Atlanta-based Operation HOPE is doing it again.
Between Dec. 10 and Dec. 12, the HOPE Global Forums will feature some of the best minds in the business, government and civic worlds — once again making Atlanta a centerpiece in the fight against poverty. This will be the 10th annual HOPE Global Forums — with Atlanta and the Hyatt Regency as its home base.
Consider the line-up:
Sam Altman, Open AI CEO (ChatGPT) who has just been named by Time Magazine as the CEO of the year;
Pfizer CEO Dr. Albert Bourla;
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell;
Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian;
UPS CEO Carol Tomé;
Pastor T.D. Jakes;
Philanthropist and financier Michael Milken;
Wall Street Journal Publisher and Dow Jones CEO Almar Latour;
Tobi Lütke, Shopify founder and CEO;
William Rogers, CEO of Truist;
Tony Ressler, principal owner of the Atlanta Hawks;
Secretary Marcia Fudge of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development;
Brian Chesky, co-founder and CEO of Airbnb;
Baseball legend Alex Rodrigues, CEO of A-Rod Corp.;
U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock;
Isabella Guzman, administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration;
U.S. Census Director Robert L. Santos;
Former White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney;
Jessica Rosenworcel, chair of the Federal Communications Commission;
Entrepreneur and Hip-Hop legend Tip “T.I.” Harris;
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens; and so many more.
So who has the power to attract all these leaders to Atlanta?
The answer is John Hope Bryant, founder and CEO of Operation HOPE, who moved his base of operation from Los Angeles to Atlanta in 2016.
Bryant was compelled to move the headquarters to Atlanta because it was the birthplace of the civil rights movement and because of his friendship with civil rights leader Andrew Young, who has played a prominent role in the forums. In many ways, Young has served as Bryant’s mentor and father figure for more than a decade.
Young and Bryant have joined forces to take the civil rights movement to the next level – to silver rights. They are furthering the work that Martin Luther King Jr. was doing in 1968 — the year of his assassination — for seeking to integrate the economy and world of business in addition to civil rights.
And they are making Atlanta the place to explore and implement economic inclusion.
The Global HOPE Forums event is expected to attract more than 5,200 leaders from 40 countries, and it is considered to be the largest gathering in the world focused on the empowerment of the underserved. Bryant describes it as a Davos-style meeting to uplift the invisible class.
The Forums also are livestreamed and broadcast virtually. Last year’s virtual broadcast drew over 4.2 million viewers. The 2023 Forum will be accessible through iHeart Radio, which will stream the event worldwide, along with on-site coverage from outlets including CNBC, MSNBC, the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg.
Bryant proudly says the event will take place in the same hotel where Martin Luther King, Jr. held his final SCLC Convention and launched the Poor People’s Campaign, which called for “commitment, capacity and connectedness” to build a powerful campaign of economic inclusion.
For those interested in learning more, click on this link.
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