Georgia Report Collage.indd 1 14/09/2015 21:36

Georgia is currently one of the most innovative states for business in the US,

due to the synergy and versatility between its leaders in government and the business community. It is also an international hub for dynamic sectors such as entertainment, IT, life sciences, logistics and manufacturing.

Ranked as the number one state for business with the most effective workforce by CNBC in 2014, it is also becoming the HQ capital of the US. In recent years, companies such as Porsche, Mercedes-Benz and Invesco have chosen it as the base for their global headquarters, creating more than 320,000 private sector jobs since 2011.

Much of Georgia’s growth can be attributed to Governor Nathan Deal’s bid to reinvigorate the state’s manufacturing industry, which was achieved by eliminat-ing sales taxes on energy used by manufacturers and putting pro-grams in place, such as the High Demand Career Initiative, to drive workforce development.

“Because manufacturing to-day is technology-based, we are seeing companies migrating back to Georgia to take advantage of our skilled workforce and favorable tax structure,” said Governor Deal. “In the heavy machinery sector we have companies like Caterpillar based here. Baxter International, the pharmaceutical manufacturer

is investing $1 billion in a new biologics plant east of Atlanta. Kia Motors has been here since 2006 and in Savannah, we have Gulfstream who build high-end aircraft,” he said.

Talk to any Georgian CEO and they will quickly praise the initia-tives spearheaded by Governor Deal and Mayor Kasim Reed who have consistently found a way to work together regardless of any political differences.“We are very fortunate to have leadership that

sees the value in making Georgia a great place for all companies ac-cross industries,” said Chris Carr, CEO of the Georgia Department for Economic Development. “We are very proud of what this state has accomplished both in the pub-lic and private sector,” he said.

So far 2015 has been a great year for the state with NCR Corporation and Worldpay announcing new jobs – 3,600 and 1,200 respectively – as well as the opening of the new Porsche headquarters. “That was a good day,” said Mayor Reed “We are number three in America in terms of concentration of Fortune 500 businesses, and that number is growing.”

GEORGIA: THE STATE FOR SMART BUSINESSInnovation across sectors gives Georgia a global competitive edge

I take great pride in the fact we have been designated as the number one state for business.”Nathan Deal , Governor of Georgia

In collaboration with

L to R: Governor Nathan Deal • David Belle Isle, Mayor of Alpharetta • Shan Cooper, VP & General Manager, Lockheed Martin • Lynne Laube, President & COO - Cardlytics • Chris Carr, Commissioner, Georgia Department of Economic Development • Craig Richard, CEO, Invest Atlanta • Peter Tokar, Director, Alpharetta’s Economic Development Authority • Joseph Marinelli, President, Visit Savannah • Kasim Reed, Mayor of Atlanta • Mark Burns, President, Gulfstream • Dr. G.P. “Bud” Peterson, President Georgia Institute of Technology • Randy Jackson, SVP HR & Admin., Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia • Arjun Mirdha, President & CEO, JCB USA • Kessel D. Stelling, Jr., Chairman, Synovus Financial Corporation • Douglas Guthrie, Senior Vice President of Big South Region, Comcast • Paul Bowers, Chairman, President & CEO, Georgia Power • Curtis Foltz, Executive Director, Georgia Ports Authority • Frank Poe, Executive Director, Georgia World Congress Center • William Pate, President & CEO, Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau • Miguel Southwell, Aviation General Manager, Hartsfield Jackson Airport • Trip Tollison, CEO, Savannah Economic Development Authority • Hala Moddelmog, President & CEO, Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce • Keith T. Parker, General Manager, Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority • Asif Ramji, Paymetric’s President & CEO • Tino Mantella, CEO & President, Technology Association of Georgia • Martin Flanagan, President & CEO, Invesco • Chris Clark, President & CEO, Georgia Chamber of Commerce • William H. Rogers, Chairman, President & CEO SunTrust Banks • Hank Linginfelter, Executive VP, Distribution Operations AGL Resources

LET’S TALK INNOVATIONThere is a place where technology breakthroughs are benefiting you every day. A place where solutions to our toughest problems are discovered, from rare and deadly diseases, to the world’s thinnest electronic generator. A place where global brands like AT&T, The Coca-Cola Company and The Home Depot are opening innovation labs, and leading small businesses are achieving new product commercialization through the #1 industrial and #2 biomedical engineering programs in the nation. That place is Georgia. Start the conversation at Georgia.org.

We BusinessSPEAK

Georgia Department of Economic Development | Georgia.org

Controlling Robotic Swarms

Naval Engineering

Micro and Nano Fabrication

Fluorescence Microscopy

Electronics and Nanotechnology

World’s Thinnest Electronic Generator

To attract investors and promote the state’s uniquely qualified workforce, Governor

Deal announced some years back that “technology is a key growth area for Georgia.” His support put Georgia’s technology sector in the spotlight and paved the way for tuition programs such as the Hope Scholarship, which create opportunities for students at all levels and advocates STEM education.

Today, Georgia boasts some of the best technical and engineering universities and colleges in the country, including Georgia Tech, Emory and the University of Georgia. More recently, Gwinnett Technical College has purchased 25-acres of land in Alpharetta for a satellite college that can train the talent needed by the city’s ever-growing number of tech companies.

“Thanks to our booming technology economy, we have the lowest unemployment rate in the state,” said David Belle Isle, Mayor of Alpharetta. “We are pleased that Gwinnett Tech located here because that is going to help us tailor our education programs to meet the workforce needs of regional tech employers. These needs are significant. Alpharetta is small compared to well known tech clusters such as Austin or Silicon Valley. But in Austin, only 13%

TECHNOLOGy DRIvEn by COLLAbORAtIOnGeorgia is pooling its technology resources to spur the next generation of growth

technology is transforming Georgia’s cities

Our technology is teaching our customers things about their business they didn’t know.”Lynne Laube President & COO, Cardlytics

We have a unique mix of resources and affordability, which attracts the young talent tech companies want.”David Belle IsleMayor of Alpharetta

of the population is employed in technology. In Silicon Valley, it is 26%. Here, it is 44%. Technology is the lion’s share of what we do. We were built for it,” he said.

Key to Alpharetta’s success is its advanced technology infrastructure, which is due to fiber optic cables laid in the early 90s that made the city “a magnet for tech companies,” said Peter Tokar, Director of Alpharetta’s Economic Development Authority. “And it was not a one-off investment. Last year, Level 3 Communications, a fiber optic cable provider, laid $12 million of additional fiber,” Tokar said. Between Alpharetta and Roswell, there are more than 900 technology companies and the number is growing thanks to the work of bodies like Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) and the Alpharetta Technology Commission (ATC).

Established in 2012, the ATC “serves as a forum to spur conversation between technology companies and resource partners such as Georgia Power, the Metro Atlanta Chamber and TAG. It puts the technology companies in control and gives them access to network resources. We were recently named the number one city in America to

start a business,” Tokar said.With industry leaders like

Comcast, Google and AT&T expanding their networks in the metro area, Atlanta too has the infrastructure to handle its growing tech clusters. It also has TAG, the state’s tech association that has more than 28,500 members. “We eat, sleep and breathe technology. We connect with thought leaders and are positioned to drive the industry,” said Tino Mantella, CEO and President of TAG. The association runs industry awards and competitions that have become an invaluable platform for companies to showcase new products, apps and innovations.

Due to the strength of Georgia’s FinTech industry – up to 75% of all global financial transactions pass through the state – other tech horizontals such as information security, communication services and Big Data are expanding with companies like Cardlytics choosing Georgia as their base.

“The talent here is amazing because of the universities,” said Lynne Laube, President and COO of Cardlytics, a seven-year-old company that provides a data and analytics platform to advertisers. Like many of the tech companies in Georgia, the service provided by Cardlytics is a game-changer. “Our model is unique because it’s based on real data. It is closer to what the consumer is actually doing than any other model. We are very good at finding audiences

and we can prove if they have shopped with you because we have their transaction data,” Laube said. “Because our customers are global, we have the ability to monitor shifts in transactions. When you marry this data with different machinery, it gives us new insights into human behavior,” she said.

Georgia’s culture of innovation is not limited to its startup commu-nity. Established companies such as Gulfstream and Lockheed Martin have been pioneering industry

solutions and collaborating with the state for decades. Gulfstream, for example, has its own R&D center, which is home to 1,500 en-gineers while Lockheed Martin VP and General Manager Shan Cooper is chair of the Georgia Partnerships for Excellence in Education.

Alpharetta’s technology sector has become so strong it is now in a position to compete with other tech centers like Silicon Valley, Mountain View and Cupertino according to Tokar. “We can compete with a lot of the bigger cities out there, not on a per capita scale, but from availability of labor, quality of workforce, and with the companies here in the city. The next step is to promote our assets and spur the next generation of growth,” he said.

03 High-Tech05 Comcast07 Economic Development09 Health IT/Invesco 10 Invest in Georgia 1 1 Invest Atlanta 12 Airports

13 Georgia Power14 Ports15 Savannah Economic Development16 Visit Savannah17 Atlanta Tourism18 Georgia World Congress Center

COntEnts

Images courtesy of Georgia Department of Economic Development

3Georgia Hi - Tech

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ADVANCING tOmORROW’s InnOvAtORsComcast: Deeply connected to Georgia’s communities through social initiatives and innovative developments

Comcast partners with Georgia tech for R&D Comcast’s state-of-the-art new complex

Comcast, America’s largest home internet provider, has invested $200 million

a year for 20 years in Georgia and operates 190 facilities statewide. It has installed thousands of Wi-Fi spots and expanded its 10-gigabit fiber network to cre-ate the fastest bandwidth speed in the country.

As a result, the company has played a key role in Atlanta’s evolution as a hub for tech in-novation. “We have played a big part in Atlanta’s growth be-cause our business has grown to support it,” said Douglas Guthrie, Senior Vice President

of Big South Region, Comcast.In 2015, Comcast is also

launching Gigabit Pro, which is testament to the growth of busi-nesses, both large and small, in the metro region. Though Gigabit Pro targets homes, the company remains equally fo-cused on its business services.

“We have focused on both our business and residential services in Georgia for two reasons. Busi-

nesses need reliable networks to expand but they also need it to attract talent. More and more people are working from home today but it is a trend that is particularly prevalent here in At-lanta. That means the quality of broadband connections between business and home services must be uninterrupted. Comcast ensures that it is,” he said.

“On the business side, our goal is to continue to supply multi-gig applications that allow businesses to seamlessly connect. That means we must cater to diverse industries, be it a hospital or a large corporation like Coca-Cola. Today those companies see us as much more than a service provider, we have become their solutions partner,” Guthrie said.

Comcast currently serves a million customers in the Metro

Atlanta area and it has invested $300 million this year upgrading its residential customer service experience, an investment that will continue every year with the goal of empowering custom-ers with real-time information. There are also new initiatives un-derway like Project Nirvana that will give customers direct access to technicians.

In addition to the $100 million investment in a new multi-use development and partnership with the Atlanta Braves, Comcast is invested in the local community through a variety of both in-house and outreach initiatives such as the Internet Essentials program, which provides broadband services to families in need. “Our business is important, but we are also a part of the community.” Guthrie said.

travel is expected to reach $11 trillion, which makes our continuous innovation key.”Matt Minetola, CIO, Travelport

We are truly global and that is unique in the payment sector.”Guy Harris, President

Elavon, North America

We optimize and secure payments with our proprietary technology.”Asif Ramji, CEO, Paymetric

Georgia is home to 27 Fortune 1000 companies, and serial entrepreneurs like Jeff Arnold.”Hala Moddelmog, President &

CEO, Metro Atlanta Chamber

Our business is important, but we are also a part of the community.”Douglas Guthrie, Senior Vice President of Big South Region, Comcast

5Georgia Comcast

THE sOuthERn tEChnOLOGy TRIUMPHtechnology, leadership and resources push Georgia to the forefront of innovation

GOLauncher 2 is an air-launched, two-stage rocket system from Generation Orbit

The spirit of innovation is thriving in Georgia. In large measure, that’s because state

entities have become extremely active in partnering with univer-sities, business incubators and entrepreneurs to aggressively fos-ter new ideas. The fruits of their efforts can be seen in seemingly countless examples, including 220 healthcare IT companies, a thriv-ing financial-technology industry, leadership in the development of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology and the nation’s lead-ing network of industrial and biomedical engineers. The state also has nurtured a revolution in manufacturing techniques, and is home to a technology-driven agricultural industry worth $72.5 billion annually.

At the heart of the innova-tion movement in the state is the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) which made their home in Atlanta’s Technology Square. It is here that the department’s Centers of Innovation – a free economic de-velopment offering that’s unique to Georgia – carry out their mis-sion to help entrepreneurs and companies bring new ideas to life.

