Although his tenure as CEO of the PulteGroup is tenuous, Richard Dugas is sure about one thing. He is staying in Atlanta.
On Monday morning, the Atlanta-based PulteGroup announced that Dugas had informed the board of his intention to retire at the company’s annual meeting in May 2017.
As a symbol of how important the Atlanta Committee for Progress has become to the business community, Duriya Farooqui has been named the new executive director of the public-private organization starting on May 2.
Business leaders Monday were quick to applaud Gov. Nathan Deal’s decision to veto of HB 757, even though many expressed concern that the controversy over “religious freedom” legislation would not be going away.
“The Georgia Chamber agrees with Governor Deal’s thoughtful reasoning to veto HB757,” according to a statement from Hank Linginfelter, an executive with AGL Resources who is the 2016 chair of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce.
By Maria Saporta
As published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on March 18, 2016
After deciding to establish its North American headquarters in Atlanta last year, Sage Group is now making a philanthropic imprint in the community.
The accounting software company, located in Atlantic Station, launched the Sage Foundation’s North American giving in Atlanta on March 15.
By Maria Saporta
As published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on March 18, 2016
After a decade as CEO of Equifax, Rick Smith has turned the credit reporting company into an information technology powerhouse operating in 27 countries around the world.
It’s a transformation easily overlooked by the general consumer, who still connects Equifax with credit scores and credit information.
But in the business-to-business world, Equifax is becoming recognized as a one-of-a-kind technology firm that can compile, analyze and fuse multiple databases so that other companies can better understand their customers as well as strategically identify prospective customers.
Top Georgia business leaders now are looking toward Gov. Nathan Deal to continue his stance against discrimination – as it relates to HB 757 – also known as the religious freedom bill.
Richard Dugas, president and CEO of the Pulte Group who chairs the Metro Atlanta Chamber’s Public Policy Advisory Board, spoke out strongly against the the bill, which has now passed both the Georgia House and Senate and will rest on the governor’s desk.
By Maria Saporta and Doug Sams
As published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on March 11, 2016
United Way of Greater Atlanta has selected real estate services firm Colliers International to market its 4-acre downtown campus for a possible sale.
Colliers beat out three other firms, after pitching a proposal to United Way that included the possibility of selling the 18-story tower on the campus and converting it to student housing.
Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Co. is among 60 major corporations that have the launched the Business Coalition for Equity Act, which is to promote passage of civil rights legislation that seeks to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, according to the Human Rights Campaign.
BEAUFORT, N.C. – North Carolina is building four bridges to improve access to the Outer Banks, slivers of sand with economic value as tourist destinations and communities of commercial fishing.
Atlanta prides itself as being the birthplace of the civil rights movement and a place where people of different races can succeed.
But it’s hard to reconcile that truth with the harsh reality that Atlanta in the 21st Century has had the largest, most rapidly growing gap between rich and poor of any major American city.
The United Way of Greater Atlanta is exploring options for its downtown campus that could include the sale of the 4-acre property, as developers and their capital partners continue gravitating back to the city’s urban core.
The rosy job growth report released Friday by the U.S. Labor Department is on track with the anecdotal reports of an improving economy issued Thursday by the Federal Reserve. Still, troubles are evident.
By Maria Saporta
As published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on February 26, 2016
Delta Air Lines, already a significant contributor in the community, is announcing a major increase in its giving.
In a telephone interview on Feb. 24, Delta President Ed Bastian said the airline is announcing to employees that it will make an annual commitment to donate 1 percent of its net profits earned in the previous year.
Colleen Kiernan, director of the Sierra Club’s Georgia Chapter, has announced she will be stepping down on April 1.
A newsletter wrote that “we are bidding a fond but reluctant farewell” to Kiernan.
By Maria Saporta
As published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on February 19, 2016
Zoo Atlanta has been hard at work raising money – announcing another $7 million in new gifts — toward its “A Grand New View: Elephants, Events and Expansion” campaign.
Concerned business leaders are stepping up their efforts opposing the “religious freedom” legislation that passed the Georgia Senate on Friday.
The Metro Atlanta Chamber gave a letter to every Georgia senator – stating that it had signed the Georgia Prospers pledge, an initiative led by former Republic Senate Majority Leader Ronnie Chance.
By Maria Saporta
As published in the Atlanta Business Chronicle on February 19, 2016
High-profile Atlanta lawyer Ernest Greer is becoming co-president of Greenberg Traurig LLP, a move that will realign the leadership of the law firm’s Atlanta office.
Greer, who served as chairman of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce in 2014, will continue to be based in Atlanta although most of his duties will now focus on client development on a national and international scale.
The Metro Atlanta Chamber announced several key leadership changes – both on its executive staff and its volunteer roles. The changes were announced at the Chamber’s executive committee meeting Thursday morning.
Georgia added about 285 solar jobs in 2015, moving the state to 15th place in the nation in terms of the number of solar jobs, according to the 2015 jobs census by The Solar Foundation.
The city is “very close to finalizing an agreement” with Delta Air Lines on a new 20-year lease at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed told people attending the Atlanta Press Club’s Newsmaker Luncheon on Thursday.
