saporta
Published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on Friday, May 31, 2013

The Atlanta Women’s Foundation was in no hurry to hire a new executive director when Barbara Mosacchio moved to Chicago last July.

Instead the board decided to look at every aspect of the foundation — its mission, its strategic direction, its fundraising, its grantmaking and its greatest potential — before designing a wish list of the person who could best lead the influential organization.

“We’ve been calling it our ‘year zero,’ ” said Danita Knight, who has been serving as board chair during this process. “The final piece was hiring an outstanding person as our executive director.”

The board of Atlanta Women’s Foundation has named Kelly Dolan, a longtime Atlanta nonprofit executive, as its new executive director beginning July 1.

By Maria Saporta
Published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on Friday, May 24, 2013

Internationally renowned architect and developer John Portman will receive the prestigious 2013 Four Pillar Award from the Council for Quality Growth.

Portman will receive the award on Oct. 10 at a dinner at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta — a trend-setting hotel that he designed — with its unique indoor atrium. It’s a building that launched the Hyatt hotel chain and a building that gave Portman international fame.

But to describe Portman as just an architect or developer is only providing two sides of a multifaceted artist and entrepreneur.

By Maria Saporta
Published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on Friday, May 24, 2013

HOUSTON – For metro Atlanta leaders who have been used to selling the economic jewel of the Southeast, visiting the largest city in Texas can be a humbling experience.

Houston, the fifth-largest metro area in the country, has been enjoying an economic resurgence that has become the envy of many, including Atlanta, the ninth-largest metro area in the United States.

Houston’s relative economic strength was a point that was brought up repeatedly during the 17th annual LINK visit from May 15 to May 18. The LINK trip involves a group of about 110 regional leaders from Atlanta going to another city to learn from it.

By Maria Saporta
Published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on Friday, May 17, 2013

ULI Atlanta and the Livable Communities Coalition have agreed to join forces — creating the ULI Atlanta Livable Communities Council.

The Council will be part of the Urban Land Institute’s Atlanta district and will assume the mission of the Livable Communities Coalition (LCC), the nonprofit metro Atlanta advocacy group formed in 2005 to promote smart urban growth.

David Allman, who has served as LCC’s board chair and is the incoming board chair of ULI Atlanta, said combining both entities makes “perfect sense going forward.” Allman, founder of developer Regent Partners, said the two entities have common goals — walkable communities and transit-oriented development (TOD).

By Maria Saporta and Amy Wenk
Published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on Friday, May 17, 2013

Five architectural teams competed for the highly sought after contract to design the new $1 billion retractable-roof stadium for the Atlanta Falcons.

Kansas City, Mo., firm 360 Architecture won the contract, partly for its novel and ground-breaking ideas on two retractable-roof designs.

But the four other architectural teams also presented worthy and unique concepts in stadium design. Some mapped out ways to connect the structure with downtown and the surrounding communities of Vine City, English Avenue and Castleberry Hill.

By Maria Saporta
Published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on Friday, May 10, 2013

The nonprofit All About Developmental Disabilities (AADD) has named a new executive director just in time for Mother’s Day.

The new director is Kathy Keeley, who has been serving as interim executive director since last August of the 50-year-old nonprofit. AADD provides support services, advocacy and training to more than 2,000 individuals and families living with developmental disabilities.

By Maria Saporta and Amy Wenk
Published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on Friday, May 10, 2013

Now that the new Atlanta Falcons stadium has been given a green light from the various governmental entities and now that an architect has been selected, the next step is finalizing the site.

Active discussions are underway to get that issue settled as soon as possible, so work can start on the $1 billion retractable-roof stadium.

According to official agreements, there’s an Aug. 1 deadline to determine if the preferred stadium location known as the “South site,” which is the land that sits between Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and the Georgia Dome, is feasible for the project.

By Maria Saporta
Published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on Friday, May 3, 2013

A new corporate foundation is solidifying its place on Atlanta’s landscape.

In the past couple of years, the Chick-fil-A Foundation has a hired a new director, adopted a new name, and most recently, appointed an impressive advisory board to help it support youth and education in the community.

Rodney Bullard, who became executive director of the foundation in 2011, said he has been studying other corporate foundations in Atlanta to adopt best practices and be as effective as possible.

By Maria Saporta
Published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on Friday, May 3, 2013

The local thread of leadership that has run through several of Atlanta’s key companies has become thinner during the 2013 annual meeting season.

In late April, the annual meetings of shareholders were held for Genuine Parts Co., Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc., SunTrust Banks Inc., Marine Products Corp., Rollins Inc. and The Coca-Cola Co., among others.

These are legacy Atlanta-based companies that have had long-term relationships with complementary and crossover ties with each other for decades.

By Maria Saporta
Published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on Friday, April 26, 2013

The YWCA of Greater Atlanta has tapped longtime civic leader Emily Ellison to serve as its new president and CEO.

Ellison is one of the founders of the Atlanta Girls School; she currently serves as its director of advancement. She plans to join the YWCA on July 15.

The YWCA of Greater Atlanta has been led by Sharmen Gowens, who has been its interim CEO since August, following the departure of Justine Boyd. Gowens will be returning to her role as a YWCA board member in August.

By Maria Saporta
Published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on Friday, April 26, 2013

Leadership changes at the Atlanta office of law firm Greenberg Traurig LLP will position Ernest Greer into an influential global role without him leaving town.

Greer has been promoted to vice president and is now among eight officers of the Miami-based firm with 1,750 lawyers in 36 offices. Six of those offices are overseas.

By Amy Wenk and Maria Saporta
Published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on Friday, April 26, 2013

Conversation is kicking around again about scoring a Major League Soccer team for Atlanta.

Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank has long wanted to bring an MLS franchise to the city.

Now, he’s got another chance.

By Maria Saporta
Published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on Friday, April 19, 2013

California-based DPR Construction firm is the new owner of Hardin Construction, an Atlanta-based builder that was founded in 1946. The previously announced deal closed on April 15.

From now on, the combined company will be named DPR except in the Atlanta market (Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee) where it will be branded as DPR Hardin Construction.

By Maria Saporta
Published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on Friday, April 19, 2013

MARTA has retained auditing firm KPMG LLP to conduct an internal investigation of possible misappropriation of assets in the operations headed by Ben Graham, the transit agency’s chief information officer.

KPMG is being retained by MARTA to conduct “forensic technology services” that likely include “the identification, collection, filtering, processing and/or hosting of electronically stored information,” according to an engagement letter from KPMG to Keith Parker, MARTA’s relatively new general manager.

By Doug Sams and Maria Saporta
Published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on Friday, April 19, 2013

Almost four years after he took over running Cousins Properties Inc., CEO Larry Gellerstedt believes the Atlanta real estate company is once again playing offense.

Gellerstedt cites the company’s recent public offering of more than 14 million shares as proof. It raised about $165 million in net proceeds, a large portion of which is set aside to help finance the acquisition of 816 Congress Avenue, an Austin, Texas, office tower.

By Maria Saporta
Published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on Friday, April 12, 2013

In one of the more novel gifts that the Woodruff Arts Center has ever received, Wells Fargo is committing $2 million over the next five years to create a teen outreach initiative that will cross all four of the center’s divisions.

The first annual Wells Fargo ArtsVibe Teen Program — which will involve a two-day “teen takeover” of the Woodruff Center campus on April 26 and 27, will involve an American Idol-like competition for best Atlanta talent on Friday night as well as live music, dancing, workshops and other entertainment on Saturday.