“Technology is evolving at a faster pace than ever,” said Chris Carr, Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development. “Offering talent-ed researchers and resources to Georgia-based companies to help them expand is a priority for us. Our network of industry experts have access to a wide array of con-nections and world-class resourc-es – it’s just one of the things that make the Centers of Innovation so valuable and unique.”

The Centers are joined in Technology Square by a wide range of corporate innovation centers in-cluding AT&T, NCR Corporation, Panasonic, ThyssenKrupp and

The Home Depot. The Coca-Cola Company, for instance, is working on behind-the-scenes technologies that will create new ways for retail-ers to carry out product ordering and harness the power of Big Data.

As Wes McKay of Yamaha Motor Manufacturing, put it, “The increase in resources that we got from Georgia Tech through the Georgia Centers of Innovation gives us the ability to develop completely new materials.”

Often, the Centers open op-portunities that companies nev-er knew about. Chris Paulk of Muscadine Products Corporation, said, “The Centers have shown us doors that we didn’t know exist-ed, and have also helped us open doors that we may have seen but weren’t able to get through.”

Led by recognized experts in their respective industries, the six Georgia Centers of Innovation focus on helping organizations to connect with those who can help them to compete and grow.

The Georgia Center of Innovation for Aerospace offers technical expertise, research opportunities and partnerships that support one of the country’s most robust statewide aerospace programs. Similarly, the Center of Innovation for Agribusiness helps to accelerate the growth and development of Georgia’s largest industry, providing product commercialization assistance and access to emerging research.

The Center of Innovation for Logistics fuels the global compet-itiveness of Georgia’s logistics in-frastructure and helps companies overcome challenges related to freight movement. It also hosts the Georgia Logistics Summit, which attracts thousands of industry leaders from across the world.

Sitting inside the Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute, the Center of Innovation for Manufacturing helps manufac-turers reach new markets and advance product development through technical expertise, cut-ting-edge research connections, and strategic partnerships.

Other key industries are sup-ported by the Center of Innovation for Information Technology and the Center of Innovation for Energy Technology including cy-bersecurity and waste to energy technologies.

Generation Orbit Launch Services, based in Atlanta, had a vision to open the doors to space for companies looking to launch nano- and micro-satellites. To bring this vision to market safely and efficiently, Generation Orbit needed to find partnerships with the relevant experience, access to

resources and innovative solu-tions. The Center of Innovation for Aerospace connected Generation Orbit with the right combination of academic researchers, vendors and testing facilities. Generation Orbit COO A.J. Piplica said of the Center, “They guided and connected us to resources we greatly needed. We wouldn’t be where we are today without their services.” Generation Orbit has now assembled a team of partners across Georgia and the United States that are developing the world’s first dedicated small satellite launch system.

In an entirely different market, Georgia-based software and technology development company New Frequency was faced with a new challenge of technology scalability when seeking to apply its remote sensor monitoring systems to the wildlife industry. New Frequency was considering a move to another state to pursue technological growth, until the Center of Innovation for Manufacturing stepped in and was able to provide access to experts at Georgia Tech. These resources enabled New Frequency to conduct the research needed to achieve its goal of developing scalable monitoring technology. New Frequency now has a contract with a global pest control company, and is receiving interest from other industries.

Generation Orbit and New Frequency are two of more than 1,500 businesses the Centers of Innovation serve each year. In each case, the Centers prove that they have the technical expertise, collaborative research clout and partnership-building ability to help the state’s strategic indus-tries connect, compete and grow globally. As a result, the Centers are having a significant impact throughout the state—and well beyond its borders.

technology is evolving at a faster pace than ever.” Chris Carr, CommissionerGeorgia Department of EconomicDevelopment

7Georgia Economic Development

InvEsCO, INVESTING IN GEORGIA’S FUTURE

Though Invesco was orig-inally founded in the UK in 1935, the company has

deep roots in Atlanta that go back to 1978 when the firm es-tablished its US base in Georgia. In 2007, the company moved its global headquarters to Atlanta because of the city’s large talent pool and global accessibility.

“As the business globalized, we needed a base that would give us access to talent but also make it easy for us to travel; our choice was Atlanta,” said Martin Flanagan, CEO of Invesco. “The city has a number of multina-tional firms, and the university system is tremendous, so it’s

possible to access real talent here. That’s a real driver for us.”

Invesco also invests in some of Georgia’s Fortune 500 com-panies – including Coca-Cola, Newell Rubbermaid and Aflac Incorporated – and the firm is committed to the state’s devel-opment at the community level. Invesco plays an active role in the Atlanta Committee for Progress and participates in state initiatives such as HouseProud Atlanta and Park Ride. These investments are not just a way for Invesco to give back to the community, they are also an important part of the com-pany’s talent retention strategy.

“If you look at Invesco’s support of the Woodford Arts Center, our contributions have been more than financial. We wanted to make it a place for our employees to go and bring their families, and so we have contributed volunteer hours

as well,” Flanagan said. “We have an internal volunteer program called Invesco Cares, which is managed by employees. We attract talent with these programs – as staff members get involved in their community, they want to stay here.”

Invesco is deeply committed to supporting development in Atlanta’s community at all levels, and Flanagan – who also serves as chairman of the Atlanta Committee for Progress – believes such

public-private collaboration is critical to the city’s future. “The mayor and the chair identify the issues, and then the committee works together to create the programs that make Atlanta a better place,” Flanagan said. “It could be anything from improving the parks, public safety or infrastructure. But we are not just a think tank. We do the work. Everyone gets involved. That’s what makes Atlanta unique.”

Invesco’s hQ: Collaboration between the public and private sector is key to Georgia’s growth

Everyone gets involved. that’s what makes Atlanta unique.”Martin Flanagan CEO, Invesco

healthcare in the us is going digital

From an investor’s point of view there is nothing hotter on Wall street right now than health It.”Jeff Arnold, CEO, Sharecare

Atlanta is the nation’s capital for health IT, as more than 200 companies

have their headquarters in the metro region. As healthcare in the US moves from a fee-per-service model to a value base

model, Atlanta has become the epicenter of the industry’s shift. “The consumer-driven health-care movement is changing how healthcare works. The buyer is now the patient,” said Jeff Arnold, CEO of Sharecare, an online service that has 87 million users. Sharecare’s goal is to turn the “living room into the exam room.”

“Our first phase was to build health profiles on our customers. Then we looked at ‘connected care,’ connecting patients with doctors, enabling patients to ask a range of specific questions and get answers that solve health issues. We have created a triage service on the customer’s mobile device,” said Arnold. Sharecare has partnered with Oprah, Dr. Oz, Discovery

Channel, Heart and Sony who are all active investors in the service. “Our goal is to change how healthcare works, to make the experience more connected,” Arnold said.

Like Sharecare, the goal of other health IT companies such as athenahealth and Patientco is to bring healthcare online, using technology to digitize this lagging industry. Patientco’s service “simplifies the user’s experience by providing one centralized place where the patient can ask questions and manage payments,” said Bird

Blitch, CEO of Patientco. “We also work with hospitals and help them take payments from patients,” he said.

At athenahealth the service provided is directed at health-care providers and eliminates administrative tasks allowing doctors to focus on patient care. They operate a “cloud-based national network of 67,000 providers and 3,000 receivers (labs, pharmacies, imaging centers, etc.), who are able to share data openly and seamlessly to support the care of tens of millions of patients across the country,” said David Harvey, VP of Product Strategy and General Manager for athenahealth Atlanta. Collectively, these companies are revolutionizing healthcare in America.

REVOLUTIONIzING hEALthCAREthanks to innovative entrepreneurs, Georgia boasts a thriving health It sector

9Georgia Health IT/Invesco

INITIATIVES THAT LED TO GEORGIA’s bOOmbusiness leaders have created a state that invests in its resources

Georgia is very attractive, not just for the Fortune 100, but also for Fortune 500 & 1000 companies too.”Chris Clark, President & CEOGeorgia Chamber of Commerce

For the past 100 years, the Georgia Chamber has been at the epicenter of growing the state’s business. With the support of thousands of members and investors, we’re always proud to create a better state of business together. Learn more at gachamber.com.

CELEBRATING A CENTURY OF LEADERSHIP

Five years ago, Governor Deal and the Chamber of Commerce met with

thousands of businesses, both large and small, across Georgia to find out exactly what was needed to drive growth and curb unemployment numbers. The result was the 2011 Georgia Competitiveness Initiative that worked so well that in just four short years, Georgia has become one of the most robust economies in the US and is ranked as the number one state to do business.

The Initiative led to “13 pieces of new legislation strategy for the state and the business community. We were able to pass everything from cutting the energy tax for manufacturing, agriculture and mining, as well as some other key tax reforms that have spurred investment,” said Chris Clark,

President and CEO of Georgia’s Chamber of Commerce.

With an emphasis on work-force development the state ex-panded the depth of its Quick Start program – an initiative that has been in place for decades to help companies employ and train staff – but also put in place a range of new education programs fund-ed by the lottery as well as busi-

ness-led programs such as the Learning Power project, which is run by the state’s largest energy provider, Georgia Power.

This year the chamber has shifted its focus to transportation. “We now want to address our transportation issue,” said Clark. “To do that we created a bipartisan coalition task force that went out into the community last year to talk with business leaders and identify infrastructure problems. This year we are focused on putting the solutions in place.”

Georgia’s film and television production sector has also grown significantly as a result of these initiatives. “We realized that our talented creative media industry enabled us to offer competitive services,” said Clark. “The results have been phenomenal. In just four years,

we have reached number three in the US and number five in the world as a hub for film and television production.”

In 2014 the Chamber of Commerce launched new pro-grams such as Georgia2Georgia, which encourages businesses within the state to work with each other, and Georgia Grown

which is run by the Department of Agriculture, an initiative that dates back to 1915. “100 years later and we are still commit-ted to Georgia’s growth,” said Clark.

Film production is booming in Georgia

10 Georgia Invest in Georgia

More educated young adults head to Atlanta than to any other city.It might be smart for you to consider locating here too.

MarketWatch Magazine

www.Inves tAt lanta.com

buILDInG A BETTER ATLANTAInvest Atlanta attracts new business by investing in local communities

Atlanta is thriving and becoming the new headquarters capital of the us

What sets us apart is that we also believe in creating a sense of place.”Craig Richard, CEO, Invest Atlanta

Fast becoming a headquar-ters capital, Atlanta has emerged as one of the most

vital business cities in the US in the last ten years. Much of this is thanks to Hartsfield-Jackson, the country’s busiest international airport, and the state’s exempla-ry education system, but it is also the result of visionary policies

put in place by the city’s mayor and hard-working institutions such as Invest Atlanta.

“My vision is to ensure that the Atlanta metropolitan region becomes the dominant economy in the southeast,” said Mayor Kasim Reed. “International in-vestors are recognizing that

New York, Chicago and LA are not the only states with invest-ment opportunities. Right now we are number eight in venture capital and technology invest-ment. My goal is to get us up to number one,” he said.

To achieve that goal, Invest Atlanta plays a crucial role, as its objective is to advance the city’s global competitiveness, which it does by driving the local economy and building vibrant neighborhoods. “We ensure that Atlanta’s citizens have access to and benefit from the city’s eco-nomic prosperity. This organiza-tion is essentially the hub where economic and community de-velopment intersect,” said Craig Richard, CEO of Invest Atlanta.

Invest Atlanta is the main driver behind projects that have transformed Atlanta, projects

such as Ponce City Market, which was an abandoned Sears building and is now a dynamic tech hub that is home to companies such as Twitter and athenahealth. It also houses restaurants, boutiques and residential units. The organi-zation is involved in the Beltline Project, which is 22 miles of his-toric rail corridor that encircles Atlanta and connects 45 in-town neighborhoods.

Because of Invest Atlanta’s structure, it is able to move much faster than local government and were instrumental in bringing

Worldpay and NCR Corporation to the city. “We create holistic solu-tions for companies that are look-ing to set up in Atlanta. Whether it is purchasing property and equipment, identifying funds to train workforce or even helping employees purchase houses, our support is planned and delivered at every level to help ensure that the company’s objectives are met,” said Richard. “Invest Atlanta has a broad menu of support options and opportunities because when the companies are successful, all of Atlanta benefits.”

11Georgia Invest Atlanta

What do diverse compa-nies like Invesco, Ela-von, McKesson Tech-

nology Solutions and Travelport all have in common? It is their reason for choosing Georgia as a strategic US base and that reason is the state’s unrivalled global connectivity.

