Articles from the Atlanta Business Chronicle
By Maria Saporta
Friday, July 9, 2010
Never has Primerica Inc.’s slogan — Freedom Lives Here — been more true for the Duluth, Ga.-based company that sells term life insurance and other financial services through its sales force of 100,000 people.
On April 1, Primerica struck out on its own in what has been called the most successful initial public offering in
By Maria Saporta
Friday, July 2, 2010
The Fernbank Museum of Natural History is calling on the community to help it close out its $20 million fundraising campaign by the end of August.
The community campaign will help Fernbank finish building its new $8 million Children’s Exhibition that will increase visitor capacity by 300 percent and offer more interactive ways for children to learn about the natural
By Maria Saporta
Friday, July 2, 2010
After three years of having to significantly cut his budget, outgoing state economic development chief Ken Stewart says now is a strategic time to reinvest in marketing Georgia for tourism and business.
Before spending his last week as commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development traveling on a trade mission to China, Stewart sat down for an
By Maria Saporta
Friday, June 25, 2010
Proposed financial regulations may increase the diversity on corporate boards as companies are being required to disclose more information.
That was the consensus among a panel of women experts speaking at a Board of Directors Network breakfast June 23 at 103 West on how current governance events might impact “gender parity in the
By Maria Saporta
Friday, June 25, 2010
In a day of precious few philanthropic dollars, metro Atlanta’s social service advocates are seeking to have the greatest impact they can by rallying behind common goals.
Leading the charge is Metro Atlanta’s United Way, which distributes millions of dollars to hundreds of social service agencies around the region.
By Maria Saporta
Friday, June 18, 2010
Two of Bernie Marcus’ great passions will join forces on the night of Nov. 13 for Big Splash 2010.
On that evening, 1,800 Atlantans will be the first to see the Georgia Aquarium’s new Dolphin Exhibit at a black-tie event benefiting the Marcus Autism Center.
By Maria Saporta
Friday, June 18, 2010
About six weeks ago, a couple of key Atlanta business leaders called Bob Williams to find out who would be the right person to contact to make a proposal related to the Atlanta Hawks.
Williams, who has served as president of Philips Arena since it was built and before that as president of the Omni Coliseum, said their call served as a “wake-up
By Maria Saporta
Friday, June 11, 2010
Just as the Grady Health System has been undergoing a transformation, so has the Grady Health Foundation.
Established 14 years ago to support the operations of Grady Hospital, the foundation has just doubled the size of its board and is bolstering its community presence and fundraising efforts.
Several of the new board members represent companies that have made
By Maria Saporta
Friday, June 11, 2010
With the appointment of a new dean, Georgia State University is sending a signal that it is committed to growing the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies.
GSU President Mark Becker has named Mary Beth Walker, chair of the school’s Department of Economics, as the new dean of the Andrew Young School.
In an exclusive interview, both Becker and Walker said they were committed to helping the school prosper and
By Maria Saporta
Friday, June 4, 2010
The Joseph B. Whitehead Foundation has awarded a $4.4 million, three-year grant to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta to help bolster the organization’s academic offerings.
Russ Hardin, president of the Whitehead Foundation, said the gift was an investment in the organization’s new leadership and an endorsement of the club’s
By Maria Saporta
Friday, May 28, 2010
The Four Pillar Award — one of the most prestigious recognitions given annually in metro Atlanta — will be given this year to multifaceted business leader Arthur Blank.
The Council for Quality Growth, on the evening of Oct. 14, will honor Blank primarily because of his philanthropic endeavors and his dedication to improving communities, according to Michael Paris, the council’s president and CEO. The annual tribute will be held at
By Maria Saporta
Friday, May 21, 2010
The Woodruff Arts Center corporate campaign only has a matter of days — until the end of May — to meet its $8.6 million goal.
Unless there’s a last minute dramatic and significant gift, the Woodruff Arts Center will experience its second year in its history of having a campaign that did not meet its goal. The first time was only last year, when the goal was $9 million and the Woodruff campaign was only able to raise $8.6 million.
Because of the distressed economy, the Woodruff campaign
By Maria Saporta
Friday, May 21, 2010
There is life after the legislature.
Mark Burkhalter, a former state representative who served briefly as speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives, is joining McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP as a senior strategic adviser.
Burkhalter will lead the law firm’s public affairs efforts in the United Kingdom, where he already has established a consulting practice.
By Scott Trubey and Maria Saporta
Friday, May 21, 2010
The Atlanta Falcons want an open-air stadium as a replacement to the 18-year-old Georgia Dome, and they have a site in mind on property just north of the Georgia World Congress Center.
But such a plan may be a Hail Mary pass.
The state authority that owns and operates the 71,000-
By Maria Saporta
Friday, May 14, 2010
Newell Rubbermaid Inc. moved its headquarters to Atlanta in January 2004. Then the company hired Mark Ketchum to be CEO in October 2005. And it hasn’t been the same since.
The amount of change was readily apparent at this year’s annual shareholders meeting on May 11 at its headquarters at Three Glenlake Parkway.
By Maria Saporta
Friday, May 14, 2010
After 22 years with SunTrust Banks Inc., Raymond King would have been happy to spend his whole career with the Atlanta-based bank.
“I’ve had the best job,” King said of his role as SunTrust’s senior vice president for community affairs for the past eight years.
By Maria Saporta
Friday, May 7, 2010
Metro Atlanta leaders during the recent LINK trip to Phoenix pledged to do all they could to make sure the region passes a sales tax for transportation in 2012.
(see below for list of attendees)
The group of 100-plus leaders, in Phoenix for three days of intensive exposure to the Arizona city’s challenges, said they now have something concrete in which to direct their energies.
By Maria Saporta
Friday, May 7, 2010
In his first annual meeting as CEO of Cousins Properties Inc., Larry Gellerstedt III shared his lifelong relationship with the company and its founder — Thomas G. Cousins.
Gellerstedt said that growing up, his family and the Cousins family were close. His father ran Beers Construction and never approached Cousins for
By J. Scott Trubey and Maria Saporta
Friday, May 7, 2010
Once again the city of Atlanta and the airlines are about to prove just how much they need each other.
And once again, the fate of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport’s international terminal could hang in the balance.
Atlanta airport officials on May 4 revealed a staggering
By Maria Saporta
Friday, May 7, 2010
After several aborted attempts, the Peachtree-Pine shelter for the homeless was foreclosed upon on May 4.
The lenders who own the building on the edge of downtown and Midtown Atlanta, and the Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless, had been trying to work on an agreement for the past several months on th
