Woodruff Foundation trustee Pete McTier retires; Gellerstedt to take his place

By Maria Saporta

Pete McTier

The largest philanthropic foundation in the state of Georgia – the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation – on Tuesday said good-bye to one of its key trustees – Charles H. “Pete” McTier.

McTier, 76, who served as president of the Woodruff Foundation from 1988 to 2006 and has been a trustee ever since, has reached the mandatory retirement age. The foundation’s mandatory retirement was instituted decades ago, but the existing trustees were grandfathered in.

Replacing McTier on the board is Larry Gellerstedt III, CEO of Cousins Properties.

Gellerstedt said he was humbled to be “coming in on the footsteps of Pete” at the Woodruff Foundation.

Larry Gellerstedt III

“Pete has always been a mentor and a hero of mine,” Gellerstedt said, adding that his stewardship and leadership of the foundation has had a tremendous impact on Atlanta and Georgia. “There’s a lot of gratitude I feel.”

The Woodruff Foundation held one of its bi-annual meetings on Tuesday where the change in trustees took place.

Last year, the foundation gave away a total of $121.5 million to 43 grant recipients. At the end of 2014, it had assets of $3.15 billion.

The independent private foundation has a mandate to improve the quality of life in Georgia by investing in health, education, economic opportunity and the vitality of the community.

Robert W. Woodruff Foundation home page