At the core of its transpor-tation sector is Hartsfield Jackson International Airport, the busiest and most efficient airport in the country and the reason Atlanta offers almost unmatched global connectivity for an American city. With more than 2500 domestic and international flights daily, Atlanta’s international airport

is one of the reasons more than 1500 German companies have located in Georgia. The most recent being Mercedes-Benz.

“In the past when investors travelled, they would spend more time in each country as the travel-time was long. That is no longer the case. Today they want to arrive, conduct their business and get home. Atlanta makes that easy,” said Kasim Reed, Mayor of Atlanta. “It is the reason Atlanta is becoming a leading headquarters city,” he said.

Since the start of his tenure, the mayor has been an active supporter of the airport, calling it the “job’s engine” of the city. He saw an opportunity to utilize the airport at night, when it was quiet, for cargo transport. Today it is one of the top ten cargo airports in the country. The next phase of development is to

encourage businesses to locate within close proximity of the airport. To that end, the airport is now a member of the Atlanta Airtropolis Alliance.

“When companies choose to relocate here most go downtown or to Alpharetta, not the southern crescent. As a culture we have been conditioned to think that living next to an airport is undesirable,” explained Miguel Southwell, Aviation General Manager of Hartsfield Jackson Airport.

“In Frankfurt, for example, upon leaving the airport, you are immediately in the heart of the city and have access to nice hotels and other amenities. The goal of the Airtropolis Alliance is to promote the airport as a place to live, work and play. We are launching a project to build what is called an Airport City, so we can change the perception of living by an airport. There will be a four-star hotel with up to 400 rooms, a transportation plaza with restaurants and rent-a-car companies. It will have as much as two million square feet of mixed-use space for Class A offices, retail and possibly residential. It will be the first development of its kind in America,” he said.

hartsfield Jackson airport gives Atlanta almost unmatched global connectivity for an American city.”Mayor Kasim Reed, Mayor of Atlanta

AtLAntA THE WELL-CONNECTED CITy

home to the busiest airport in the country

Katherine HintonDelta Flight Attendant

I am pleased to welcome you to Atlanta. My route is one of 200+ daily nonstops to ATL from every major city worldwide, and whether coming or going, morning, noon or night, fl ights on the hour make your commute a breeze. Plan on Atlanta and watch your meeting take fl ight.

I’M YOUR FRIENDLY SMILE ON APPROACH TO A FIRST CLASS MEETING.

ATLANTAMEETINGS.com

soon to be home to Airport City

12 Georgia Aiport

As a 130-year-old compa-ny that operates on the principle, “we will be

a citizen wherever we serve,” Georgia Power has been a driv-er of economic development in the state of Georgia since the company’s inception. With a diverse portfolio of fuels that includes coal, natural gas, solar and nuclear, Georgia Power is continuously adapting to the needs of its 2.4 million Geor-gian customers to ensure the delivery of cost-effective fuels that power the state’s business-

es and homes. The company is deeply involved in joint pro-grams throughout Georgia’s business community and its education system.

“We are leading the state in education, but also leading the debate about the infrastructure needed. We want to be as effi-cient as possible, be it transpor-tation infrastructure through the recently passed transporta-tion bill, or providing support to state leadership for improve-ment of the ports,” said Paul Bowers, President and CEO of Georgia Power.

As part of its goal to ensure that Georgia’s workforce has the skillset needed to drive the economy, the power company has been heavily involved in programs that push STEM education in schools.

“About four years ago we hired eleven teachers,” explained Bowers. “Through our Learning Power program, these

teachers go into classrooms, 3rd, 5th, 8th grade and high school to engage the students in energy education with the mission to plant an interest in the STEM curriculums at an early age. We have reached almost 300,000 kids in less than three years. Our goal is to provide them with ideas about career paths and encourage them to work in STEM fields such as energy. We provide a wide range of career advice. For example, not everyone wants to go to college. We want kids to have a variety of career paths.”

To support the business community, Georgia Power is involved with a number of initiatives and works close-ly with the state’s Chamber of Commerce. The energy company actively supported Governor Deal’s transportation bill, which removed sales tax on energy used by manufac-turers, and has been the cata-lyst that injected new life into Georgia’s previously lagging manufacturing sector.

“The Chamber was a big ad-vocate for removing the energy tax because it was a disadvan-tage to manufacturers within the state that were competing with manufacturers outside the state. When that tax was re-moved, we put Georgia manu-facturers on equal footing with other regions and that created a competitiveness position that was critical,” said Bowers. “The goal of Georgia Power is to help create a pro-business en-vironment and that is why we are committed to our activities with communities. Why? Be-cause everyone benefits. We be-lieve that being an active par-ticipator in a collaborative way is important because it brings communities together.”

THE EnERGIZER 2.4 million customers rely on Georgia Power’s network

the goal of Georgia Power is to help create a pro-business environment that benefits every level of the community.”Paul Bowers, President & CEO Georgia Power

GTTW_GPA_Newsweek_Sept2015.indd 1 9/8/2015 9:21:30 PM

13Georgia Georgia Power

ATL_NewsweekAD201509-r3.pdf 1 9/2/15 3:17 PM

The reason Georgia offers one of the most efficient logistics networks in the US is due

largely to the state’s leadership, who grasp the strategic value of Georgia’s location and are committed to investing in its airports, port, rail and road infrastructure.

“We have the most capitalized terminal in the US,” said Curtis Foltz, CEO of Georgia’s Port Authority. “It has been recognized time and again for its efficiency, productivity and capacity. Unlike other ports, we are structured as a statewide entity, meaning we can coordinate assets and resources to meet the needs of the entire state. All of our profits are reinvested back into our infrastructure, assets, land acquisitions and technology to ensure we operate effectively at maximum capacity,” he said.

Location is another reason Georgia’s ports offer unrivalled versatility. “Our container ports are 100 miles closer to Atlanta than any other port in the US. Location makes a huge differ-ence, as it is a magnet for trade and commerce.

We are fortunate to be in this unique position.,” Foltz said.

Georgia’s ports were only mildly affected by the recession and today are “four years ahead of forecasted numbers for 2018,” Foltz said. He doesn’t expect the rapid growth to slow any time soon citing shifting demo-graphics as a major opportunity for Georgia. 45% of the US pop-ulation now lives in the region Georgia ports serve, a migration that is expected to swell in the coming years.

For a company like JCB that exports 60% of manufacturing to 150 countries around the world, the port of Savannah provides a crucial service. Arjun Mirdha, President and CEO of JCB USA, cites the state’s “unique blend of logistical capabilities” as the reason for the company’s location in Savannah. Randy Jackson of Kia Motors agrees. “When making the decision to locate in Georgia, the logistical infrastructure became most important for us. Today we are the third largest customer of the Port of Savannah. We run a four-hour inventory and any disruption to the logistical flow creates challenges,” he said.

“For every customer,” said Foltz, “we are asking what can we do for them at state level and what can we do to improve our transportation.”

We invest in the ports with the best economic interests for the development of the state.”Curtis Foltz, CEOGeorgia’s Port Authority

In the last four years, we have grown 193%.”Arjun Mirdha,CEO, JCB USA

We have experienced remarkable growth and have recently opened new manufacturing facilities.”Mark Burns, President, Gulfstream

Our location puts us close to our customers and a great pool of talent.” Shan Cooper, VP & General

Manager, Lockheed Martin

We are Georgia’s oldest corporate citizen and have been involved in its growth since 1856.”Hank Linginfelter, Executive VP,

AGL Resources

LEADInG thE WAy IN LOGISTICSPort of savannah: the fastest growing container port

14 Georgia Ports

Considering its size, Savannah has a vibrant economy with five robust

sectors that include manufactur-ing, tourism, military, logistics and healthcare. The Savannah Economic Development Authority (SEDA) is the body charged with promoting Savannah to the world and creating prosperity for the city’s citizens. Working closely with Savannah’s business com-munity, last year SEDA facilitat-ed the creation of 700 new jobs and brought in up to $160 mil-lion in investment. Such is the quality of SEDA’s work that last year the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) awarded SEDA its business reten-tion program.

“Our job is to make sure our companies are happy, that they have what they need and every-

thing is working accordingly. We meet with them regularly and encourage open discussion. It is a dynamic relationship because we are learning firsthand about spe-cific issues and, as we dialogue, we can spot opportunities to help them expand. For example, we have done a lot of work with Mit-subishi Hitachi Power Systems, which has a $400 million facili-ty here in Savannah. The IEDC wants other cities around the world replicate our approach,” said Trip Tollison, CEO of SEDA.

Another company that has benefitted from that dynamic re-

lationship is Gulfstream, based in Savannah since 1967. “Gulfst-ream has flourished in Savannah because of the outstanding work-force available here. That, com-bined with the area’s transporta-tion and logistical infrastructure are key to our success in Geor-gia,” said Mark Burns, President of Gulfstream.

As the aircraft manufactur-er has a close relationship with SEDA, Gulfstream is also in-volved in state initiatives. “Our new state-of-the-art Product Sup-port Distribution Center in North Port Industrial Park in Savannah

is an example of how we have worked with state organizations to help expand and create jobs. The distribution center, which will officially open later this year,

will be home to more than 300 employees and approximately $900 million in parts and materi-als inventory that will be shipped around the world,” said Burns.

SMALL CITy, bIG busInEsssavannah may be small, but its business leaders think big

mitsubishi, Gulfstream and JCb all help power savannah’s key industries

We work closely with the companies in savannah to discover and fulfill their business needs.”Trip Tollison, CEO, Savannah Economic Development Authority

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Savannah attracts in the re-gion of 13 million visitors each year. Lured by the

city’s fabled heritage and roman-tic architecture, guests spend more than $2.3 million on ac-commodation, dining and leisure activities such as haunted tours. Primarily a gateway destination, it is the ideal weekend package

for professionals, families, groups or couples from nearby cities and states looking to unwind with the kind of beauty, relaxation, culture and fun that Savannah offers.

“Our diversity means we are well-positioned to cater to a

wide variety of holiday needs,” said Joe Marinelli, President of Visit Savannah. “We are popular with groups of women because they enjoy our spa and relaxation packages. We offer a whole range of outdoor activities, including golf and water sports. A lot of people are content to take a stroll

around our beautiful Historic District where you find buildings that feature Greek Revival and Gothic style architecture,” he said.

Due to its history, Savannah also attracts international visi-tors. It is a number one destina-tion for Canadians and draws visitors from the UK, Germany,

France and Australia too. While the city’s traditional

architecture has remained largely unchanged for 278 years, in recent years an influx of boutique hotels and select restaurants are changing the type of visitor that Savannah appeals to. There is also a lot of new retail in the city with brands such as H&M, Kate Spade and Marc Jacbos opening branches there.

“Though we are a small city, the quality of our hotels and restaurants is now comparable to what you would find in a larger destination like New York,” Marinelli said. “In recent years many lifestyle magazines are including us in the top ten cities to visit. Savannah is now seen as a lifestyle break and we are adjusting well to that shift in the market.”

sAvAnnAh: A LIFESTyLE DESTINATION WITH CLASSIts cool mix of boho districts and chic restaurants make it an enchanting getaway

Riverboat cruises are one of the many ways to enjoy savannah

savannah is regularly ranked amongst the top ten cities to visit in the us.”Joe MarinelliPresident, Visit Savannah

16 Georgia Visit Savanah

there’s been a lot of development, which means Atlanta has become a more vibrant city.”William Pate President, Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau

With an annual visitor number in the region of 48 million, Atlanta

is number four in the US as a weekend tourist destination. Atlanta today is a transformed city that has been developed with community and convenience in mind. New parks, restaurants and city redevelopment pro-jects have modernized the city’s neighborhoods such as Buckhead, which is known for its upmarket shopping at retail centers like Phipps Plaza and Lenox Square. Atlanta’s

main street, Peachtree Street, is an eclectic mix of shopping, nightlife and history. For example, the house of Margaret Mitchell is located at 990 Peachtree Street where the author wrote the timeless story, Gone with the Wind.

Meanwhile, investment in the state’s transport systems ensures visitors travel smooth-ly and at affordable prices. “Working with the airport, we have the best system in the na-tion. You can go from baggage claim to downtown in about 20 minutes for $2.50. It’s the best system in the US and third in the world,” said Keith T. Parker, General Manager & CEO of MARTA, metro Atlanta’s rail and bus network service.

In 2014, Atlanta led the US in terms of occupancy growth, but the city continues to add to its hotel inventory. “We are boom-ing. We have an Indigo Hotel that’s currently under construc-tion and there is a new Hyatt

being built next to the aquari-um. Nearby they are building Holman suites,” said William Pate, President of the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau (ACVB).

“We recently opened two new stadiums and both offer a variety of development oppor-tunities. The Falcon Stadium in-cludes a hotel and a mix of retail and restaurants. Then we have city center developments such as Ponce City Market which is comparable to Chelsea Market in New York, and is an example of how cosmopolitan Atlanta has become,” he said.

Atlanta has also invested in the city’s attractions. “For example, we get people interested in journalism who are keen to do a behind-the-scenes tour with CNN,” said Pate. “Next to that we have the football hall of fame, the world’s largest aquarium and the National Center for Civil Rights. Across the road is the infamous World of Coca-Cola, the country’s biggest corporate museum.”

While it is specifically the remit of the ACVB to promote Atlanta as a tourism destination to both business and leisure visitors, the organization has 1,500 members who are all also actively involved in promoting the city. Their collaborative approach both to planning and promoting is one of the key elements of Atlanta’s success. “One of the great things about Atlanta is that everyone really does work together. Everybody puts the ‘Big A’ first. We are thinking about what is best for Atlanta. That is one of the key things that has led to Atlanta’s growth, as well as one of the reasons people are coming back to Atlanta again and again,” Pate said.

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17Georgia Atlanta Tourism

Georgia’s conference and convention sector is thriving, attracting more

than 2.2 million business visitors to Atlanta in 2014 and generating an annual economic impact in the region of $1.4 billion. Two bod-ies, the Georgia World Congress Center Authority (GWCCA) and the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau (ACVB) are responsible for promoting the city as a confer-ence destination as well as main-taining its convention centers. In the last five years, Atlanta is expe-riencing a surge in popularity due to its location and the quality of its convention centers.

“From the perspective of ac-cessibility to the airport, hotel inventory approximate to the con-vention center and the attractions that support the area around Cen-tennial Olympic Park, we have a

convention platform that is very unique when compared to other competitive markets within North America,” said Frank Poe, Execu-tive Director of the GWCCA.

“We are a convention-centric city,” said William Pate, Presi-dent of the ACVB. “We have the fourth largest convention center in the country and when you couple that with the world’s bus-iest airport, logistically we are unrivalled in the US, if not in the world in terms of accessibility. Typically 40% of attendees are coming from outside the US, so airlift is crucial,” he said.

America’s convention sec-tor is very competitive and as a self-supporting entity, the GWC-CA works hard to ensure its center offers clients the most advanced facilities available. “As we have invested more than $1.4 million, we are amongst one of the most technically advanced centers in the country,” said Poe, “Going forward we have to ensure we are compatible with the latest technol-ogy so we can meet the bandwidth and presentation needs of clients.”

Due to the diversity of indus-tries in Georgia, Atlanta attracts medical, logistics, technology, educational and financial confer-ences and Poe is keen to take a larger market share from the top 100 trade shows and conferences. “What we are seeing is business coming back to Atlanta, people that were here in the 80s or 90s and don’t realize how much the city has changed in the interim. Today we are catering to groups of up to 10,000 in size,” Poe said.

AtLAntA: CONVENTION-CENTRIC One of the most technologically advanced convention centers in the country attracts top events

We are fortunate to have a business base that knows Atlanta is the right place for meetings.”Frank Poe, Executive Director, Georgia World Congress Center Authority

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18 Georgia GWCCA

From our skilled workforce to global access to an unequaled operating environment, there are so many reasons why you should locate your business in Georgia. Here’s another: Georgia Power project managers will work closely with the Georgia Department of Economic Development to assist you with labor analysis, market data, available properties – whatever you need – at no charge. To get the scoop on all Georgia has to offer, visit SelectGeorgia.com.

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©2015 Georgia Power Company. All rights reserved.

What are the main drivers behind Georgia’s recent growth?

We focused on trying to be number one. We set that as our goal. We were in the midst of the recession when I made that an-nouncement that I believed we could be the number one state for business. At the beginning I asked what would it take to be number one? We put in place what we call the Competitiveness Initia-tive, a joint effort with the Georgia Chamber of Com-merce. We brought together business leaders from all across the state and asked them to hold town hall meet-ings in the twelve regions of our state and they did, just to

How to Create the No. #1 State for Business Nathan Deal, Governor of Georgia

Governor Nathan Deal is the 82nd Governor of Georgia. He has held this office since 2011 and is responsible for

guiding Georgia out of the recession. By inviting initiatives from across the business community, Governor Deal

has revived Georgia’s manufacturing sector and created more than 300,000 new jobs.

ask people in those parts of Georgia what they thought we needed to do to be able to make their part of Georgia more prosperous. We took their information and their answers, brought them back

and consolidated it. Out of that came several ma-jor changes. One was the decision to be a manufac-turing state again. In order to do that, we had to make some

structural changes. We did that. We agreed to remove sales tax on energy used for manufacturing. We have seen great benefits form that. Not only have we seen our exist-ing manufacturing base con-tinue to expand, we have seen other manufacturers come from all over the world.

400,000Since Governor Deal took office in 2011, 400,000 new

private sector jobs have been created

$900mIn 2014 $900 million of lottery funds were donated to the Hope

Scholarship

100%As part of the High

Demand Career Initiative, students

are offered 100% scholarships to study high demand fields

“We are a state

that says yes

instead of no.”

What sector in Georgia still has room for growth?

Agribusiness and agricul-ture is still the number one economic driver in our state. But that is a much diversified growth area, and it continues to grow. We have had a pro-gram in conjunction with our Commissioner of Agriculture in Georgia called Georgia Grown. This is an emphasis on using Georgia-grown agri-cultural products to be pur-chased in the grocery stores. A brand - an effective brand. It continues to be very suc-cessful.

What makes Georgia’s busi-ness environment unique?

Our taxes are low. We have removed the estate tax, which is very helpful to small busi-nesses wanting to pass their businesses onto the next gen-eration. We have eliminated the marriage tax penalty, so you do not pay the extra pen-alty because you are married and filing a joint return. We are recognized as the best state in the nation for wom-en-owned businesses. We continue to lead not only in terms of women-owned busi-nesses but also minori-ty-owned businesses. They continue to be a growing fac-tor within our overall busi-ness environment. To a lot of businesses, we are a right-to-work state, which means we do not have some of the en-tanglements of union states.And our economic develop-ment team which has outposts all around the world and has been recognized as the best economic development team of any state in the country.

What sectors are benefitting most from Atlanta’s growing status as an international hub?

Our transportation sector is a key sector for us and it influ-ences the entire Southeast. At the core of that is Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Interna-tional Airport, which gives the city of Atlanta al-most unmatched global connectivi-ty for an American city. Because of Hartsfield-Jackson, you can reach 80% of the GDP of America in two hours or less. That is fueling our position as a center for headquarters and businesses. We are already number three in America in terms of concentration of For-tune 500 businesses, and that

Atlanta: The New Headquarters CapitalKasim Reed, Mayor of Atlanta

Mayor Kasim Reed is the 59th mayor of Atlanta, Georgia. Since taking office in 2010 he has fostered ties between

Atlanta’s business, logistics and academic communities to facilitate ongoing growth and innovation for the state’s

industries. During his tenure Atlanta has become the city companies choose for their headquarters.

number is growing. We re-cently had Pulte Homes, which is the second largest homebuilder in America move from Michigan to the city of Atlanta. We have had

eight headquar-ters wins within the last 36 months.

How is the city changing inter-nally?

More and more headquarters are choosing to make the city of Atlanta home. We are also

seeing an influx of businesses from the suburbs into the center of the city. We had the biggest jobs move in 40 years by NCR and they are moving 3,000 of their entire work-force into midtown across the street from Georgia Tech, where they are building a

$260mNCR Corporation is

investing $260m in its new Midtown Atlanta

campus

8 HQs In the last 36 months 8 companies have chosen

to make Atlanta their headquarters

No. 3Atlanta is No. 3 in

America in terms of concentration of Fortune

500 businesses

“The city

of Atlanta

has almost

unmatched

global

connectivity.”

$260m campus. Worldpay moved 1,200 employees from Sandy Springs onto Atlantic Station, which is near Mid-town. What we see happen-ing is that Atlanta is becom-ing a headquarters town because business leaders can move around not only Ameri-ca but the world.

How important is the city’s education institutions to its growth and innovation?

Fundamental. The President of the United States said Georgia Tech is one of the best buys in education in the world. But it is not just Geor-gia Tech. If you go back to the Ebola crisis, the center of ac-tion during that period was Emory University. We have more than 57 public and pri-vate universities around our cities core, which allows busi-nesses to move their head-quarters and operations to Atlanta and have a talented workforce readily available.

Why are so many companies choosing Atlanta for their headquarters?

We rival New York in terms of their ability to connect to the world. Our idea is that the world is changing and we are in the top ten cities in the USA for foreign direct investment and one of the top thirty cities in the world. In the old days, when international investors traveled, they would want to spend extended periods of time in the United States. We are not finding that to be the case today. They want to come in, meet with their in-vestors, conduct their busi-ness, and then go back home.

What is the strategy behind the Governor’s High De-mand Career Initiative?

Governor Deal tasked GD-EcD, the University System of Georgia and the Technical College System of Georgia to go out and find out what was needed from the private sector. We wanted to look ten years down the line to ask what skills they need to be successful, what degrees, what programs for long-term suc-cess. We do not just want to locate a project - we want to make that company success-ful in the long term because they will stay and grow and add employees. We had fif-teen meetings with various sectors including film, medi-

Pioneering Innovative Industry Solutions Chris Carr, Commissioner, Georgia Department of Economic Development

The Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) is the engine behind Georgia’s growth. Providing

support to business in a range of industries including aerospace, agribusiness, arts, automotive, data centers,

defense, energy, environment, entertainment and life sciences. GDEcD’s success is powered by its integrated

approach and focus on pioneering innovative industry solutions.

cal, automotive, military, healthcare and aerospace. That allowed us to hear what was needed in terms of engi-neering degrees and comput-er programming, etc. But it

also allowed us to let businesses see what assets these universities and technical schools already have. If there was a gap we could fill it. We have already created a new de-gree in Manufac-turing Engineer-

ing at Georgia Southern and established the Georgia Film Academy.

How does the GDEcD en-courage local business to grow while also attracting foreign businesses?

You have to make it easy to

80%Georgia’s transportation can reach 80% of America

within two hours by plane

75Direct flight to Georgia

from 75 different locations around the

world

$4.7 trillion

Every year $4.7 trillion worth of global payment transactions take place in

Georgia

“You have to

make it easy to

get products in

and out.”

get products in and out. You have to make it as easy as possible for the producer and customer to meet. That is the logistics infrastructure we have. Transportation is this state’s strength; six major highways, two class-one rail-roads, Hartsfield-Jackson At-lanta International Airport and the ports of Savannah and Brunswick. We are geo-graphically located two hours by plane, two days by truck or rail, from 80 percent of the US market. We talk about that because that matters. Direct flights from 75 different loca-tions: Europe, Asia, Central and South America. Bruns-wick is the fourth-largest and the fastest-growing port and the largest importer of cars. We have the infrastructure that is going to allow a com-pany to be successful both do-mestically and international-ly. And we have workforce, world-class universities and technical schools.

Why is Georgia’s FinTech In-dustry so dominant?

There are $4.7 trillion worth of transactions that occur in the state every year. Georgia companies touch about 70 per cent of that. T-SYS, Worldpay and Global Payments are here. Between the 400 Corri-dor, which goes up to Roswell and Alpharetta, there are about 40 to 60 companies that support this industry. Be-cause we have Georgia Tech, the Chris Klaus School of Computing, the business schools at Tech and Georgia State, the University of Geor-gia, we are well positioned to serve this industry.

How did the Chamber’s busi-ness strategy change last year?

We are a political organiza-tion and have been lobbying for 100 years, but it’s only been in the last 5 years that we have gotten engaged in mak-ing sure we had the right people elected. We used to just wait for them to get elect-ed and then work with them but that’s not efficient anymore. Last year the busi-ness community came togeth-er. We had a lot of open seats and some candidates whose policies were anti-business. We were able to raise funds, build a coalition, and beat out those candidates. We had 7 open seats that we won by less than 300 votes. We didn’t care if they were Republicans

The Voice of Georgia’s Business Community Chris Clark, President & CEO, Georgia Chamber of Commerce

The Georgia Chamber of Commerce is a non-profit enterprise that’s focused on strengthening Georgia’s business

community. Through many initiatives such as the Georgia Business Action Network, the Chamber ensures that

the voice of Georgia’s business community is heard at the State Capitol and in Washington D.C.

or Democrats, we supported candidates in both parties, but we wanted people who understood job creation, eco-nomic development and wanted to govern. We have

some great newly elected officials in place. This year we raised the most that we have ever raised and re-ally targeted spe-cific seats and spe-cific races. We didn’t just give a

check to a politician; we went out there and ran an active campaign. We also launched an initiative called Georgia-2Georgia, which encouraged Georgia governments to do business with Georgian com-panies. And we asked busi-nesses to do 2% more busi-ness with each other than they did in previous years.

100 Years The Georgia Chamber has been representing

Georgia businesses and employees at the state Capitol for 100 years

88%In the 2013-2014

Election Cycle the Georgia Chamber’s PAC supported 32 candidates in contested races with

an 88% success rate

34,445The Georgia Chamber

boasts over 34,445 members statewide in all

159 counties

“The number

one incentive

is the

Quick Start

program.”

What makes the Georgia Chamber of Commerce unique?

The Georgia Chamber is in-teresting because we are not a government entity, we are a non-profit, but we sit at the crossroads of business and government and it is our job to facilitate those relation-ships. If a business has a problem with their environ-mental permit, we are the ones to help them facilitate that. This is a crucial service to business that relocate here. We create an efficient busi-ness environment for busi-nesses in Georgia.

Why is the Quick Start Pro-gram so important to Geor-gia?

Almost every company that we survey, after they come to Georgia says the number one incentive is the Quick Start program. For example when Kia chose to locate here back in 2006 we reviewed their workforce needs. In order to meet their future needs – their goal was to employ 3,000 - we sent a team to Ko-rea to fully understand their training programs. We were able to then replicate that training in the state, train staff and allow the company to pick the best trainees to create a skilled workforce. We did the same thing for Caterpillar and are currently running a similar program for Baxter International. They are building a new biotech building and we are setting up across the street so we can screen and interview workers on their behalf.

How will Georgia and Al-pharetta progress over the next ten years?

The first thing to note is that we are in a great position right now because we have built a firm foundation. From an economic standpoint the states that are do-ing well are Texas, Georgia and North Carolina. Our position in the southeast has helped us grow but the support we have received from Metro Atlan-ta is also key. Our state leaders look at the entire state when implementing pol-icy. Their goal has been to cre-ate the right environment for business and we have repli-cated that here. We cannot guarantee jobs but we can

Technology City of the SouthDavid Belle Isle, Mayor of Alpharetta

Mayor David Belle Isle has been mayor of Alpharetta since taking office in 2012. From the outset his goal was

to make Alpharetta the number one technology city of the southeast. Home to 600+ tech companies, today

Alpharetta is known as the Technology City of the South.

guarantee the environment that attracts jobs. That has been our focus and it is a poli-cy that is working statewide. Alpharetta was recently voted the number one city in Ameri-

ca to start a busi-ness because of our efforts. When we launched the Alpharetta Tech-nology Commis-sion (ATC), the governor was our keynote speaker. The Metro Atlanta Chamber and the Technology Asso-ciation of Georgia are partners in the

ATC. We pool our resources to get a better result. Again that is key for the development of the right business environ-ment. We are living in a time of rapid technological devel-opment. We don’t know what

#1Alpharetta has been

named the number one city to start a business

120,000The daytime population of Alpharetta is 120,000

600There are 600 technology companies in Alpharetta, a number that is growing

fast

“My goal

was to make

Alpharetta the

number one

technology

city in the

southeast.”

the products of tomorrow are going to be, we can only en-sure the resources are avail-able to businesses that need them, so they can continue in-novating. That is why we have put so much emphasis on es-tablishing our own incubator here in Alpharetta, to work to-wards that culture of innova-tion.

What are the goals of the ATC?

We have numerous goals. Of course it is going to be a re-source center for Alpharetta’s tech companies and a support structure for startups, but we have a wider vision for the city. We have four of the top ten high schools in the state here. For families with teenage kids, that makes Alpharetta a huge draw. Not only that, but our lifestyle is affordable. For that reason, we also attract younger people, the Millenials, who want to live close to work and have space for outdoor activi-ties during the weekend. We have that too. We want to cre-ate a downtown that has resi-dential communities within walking distance. That is the strategy behind our new retail center, Avalon. It is the begin-ning of our downtown and we have further developments planned. We have signed a deal to develop a conference center, which means our tech-nology companies will no lon-ger have to go to Atlanta for events. It will be 47,000 square feet of meeting space. There are also a lot of companies here that use Atlanta as their postal address and we are changing that to ensure they use Al-pharetta.

How does Georgia Power manage the state’s energy portfolio?

Georgia Power utilizes a di-verse mix of energy sources to provide safe, clean, reliable and affordable electricity to our customers. This mix in-cludes nuclear, 21st century coal and natural gas as well as renewables such as solar, hydroelectric and wind. Di-versity of energy sources gives us the flexi-bility to call on the most economic fuel choice at any time and that is reflected in our ability to keep Georgia Power rates more than 10% lower than the national average. We are expanding our current fleet of four nuclear operating units in Georgia with the con-

Powering Georgia Business for the Future Paul Bowers, Chairman President & CEO, Georgia Power

Georgia Power is the largest subsidiary of Southern Company (NYSE: SO), one of the nation’s largest generators

of electricity. Value, Reliability, Customer Service and Stewardship are the cornerstones of the company’s promise

to 2.4 million customers in all but four of Georgia’s 159 counties.

struction of two new nuclear units near Augusta, Georgia that will be the first of the next generation of nuclear power plants in the country. We have the largest volun-tary solar program in the U.S. and we continue to grow our renewable portfolio. We ex-pect to have about 1 GW of solar generation by the end of 2016. New environmental standards have driven the

cost of using coal generation. Be-cause of our di-verse fuel mix, we are able to re-spond by shifting to more natural gas. In the first quarter of this year, 48 percent of

our energy was from natural gas generation and 32 per-cent was from coal genera-tion.

2.4mGeorgia Power has

more than 2.4 million customers and is growing

10%Georgia Power’s rates

are more than 10% lower than the national average

>130 yearsGeorgia Power is a

132-year-old company

“We have

the largest

voluntary solar

program in the

country.”

How does Georgia Power manage the rapid growth taking place in the state?

As an electric provider, we have a unique view into the economy and growth in our state. We project customer growth and plan for addition-al generation as needed to en-sure we have the capacity to best serve our industrial, commercial and residential customers even in the case of extreme weather conditions. Every three years, we present our 20-year plan, the Integrat-ed Resource Plan, to the Pub-lic Service Commission where we consider economic condi-tions, fuel prices, technology costs, and existing and future environmental regulations to determine the most afford-able and reliable way to meet capacity needs. This construc-tive regulatory process has proven to be beneficial to our customers.

What innovation initiatives is Georgia Power involved with?

Georgia Power is leading the way in new nuclear, in bringing renewables to our customers in an economic way and is pursuing new and valuable options that will meet the future energy needs of our state. We are enhancing the charging infrastructure for electric vehicles across the state and partnering with companies like Google, offer-ing Nest thermostats to create a smarter home. Our focus is creating value for our cus-tomers while remaining at the top of the industry for cus-tomer satisfaction and driv-ing future innovations.

How is technology inno-vating security at Harts-field-Jackson Atlanta Inter-national Airport?

Advances in technology have improved the security process, but you can’t replace the human element. Addi-tionally, there has to be a bal-ance between technology and social acceptance.

Tackling security in an air-port is like look-ing for a needle in a haystack. When dealing with someone who wants to c a u s e h a r m , we’re not look-ing at the 99.9% who have no in-terest in making trouble. We have to find what we’re look-ing for without causing any inconvenience to the majority. This is a delicate balance. One

option is to encourage travel-ers to sign up to the Trusted Traveller Program, which al-lows you to keep your shoes on etc. when moving through an airport.

In what ways does the air-port contribute to Georgia’s economic development?

An airport is any commu-nity’s chief driver of econom-

ic development. I t drives jobs and increases wealth in that community in a number of ways, most important-ly by linking the community na-tionally and in-

ternationally, which is crucial because today commerce is global. So we need to have the mechanism to move peo-ple and goods efficiently. Talk

to any large corporation that’s considering a base for the US market, amongst the top two criteria will be access to non-stop air service between their home office and their US base. Georgia has over 1500 German companies and there’s only one reason for that.

What is the future of the ‘air-port experience’?

The ideal is to facilitate the passenger moving through the airport, check-in and security screening, with no human intervention. That’s where the industry is mov-ing. The passenger can check in at home. The RFID tech-nology can be used to check bags and some airports are already experimenting with that. The passenger can go through screening and board the plane by scanning their phone or a piece of a paper. On the international arrivals side we’ve just installed 72 new kiosks and we’re trying to increase the number of passengers who can admit themselves, which expedites the entire process. As an in-dustry that’s where we want to go with the technology: in-tervention free airport experi-ence for customers. It will al-leviate the stress of travelling. We know that security screen-ing is an issue. We know that someone’s willingness to make a purchase and their level of anxiety are linked. So there are psychological impli-cations too. That’s why most purchases are made at the gate, because by then people can relax.

“An airport is any community’s

chief driver of economic

development.”

Welcome to the World’s Most Efficient Airport Miguel Southwell, Aviation General Manager, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is the world’s busiest airport, handling more than 100 million pas-

sengers annually. For the past 11 years, it has been voted the world’s most efficient airport by the Air Transport

Research Institute despite handling more than 2500 flights per day.

75%75% of passengers

using automatic

processing gates

25002500 flights

per day

96.1Million Up to 1 milion

domestic flights

annually

How did Alpharetta become a hub for technology compa-nies?

Alpharetta was a popular location for executives who wanted to live somewhere spacious, away from the noise of the city in the 90s. As the population grew, Georgia Power came into lay a new power grid and an op-portunity was spotted. Fiber op-tic cable was a new technology at the time and it made sense to lay cables with the electric-ity grid. With this power grid, combined with the high qual-ity of life and the great resi-dential neighborhoods; all of a sudden, Alpharetta had in-credible power and a fiber optic grid, which became a

Alpharetta: Built for TechnologyPeter Tokar, Economic Development Director, City of Alpharetta

The Center for Economic Development in Alpharetta is the body that drives the city’s economy, spurring job

creation and investment. Because Alpharetta’s focus is technology, much of the center’s work is driven by that

industry. The center’s current goal is to develop Alpharetta’s technology culture.

magnet for tech companies. In the early 90s, that was the most sought-after infrastruc-ture technology for the trans-mission of data. We went through a commercial real es-

tate boom through the early 90s pret-ty much up to the recession. It was really the advent of fiber optic cable that really led to Alpharetta’s tech-nology boom. Al-pharetta was and still is one of the most technologi-

cally advanced infrastruc-tures in the entire region and we continue to invest in and upgrade it.

In what ways does Alpharet-ta engage with Atlanta’s cen-ters for innovation?

The Greater Alpharetta Tech

21mFrom the mid-90s

approximately 21 million square feet of Class A office space has been

built in Alpharetta

600There are 600 technology companies in Alpharetta, a number that is growing

each year

2012The Alpharetta

Technology Commission was established in 2012

“We were

one of the

first to have

a fiber optic

infrastructure.”

Network (GATN) was essen-tially started as the engage committee. The ATDC, the Advanced Technology Devel-opment Center in Tech Square, they are the incubator downtown. Since they are a state-funded incubator, they have satellite meet-ups. They call them the ATDC circles. The Alpharetta circle is the largest and most successful circle they run. They meet ev-ery Friday morning where there is an average of 20 en-trepreneurs meeting at the in-novation center. We are trying to expand the reach of our in-novation center, for example, we will be running a hack-athon, different events that drive our technology culture. Emergence Med Tech and the health IT accelerator run their program from the innovation center.

What is the current challenge for Alpharetta’s technology sector?

We have to cement our cul-ture of technology and be a dynamic hub for innovation. That means meet-up points and debates, a real energy of discovery that takes place throughout the city. I have talked to young people in New York and Silicon Valley and they one thing they have in common is a passion for discovery and innovation. They want to be “where inno-vation happens.” It is up to us to provide that environment. In Alpharetta, we already have the main ingredients. We are poised for the next stage and will be implement-ing new technologies in the coming months.

What industries are driving investment in Georgia right now and why?

There are the obvious ones, Coca-Cola, Delta, Home Depot, UPS, all strong and important to the community as well as the em-ployment base. We also have very strong investment technology companies here such as Equifax and Global Payments. And we have ICE, a long-time company in At-lanta which now owns the New York Stock Exchange, so a very broad base in the city. What’s more interesting here and harder to observe is the startup community, which is very dynamic. It’s coming from the universities such as Georgia Tech, which is one of the best engineering schools

Global Investment Expertise Matters Martin Flanagan, CEO, Invesco

Founded in 1935, Invesco is a global company that manages approximately $800 billion on behalf of its clients

who are spread across 150 countries. The 500-strong team in Atlanta handles about $270 billion in assets that

include global equities, fixed income and asset allocation capabilities.

in the country, or Emory, which is known for bio-tech-nology. So Health IT and in-vestment technology are very

strong here. The number of start-ups is in the thou-sands and there are incubators ev-erywhere. Two things are making that happen: the universities, but

also the return of young peo-ple to the city.

How has Invesco invested in innovation both internally and in Atlanta?

I’m chair of the Atlanta Committee for Progress (ACP) and one of our goals is to ramp up the city’s technol-ogy innovation capability. Experience has shown that success comes when every-one in the eco-system is in-

150Invesco’s client base is spread across 150

countries with offices in 20

$800bnInvesco manages $800 billion on behalf of its

clients

$270bnInvesco’s team at Atlanta

manages approx. $270 billion in assets

‘The startup

community in

Atlanta is the

one to watch.”

volved. That means large in-stitutions that might be set in their ways have to connect with the startups by utilizing their products, mentoring them and investing in them. That helps the startups but also forces larger organiza-tions to think about innova-tion. So that’s one of the things the Atlanta leadership is working on right now, and it’s going to have a significant im-pact on the startup communi-ty. Yes, we are money manag-ers at Invesco, but technology is important to our business. We invest in technology and study it to understand its po-tential impact on our busi-ness. Back in the 90s it was predicted that the internet would have a serious, nega-tive impact on financial advis-ers, but that didn’t happen. Now it’s predicted that mo-bile technology will once again negatively impact fi-nancial advisers, but I doubt that’s going to happen be-cause they will adopt the emerging technologies. We have teams out in Silicon Val-ley spending time with the startups to understand how we can utilize the new tech-nology and its potential im-pact on our business. Here too, we spend time at the in-cubators and understand how the tech is evolving. Spending time at these incubators not only shows us what technolo-gy can help our business, but it also changes how we think. This activity is ongoing at our firm, but we are very focused on it at the moment. And yes, we are working with the uni-versities right now to develop new projects.

What value does Cardlytics offer banks, advertisers and consumers?

The value we offer is our use of purchase data to pro-vide rewards to consumers, and loyal custom-ers to banks. We also give advertis-ers the ability to reach consumers based on this data, then mea-sure the impact their ads have on in-store purchas-es. When a con-sumer logs into their mobile banking applica-tion or online site, they see targeted offers to save money based on how they spend money. If the consumer sees an offer they like, all they have to do is click on it and the offer is loaded to their debit or credit card. When

Bringing the Truth to Advertising Lynne Laube President, COO & Co-Founder, Cardlytics

Cardlytics is a data intelligence platform that is focused on making advertising better by using consumer

transaction data. Cardlytics enables advertisers to find people more precisely based on their past purchase

behavior and deliver tailored marketing campaigns based on that behavior.

they make a purchase, the savings are automatically ap-plied to their bank account. So the bank is getting value because they are helping cus-tomers save money, but with-

out any personal-l y - i d e n t i f i a b l e information ever leaving the bank. The advertisers are getting value through better targeting and pre-cise measurement of the effective-ness of their ads. The consumer

benefits because they are sav-ing money on things they al-ready like to buy - and those savings go directly back into their bank account.

How is Cardlytics innovat-ing data analytics and digi-tal advertising?

>500Cardlytics is partnered

with more than 500 financial institutions

18bnCardlytics sees 18 billion

transactions per year

$1.8trCardlytics sees $1.8

trillion in spend per year

“The best

indicator

of future

behavior is past

behavior.”

We are innovating because we are using a new data source, which is what I call the single source of truth. A lot of data that is used in ad-vertising today is inferred. It’s inferred based on social be-havior, location, gender or age, etc. Ours is based on what the consumer actually does. We see every purchase from each of our bank part-ners – all credit, debit, bill pay and ACH - totalling over $1.8 trillion this year. We don’t re-ceive any personally identifi-able information, which is important to protect the bank and the consumer. However, we can build audience seg-ments, such as people who shop at sporting goods stores, and specifically measure if that advertising was effective in generating more sales. We know where and how con-sumers spend money, which is incredibly powerful for all forms of advertising.

What has been the customer reception to Cardlytics?

When we first approached advertisers about the ability to use actual transaction data to target customers and pre-cisely measure the success of their marketing, they said it’s too good to be true. Once they started to use it, they un-derstood the power of the transaction data. It’s black and white. I advertised to you and I can see if that leads to a purchase. Our advertis-ers love the power of the data. What we are surprised about is how many of the customers are using the data to answer questions beyond marketing.

How is Comcast innovating to deliver a superior custom-er experience?

Recently we announced a bold plan to redefine what an excellent customer experience looks like - across the compa-ny and into every aspect of the customer relationship. We are introducing new technologies that give customers more con-trol, letting them use their mo-bile devices to check account sta-tus, schedule ap-pointments, pay bills, and more. There is a new app that lets them track their techni-cian, so they won’t miss an appoint-ment. We have committed ourselves to always being 100% on time with service vis-its. We are also investing in training and people – hiring

Innovating to Deliver a Superior Customer Experience Douglas Guthrie, Regional Senior Vice President, Comcast

With new jobs, $200 million in annual investments, a world-class high speed fiber network powering Georgia’s

largest Wi-Fi network, and the nation’s fastest Internet speeds to the most homes and businesses, Comcast is at the

vanguard of Georgia’s technology innovation and economic development.

300 in Atlanta alone. Nation-wide, Comcast is investing $300 million to support this effort in 2015.

What innovative products has Comcast recently launched in Atlanta?

We just opened four new Xfinity stores in Atlanta that totally re-imagine the retail experience. Customers expe-

rience a high-tech environment that lets them test drive our latest technologies. On the product side, Atlanta was our national launch market for Gigabit Pro, the nation’s

fastest home Internet service. It’s a 2-Gigabit service deliv-ered over fiber right to the home - twice as fast as any-thing else in the market. We

$200mComcast has invested

$200 million per year in Georgia for the last 20

years

4,421The number of Comcast employees in Georgia

8,000 miles

Number of miles of Comcast’s advanced fiber network across the state

“We want

to use our

technology to

empower our

customers.”

have also introduced two new tiers of high-speed home In-ternet - Extreme 150 and 250, and rolled out a statewide net-work of more than 200,000 Wi-Fi hotspots, making us the largest Wi-Fi provider in Geor-gia. On the commercial side, Comcast Business completed a major fiber network expan-sion that delivers up to 10 gigabit speeds to some of Georgia’s leading businesses and organizations. Finally, At-lanta was one of the first mar-kets to launch X1, and it’s been a big success here.

What does the partnership with the Atlanta Braves rep-resent to Comcast?

This will be the most ad-vanced stadium and mixed use development in the U.S. We will be able to showcase how Comcast’s latest products can create an unsurpassed ex-perience for fans, businesses, shoppers, or visitors. There’s also a lot of excitement around the Innovation Lab we are cre-ating within the new nine-sto-ry building Comcast will oc-cupy. The lab will be connected via fiber to our other R&D cen-ters in Silicon Valley, Philadel-phia and Denver.

Why is Comcast investing so heavily in Atlanta?

The technology community here is thriving like never be-fore, and Atlanta continues to provide a terrific environment for business and residential growth. We’ve been making investments here for a long time – on average about $200 million annually for the last 20 years. This investment is help-ing to attract top talent.

What role does Invest Atlan-ta play in the economic de-velopment of Georgia?

When companies are inter-ested in growing their business in Atlanta, we work alongside the State of Georgia to develop offers to make sure that lo-cating in Atlanta is both a competi-tive and a com-pelling opportu-nity. Because we are the local com-ponent of the economic de-velopment chain, which in-cludes federal, state and regional organizations, we can negotiate the incentives. Our decisions then move to action because our job is to ensure that the deal is proper-ly structured for the company and for Atlanta.

Where Commerce and Community MeetCraig Richard, President and CEO, Invest Atlanta

Invest Atlanta fuels Atlanta’s global competitiveness by facilitating the growth of a strong local economy and by

creating vibrant neighborhoods. The organization is a hub where economic and community development meet. Its

goal is to ensure that all Atlantans have access to, and benefit from, the City’s economic prosperity.

How does Invest Atlanta as-sist individual companies? We create holistic solutions for companies that are look-

ing to set up in Atlanta. We help connect the dots on all things relat-ed to project suc-cess. From pur-chasing property or equipment and identifying funds for workforce training, to help-ing employees purchase houses,

Invest Atlanta has a broad menu of support options and opportunities.

What makes Invest Atlanta unique?

One of the things that we do well at Invest Atlanta is the development of tools that give companies benefits not

79,600The number of jobs

created in metro Atlanta area this year.

No. 6 Atlanta announced as 6th

fastest growing market for Tech Talent.

45The BeltLine Project

connects 45 neighborhoods

with a combinationof rail, train and

air transport as well asgreenspace, housing

and commerce

“It’s the

layers of

support that

make Atlanta a

good choice.”

just on the front end, but over time. An example of this is our tax allocation districts or TADs. These are districts that have been created by the city and use the increment of tax-es to generate infrastructure support that’s needed for growth and development. What really sets us apart though is our focus on com-munity development. We be-lieve in creating a sense of place because the next gener-ation of economic develop-ment is not just about attract-ing the company, it’s about attracting and retaining tal-ent. To do that the quality of life has to meet and even ex-ceed expectations. We work hard to make sure we provide vibrant communities and quality housing options for all Atlantans.

What industries are of spe-cific interest to Invest Atlan-ta?

Advanced logistics is one of our target industries because of Atlanta’s unparalleled market access. With our focus on life sciences, healthcare-re-lated companies have unin-terrupted access to resources and to a stream of talent flow-ing from the nearly 70 col-leges and universities – in-cluding research institutions – in the Atlanta region. Digi-tal arts and new media pro-duction is another segment where Atlanta offers clear val-ue and is a sector where the state has been proactive in creating opportunities. Today, Georgia ranks third in the na-tion for film production. It’s the layers of support that make Atlanta the best choice.

What are some of the fea-tures that attract people to live and work in Savannah?

Definitely the lower cost of doing business is a key attrac-tion. We have a lower cost of living and an incredible qual-ity of life. We have 247 pro-grams in Savannah alone that contribute to workforce de-velopment. We have great in-centives and land o p p o r t u n i t i e s . The diversity of our region and the success of the economy along with its cultural aspects really sells the city. We have five major sectors in our econ-omy: manufacturing, tour-ism, military, ports & logistics and healthcare, which means we have a diverse economy, particularly for a city of our size. Because of the interest in

Selling Savannah to the World Trip Tollison, CEO, Savannah Economic Development Authority (SEDA)

The Savannah Economic Development Authority (SEDA) sells Savannah to the world with the goal of creating

jobs and generating investment in the region. SEDA also works with surrounding counties and partners. In 2014,

SEDA has helped facilitate 700 new job opportunities and brought in up to $160m of investment.

film and production in Geor-gia recently, Savannah is ben-efitting from that boom too with several major movies being shot here.

How closely involved is SEDA in workforce training programs?

Extremely close. We have 874,000 people living within

60 miles of the I-95 and I-16 intersec-tion. We have ap-p r o x i m a t e l y 60,000 students who are in some sort of postgrad education in that area. We tie into

all the programs and work well with the universities and technical colleges. We have seats on the workforce invest-ment boards. It’s essential for us to be closely involved with these organizations because

$1.2bnSEDA currently has

20 active projects representing a potential

$1.2 billion in investment

247Savannah currently has 247 workforce programs

700 New job opportunities

in 2014

“Our goal is to

facilitate jobs

and investment

in the region.”

any company that is interest-ed in this region wants to know two things. The first is the infrastructure and site. The second is the workforce. We are very involved in pro-grams with SCAD, Georgia Southern, Savannah State, Sa-vannah Tech, Armstrong State University and others.

What is The Creative Coast project?

The Creative Coast is a men-toring program, which we help fund. The project has think space for companies to come in and share ideas and they also provide mentors. There are students coming out of SCAD or people inter-ested in moving here but they might not have the business skills or understand the busi-ness environment here so The Creative Coast project helps emerging companies get to that next level.

How does SEDA choose which educational programs to support?

We try to match with the needs of the existing compa-nies here in Savannah. For ex-ample if we have a delegation coming from Canada we sit down with the companies and explain this is how to do business with Canada or these are the customs laws. Last year we did 17 programs including two programs on doing business with Germa-ny and Brazil. This year we will do up to 15. Ultimately, the program content is decid-ed by the companies because we find out what they need and customize the programs accordingly.

Voted as one of the 10 Most Beautiful Places in America, what kind of destination is the city of Savannah?

Yes, Savannah is breathtak-ing. And for most of our visi-tors, Savannah is considered a get-away or weekend d e s t i n a t i o n . Guests to Savan-nah tend to trend towards couples, girlfriend get-aways and those interested in a tru-ly unique and authentic expe-rience. Today, visitors to Sa-vannah are staying longer and spending more. Fortunately, Savannah is many different destinations in one. For those seeking a romantic getaway, shopping, dining or a spa ex-perience, we have it all. Some also visit for our beach desti-nation, Tybee Island, a laid-

Savannah: Where History and Luxury Meet Joe Marinelli, President of Visit Savannah

Visit Savannah serves as the primary destination marketing organization for the Savannah-area tourism industry.

The organization is committed to driving the economic prosperity of the community through increased visitor

numbers and related spending while building and maintaining Savannah’s image as a world-class destination.

back beach community with its own collection of unique eateries and shops. Savannah is reminiscent of the quaint ar-eas of London with its 22 park-like squares throughout

the Landmark His-toric District.

How do tours en-hance the visitor’s experience of Sa-vannah?

Tours bring the city to life as every corner has a story

to tell. We offer horse and car-riages tours, Segways or sim-ple walking tours. At night, haunted tours are also popu-lar, often called “America’s most haunted city,” there are over 40 different tours rang-ing from exploring the para-normal experience to doing a haunted pub crawl. It’s a truly fun experience.

13mEach year more than 13

million visitors visit Savannah

41The average age of the

visitor to Savannah is 41

15,000There are 15,000 hotel

rooms in Savannah

“Tours bring

the city to life

as every corner

has a story to

tell.”

Where are visitors from Sa-vannah coming from?

In 2014, Savannah saw near-ly 13.5 million visitors. Most of which are overnight guests but many are day-trippers coming from nearby cities like Charleston, Hilton Head Is-land, Amelia Island and Jack-sonville, Florida. Savannah is also very popular with travel-ers from Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and the Washington DC area. Each year we see more international visitors. Of course Canada is our largest market but we also have guests from all over the world, in particular the U.K, Germany, France, Australia and Brazil. Interestingly enough, more “millennials” are coming to Savannah than ever before. They like the fact that they can be un-plugged for a few days, while still en-joying a vibrant, hip destina-tion.

What kind of stay can one ex-pect, what is the city’s room capacity?

If you are a part of a hotel fre-quent-flier program, we have all the big names, we also have wonderful historic inns, charming bed & breakfasts and between Savannah and Tybee Island, a whole array of vacation rentals. There is also a new influx of boutique hotels coming into the market as well. Brands like Kimpton, Andaz, Kessler Collection and Hotel Indigo are extremely popular, especially with our younger, more affluent visi-tors. But with over 15,000 rooms available in town, we have plenty of room for every-one.

In what ways does the Geor-gia World Congress Center Authority generate its $1.4bn economic impact?

Our key metrics are really numbers of visitors we bring into the state for conven-tions, trade shows, sports and special events. In our most recent fis-cal year, that would be about 2.2 million. Those event at-tendees go to other events or experience oth-er activities and that produced about $72.8m in state tax revenue. The number of jobs supported by those visitors and events is a little over 15,000. All those pieces fold into that $1.4bn.

What makes the GWCCA different from World con-

vention centers in other states?

We are a self-supporting entity. We do not draw upon the state treasury for operat-ing support. In Boston or Chicago, they are able to draw upon tax resources to support their operation in

addition to what they can gener-ate as a venue. Our capital in-vestments have been done over the years through bond programs in the

state of Georgia. We want to display that capital invest-ment back and show the gov-ernor’s office they’re getting a good return on the invest-ment. From a visitor stand-point, what makes the GWC-CA unique is its setting. We are within walking distance

of a terrific hotel inventory. Our front door is Centennial Olympic Park, which is one of our legacy centerpieces from the 1996 Olympic Games. As stewards of the park, we have maintained and enhanced it over the years so the park itself is a central footprint and unique component. Around the park the attractions include the College Football Hall of Fame, the Center for Civil and Human Rights, the Georgia Aquarium, the Chil-dren’s Museum and CNN. Few cities can offer that in a compact walkable area in proximity to its hotel district.

As a congress center, how do you remain competitive?

For us to be competitive, we are always looking for ways to improve the custom-er experience. That comes through in reinvestments to keep the building fresh and updated. Investment in tech-nology is particularly impor-tant for us. The experience is not enough. The infrastruc-ture has to be there to sup-port it. We do large events with Microsoft, which re-quire a major pipeline into the facility, significant band-width for the movement of their data. We have invested around $1.4m in that infra-structure to continue to beef up the accessibility for the types of groups that need that bandwidth. Also we have plans to develop a headquarters hotel on cam-pus that will be connected to the center and stadium.

“Our front

door is

Centennial

Olympic Park.”

A Convention Complex Fit for Olympians

The Georgia World Congress Center Authority operates Centennial Olympic Park - a 21-acre Park in the heart of down-

town - the Georgia Dome, the Georgia World Congress Center, and the Savannah International Trade and Convention

Center, comprising the world’s largest combined sports, entertainment and convention destinations in the world.

$1.4bnIn the fiscal year 2014, the GWCCA generated

$1.4bn in economic impact.

$1.4mThe GWCCA has

invested $1.4m in its IT infrastructure to boost its

bandwidth efficiency.

2.2mThe average number

of visitors the GWCCA attracts to the state annually.

Frank Poe, Executive Director, Georgia World Congress Center Authority

What is Atlanta’s biggest draw as a convention desti-nation?

Because we are a conven-tion-centric city, meeting planners love Atlanta. We have the f o u r t h - l a r g e s t convention center in the country coupled with the world’s busiest airport. Logisti-cally we’re unri-valled – certainly in the US, if not in the world. From the airport you can take MARTA, the rapid rail system, and be in the con-vention district in 20 minutes where 10,000 hotel rooms are within walking distance of the convention center.

How does ACVB harness in-novation in Atlanta to win

The Reasons Meeting Planners Love AtlantaWilliam Pate, President & CEO, Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau

Established in 1913, Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau (ACVB) is a private, nonprofit organization created

to drive business tourism in Atlanta. ACVB acts as the liaison between meeting planners, tour operators and 850

members to ensure that Atlanta remains the region’s most efficient convention destination.

business?Innovation in the city helps

us attract more conventions and visitors. Atlanta is a hub for medical research and lo-gistics, which helps us attract

meetings from those industries. For example, we host MODEX, the second-largest lo-gistics convention in the US. They selected Atlanta to be close to the logistics innova-tion that is going on in this city.

Once you attract a large con-vention like MODEX, you can entice additional meet-ings and conventions serving that industry. This has been true in the finance and tech-nology sectors as well. The innovation around robotics over at Georgia Tech has al-

10,00010,000 hotel rooms

within walking distance of the

convention center

20 MinutesThe time it takes to get from Hartsfield-Jackson

Atlanta International Airport to the convention

district

48m The number of domestic visitors to metro Atlanta

in 2014

“We have

the fourth

largest

convention

center in

the country.”

lowed us to host some of the largest robotics competitions in the country.

How is the ACVB innovat-ing its services?

When demand is as strong as it has been in Atlanta, you have to stack the city more ef-ficiently to keep growing. To do that, we built a model that allows us to see hotel and meeting space availability for any day over the next eight years. Our sales people use this tool to identify gaps and look for meetings that can fit in those dates. It also allows us to be more targeted with our incentives and offer cli-ents a more efficient service. It’s a service that works well for smaller conventions that only book a few years in ad-vance. The bigger conven-tions book up to seven years in advance.

What opportunities lie ahead for the ACVB?

Last year we welcomed ap-proximately 48 million do-mestic visitors to metro At-lanta, ranking us fourth in the country in domestic visita-tion. Large conventions can often draw 35-40 percent of their attendees from outside the US, so international airlift is critical. We are working to increase our international vis-itation in partnership with Delta Air Lines. As they in-crease their international flights, it creates opportuni-ties to attract more visitors. Increasing the number of in-ternational visitors to Atlanta is one of our best opportuni-ties for significant incremen-tal growth.

What are some of the ways TAG drives economic de-velopment?

TAG has initiated a number of activities in support in the innovation industry in Geor-gia. We have helped to pro-mote our technology compa-nies across the state and beyond via 1billion me-dia opportunities last year. Through entrepreneurial c o m p e t i t i o n s TAG has invested more than $5m in our startup com-munity. We make sure the legislative environ-ment is friendly to business. We focus on STEM projects to get kids excited about maths, science, technology and engineering. We do job fairs and job boards. We pro-mote Georgia as a leading

The Driving Force behind Georgia’s Tech Industry Tino Mantella, President & CEO, TAG

The Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) is a membership-based organization with 28,500 members

representing 2,000 companies. Unique to Georgia, TAG drives the state’s technology industry by connecting thought

leaders, Fortune 500 executives, investors, government representatives, service providers and entrepreneurs.

technology state. We connect the tech industry with spe-cial interest groups we call societies. No other state has a program like this. It has al-lowed us to grow our mem-bership to more than 28,500, as far as I know, the largest

state tech associa-tion in North America.

How has Geor-gia’s tech scene changed in re-cent years?

It’s accelerated. Beginning with opportunities for

startups, incubators, acceler-ators and other communities of innovation like Atlanta Technology Village. Facili-ties that support entrepre-neurs have burst onto the scene so we have 80 now, up for 20 just 4 years ago. An-

28,500+28,500+ Members representing 2,000

companies.

3434 Societies that include

FinTech, Finance, Marketing, Logistics

and Health.

200More than 200

industry events each year that include

Health IT Summits and Marketing Awards.

“We promote

Georgia as

a leading

technology

state.”

other new phenomenon for GA is traditional companies like Coca-Cola and Home Depot opening innovation centers and jumping into the innovation community be-cause of the technology that’s been provided to them, how they handle payments, how they use the smart phone, supply chain issues. All that innovation is hap-pening here. Today, 75% of all payments flow through Georgia.

How does TAG help compa-nies secure funding?

We helped start Venture At-lanta, which is a venture con-ference we organize to show-case 30 to 40 companies and almost all of them are from Georgia. Last year we had 700 people in total, and around 150 investors. Those companies have generated almost $2 billion in invest-ment over the last few years. For early stage companies we do the Business Launch Competition. We work hard to attract investors because about 80% of the funding for companies in Georgia comes from outside the state, so at-tracting those investors here is critical.

Where are the growth op-portunities for Georgia?

Georgia is well positioned to deliver technology solu-tions in areas that are im-portant to the consumer like Health IT, Financial Technol-ogy, Information Security and Mobility. Research in these fields can transform these industries and lead to further growth for Georgia.

What are some of the inno-vation programs at Georgia Tech?

Through our curriculum and student competitions, we are working to instill an en-trepreneurial spirit in our graduates. We offer multiple opportunities for students to become engaged, such as the Cap-stone Design proj-ect, which last spring drew more than 1,000 stu-dents and 200 teams. Students from all areas of study participate in the stu-dent-run “Invention Studio.” We partner with business and industry in a number of these projects, including the “Spring Convergence Inno-vation Competition.” Geor-gia Tech’s InVenture Prize competition encourages un-

Nurturing the Future of Innovation, Science and Technology G.P. “Bud” Peterson, President, Georgia Institute of Technology

Located on 415 acres in Atlanta, Georgia, the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) is a leading research

university committed to improving the human condition through science, technology, and the liberal arts. Ranked

as the No. 7 best public university in the U.S., Georgia Tech enrolls more than 23,000 students.

dergraduate students’ in-volvement in invention, in-novation, and entrepreneurship. The InVen-ture Prize competition at-tracted more than 3,000 par-ticipants in the past seven years, including more than 500 in 2015. The winner re-

ceives $20,000, and Georgia Tech provides free li-censing. Several winners have gone on to market their products. In the 2015 InVen-ture Prize we in-

troduced CREATE-X, a facul-ty-led initiative designed to equip students with the con-fidence they need to actively create their own future. The program was made possible through a gift from Georgia Tech alumnus Chris Klaus. CREATE-X leverages existing

34 yearsFounded in 1981, ATDC

is among the longest-running, university-

based technology incubators in the country

500+In 2015 more than 500 undergraduate

students participated in the InVenture Prize

competition

300In 2014 the Georgia

Manufacturing Extension Partnership worked with over 300 manufacturers

to improve their productivity

“The ATDC

is ranked

at No. 2 in

the country.”

programs, focused on multi-disciplinary design, entrepre-neurship, and innovation and includes Startup Lab, Idea to Prototype Undergraduate Re-search, and Startup Summer.

How have Georgia Tech’s initiatives changed Atlanta?

Georgia Tech is “Creating the Next” through innova-tion neighborhoods. Technol-ogy Square is a good exam-ple. In 2000 this was an area filled with parking lots and under-utilized real estate. To-day Tech Square, immediate-ly adjacent to our campus, is one of the nation’s premier research and innovation cen-ters. Seven fortune 500 com-panies have opened “innova-tion centers” there, and we are in regular discussions with many others. They inter-act with students, faculty, and staff, as well as the many startups located there. The center of activity is the Enter-prise Innovation Institute (EI2), Georgia Tech’s business outreach and development organization.

How does Georgia Tech ex-tend its services throughout the state?

ATDC works with more than 800 companies and en-trepreneurs throughout the state every year. Since its founding in 1981, more than 160 successful new ventures have graduated from ATDC’s rigorous incubation program. In that time, ATDC compa-nies have attracted $2.6 bil-lion in investments, generat-ed more than $1.3 billion in revenue, and created more than 5,500 jobs.

How is AGL Resources man-aging Georgia’s expanding energy needs?

Planning is critical for ener-gy infrastructure and for growth. We have been a very good planning company over the years. We are more than 150 years old and are the old-est corporate citizen in Geor-gia. We have been planning for growth since 1856. The great thing is Georgia has been a place peo-ple have wanted to come to for a long time. It has allowed us to ex-pand our infra-structure for all those years. Our state is very pro-gressive around this. There is something in Georgia called the Universal Service Fund (USF), which allows money

Providing Gas for Georgia for 150 YearsHank Linginfelter, Executive VP, AGL Resources

AGL Resources has four divisions that include natural gas distribution, wholesale service, retail operations and

midstream operation. AGL Resources is one of the largest natural gas distribution companies in the US and it

serves 4.5 million customers through its subsidiaries across seven states.

to be set aside for strategic growth corridors for natural gas supply. Over the past de-cade and a half we have run gas through areas that were underserved through that USF.

What is the Georgia Seed program?

Seed is a program that al-lowed us to take a little more risk on serving new areas and

grow our custom-er count, particu-larly large users. Natural gas can be a very critical component of whether or not a company wants to locate here. We serve a lot of terri-tory in Georgia,

and Georgia is the largest state east of the Mississippi. It requires a lot of infrastructure

20,000To date AGL Resources has acquired 20,000 new

customers in 2015

$400mAGL Resources is

investing $400 million in new pipeline

infrastructure for Georgia

150 yearsAt almost 150-years-old,

AGL Resources is the oldest corporate citizen

in Georgia

“We have a

great cultural

commitment to

growth.”

to serve the state. Georgia Seed allowed us to get to areas that were underserved and gave us a lot of ways to get ad-ditional infrastructure into ar-eas that needed natural gas.

What makes Georgia unique as a business community?

We have a great cultural commitment to growth and economic development in ev-ery state we serve. We work with each state, with other utilities in the other states, with business leaders, with civic and community leaders in all our states. We have peo-ple dedicated to economic de-velopment and jobs growth in all our states. We really put effort into that and have for a long time. The great thing for Georgia is that it has been de-clared the number one state in which to do business for the last couple of years. It is a very pro-business environ-ment starting with the chief executive of the state, Gover-nor Deal, through his Depart-ment of Economic Develop-ment, though our state chamber, through the corpo-rations in the state, through our local leaders and our local chambers. It is a team effort. All of those folks come to-gether. In some states that is not as common or as obvious as it is here in Georgia. And it has been this way for a long time.

Take Atlanta Gas Light and Georgia Power as examples. We sometimes go head to head to compete for the load, but when it comes to creating more jobs and bringing more business to the state, we both win.

How does your office sup-port Savannah’s workforce?

Savannah is the conduit through which the governor sends funding for the region. We work with people that are out of jobs and want to get job. We get them ready for the manufacturers or ports or other areas here in this com-munity. We have found that because our poverty rate is so high, that one of the main barriers right now is transportation, getting them to the job site and getting them ready to go to work. So those are the kinds of things that we are working on now. We also have those young peo-ple who can’t find jobs and we are hoping to re-educate

Preserving Savannah for the Future Edna Branch Jackson, Mayor of Savannah

Mayor Edna Branch Jackson is the 65th Mayor of Savannah and the first African-American woman to hold

this position. In 2014, Mayor Jackson travelled to Shanghai, China where she presented a paper on tourism,

preservation and economic development. Mayor Jackson has been in politics since the age of 9.

them into some of the pro-grams that are here at our technical college, our univer-sities, as well as our high schools that have gone into a technical side.

How do you balance growth and maintaining the city’s historic aesthetic?

We have ordinances that will determine how high you can go as a building. We may

do a variant on it or something like that, but as long as it does not take away the charac-ter of our commu-nity because that is why people come here. They want to know the history of the cob-blestones, River

Street, the Historic District and the Victorian District. Be-

100Mayor Jackson was

voted Georgia’s 100 Most Influential Leaders

in 2015

34.8The median age of the

Savannah population is 34.8

2,000There are more than 2,000 business property spaces

available in Savannah

“Savannah is

the conduit

through which

the governor

sends funding

for the region.”

ing the first city of Georgia, and the oldest of course, peo-ple come here just to see how we have preserved what we have. So we rely a lot on tour-ism, hotel/motel taxes and all of that, and the good word when you can get out and just hear people say to you, “you have a beautiful city.”

What role does SCAD play in Savannah’s community?

SCAD has done a lot with preservations here in this community. They can take s run-down property, refurbish it and turn it into a master-piece. The students will do it as a project and then they give it back. Back in the 50’s, the southern ladies wanted to tear down some of the older structures and a group of white ladies decided they weren’t going to do that, enough is enough. That’s when they started the Histor-ical Society. When SCAD came in in the beginning of the 70’s they started talking about preservation, particu-larly in the downtown area where the theatres are be-cause those were magnificent structures, the interior as well as the exterior. That’s why people come here. They ap-preciate the way we have pre-served the city and they want to enjoy. We have up to 13 million a year now, which means our local businesses have recovered from the re-cession and are now thriving. SCAD feeds the spirit of part-nership that exists here in Sa-vannah, partnerships that en-sure the city continues to grow but always with our proud heritage in mind.

What innovations has Ela-von recently delivered?

The number one factor that’s driving our industry in the U.S. is security, due to the large-scale breaches that have occurred over the last sev-eral years and the upcoming Oct. 1 liability shift, where businesses who don’t offer EMV, or chip card, as a pay-ment option will assume responsi-bility for any fraud that occurs. Businesses, large and small and in all in-dustries such as hotels, retail, restaurant, etc., are demand-ing security payment solu-tions and we are delivering with EMV-enabled devices, along with tokenization and encryption technology that

Elavon: Running the World of PaymentsGuy Harris, President of North America Elavon

Elavon is wholly owned by U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) and provides end-to-end payment processing solutions and

services to more than 1.3 million customers in the US, Europe, Canada, Mexico, Brazil and Puerto Rico. Elavon’s

innovative payment solutions are designed to solve pain points for businesses from small to enterprise-sized.

mitigates our customer’s se-curity risk by isolating the cardholder data from the point-of-sale terminal. Our extensive EMV experience in Europe has helped us capture

attention here in the U.S., and we have taken the shift very serious-ly by setting high business goals for getting our cus-tomers EMV ready and educat-ing our customers on the purpose and importance of

this industry game changer. Other drivers in the U.S. are the insurgence of mobile pay-ments solutions and the ris-ing demand for tablet-based point-of-sale systems. We are meeting the mobile payment demand through our part-nerships with big players in

1.3mElavon services approx. 1.3 million customers

globally

Top 5Elavon consistency ranks

among the top 5 global payment providers as

reported by the Nilson Report

3bnElavon enables 3 billion secure transactions each

year

“The number

one factor

that’s driving

our industry

in the US is

security.”

the mobile space like Apple, Samsung and Android. And our talech solution, our tab-let-based payment system, offers customers a full soft-ware-based solution.

How does Georgia’s innova-tion community benefit Ela-von?

First and foremost, the ben-efit of being based here is that it is the payment hub of the US. More importantly, it gives us access to a great pool of talent and here we can find people who understand the domains-payment capability that is required to develop solutions. We tap into our tal-ented market regularly. For example, we provide intern-ships for students all over the state such as Georgia Tech. We also are involved with TAG, Women in Technology and the Georgia Tech Den-ning Project, which is a men-toring program for intern stu-dents, with whom many of them are hired on as full-time employees here.

What are the benefits of Ela-von’s joint venture with Banco Santander?

One of our strategies is to develop business relation-ships with partners such as Santander. They have the re-lationships with the custom-ers and we provide the pay-ments solutions the customers need. We started our partner-ship with Santander back in 2007 in Puerto Rico and we are now its global partner, which includes Spain and the U.K. We have joint ventures with them in Brazil and Mexico.

How did athenahealth get into the Health IT industry?

Our founders, Todd Park and Jonathan Bush, originally started a women’s health and birthing center in California, but they quickly realized that they were spending most of their time trying to get paid. Their solution was to develop software to streamline and speed up the billing process. Essentially, they built one of health care’s first cloud-based busi-ness services. Ini-tially, athen-ahealth stepped in and helped pro-viders submit their claims, work their denials, made sure their credentials were in order, and that payers paid on time. Today we do much more, but it’s less

Building an Internet for HealthcareDavid Harvey, VP of Product Strategy, athenahealth and GM, athenahealth Atlanta

Named America’s fastest growing company, athenahealth is a unique hybrid in the health IT industry, a cloud-based

company that doesn’t just offer software solutions but also provides dedicated back office support that ensures

practices run more smoothly and patients get better care. athenahealth aims to build an internet for healthcare.

about selling services and more about selling perfor-mance and results, and we’ve done this by leveraging the cloud model.

What sets athenahealth’s software apart?

It’s very user-friendly and probably the best health IT software in the industry today for electronic health records, billing, patient engagement,

care coordination, and population health manage-ment. But that’s not what we hang our hat on; our software is a means to an end because it’s only through that soft-ware and our cloud platform

that we are able to deliver ro-bust, flexible services to our

700athenahealth processes

~700 documents (including faxes) per

month per MD

200mathenahealth delivered more than 200 million

automated messages on behalf of providers last

year

67,000Number of providers on athenahealth’s network using its core services

“Cloud-based technology is the most

future-proof infrastructure

for innovation.”

physicians and practices. We are not known as a software company and don’t think of ourselves in that way. We are a cloud-based services compa-ny that takes networked intel-ligence and combines it with back-office services, which means we can track perfor-mance across our network and help our providers do even better.

What does athenahealth see as the future of healthcare?

We are building a healthcare internet and we’ve started by creating the athenahealth Marketplace where providers can shop for the best health IT solutions that complement our current services. It’s our version of the Apple App store, specifically for physi-cians and health systems. We have assembled a group of like-minded healthcare inno-vators that have found it much easier to plug their solutions into our cloud-based network that gives them access to over 67,000 providers as opposed to going around the country and trying to latch their tool onto different versions of lega-cy software. Partnering with innovators, athena is able to provide services that keep doctors working faster, smart-er, and better. Healthcare in general is about 20 years be-hind other industries when it comes to adopting the latest tools in technology. If you look at retail companies like Ama-zon or the CRM industry and companies like Salesforce, they are all thriving on the in-ternet. We want providers to know that there is a better way of doing things.

What initiatives have helped Atlanta become the city it is today?

One of the things we are working on is the Metropoli-tan Export Plan (MEP), in conjunction with the Brookings In-stitution. . This initiative aims to help small and m e d i u m - s i z e d businesses grow through exports. Exporting can be difficult and risky and many compa-nies don’t know where to start. However, sometimes businesses need to export to stay competitive. In Atlanta 45% of our exports are services. The best exam-ple of a service industry is ed-ucation. For instance, we ex-port a lot of education services from leading univer-

Connecting Companies to Capital and Customers Hala Moddelmog, President & CEO, Metro Atlanta Chamber

The Metro Atlanta Chamber is a non-profit organization that helps businesses of any size, whether foreign or

domestic, to establish and grow in metro Atlanta. The chamber focuses on a variety of industries including

bioscience, health IT, technology, mobility, supply chain and advanced manufacturing.

sities like Georgia Tech. . We are also the franchising capi-tal of the US. Then of course there are professional ser-vices like consultants and lawyers. We are 13th in the

US for exports, generating $25.5 billion.

How does the chamber contrib-ute to innovation within Atlanta’s business commu-nity?

One of the things we have

done, besides working with our universities, is launchthe Atlanta Open Innovation Fo-rum in partnership with Nine Sigma. This online market-place will help large and mid-sized companies define and-solve their innovation needs by connecting them with

45%45% of Atlanta’s exports

are generated by the service sector

13th Atlanta is 13th in the US

for exports

1,000There are more than 1,000

startups in the metro Atlanta region

“We are the

franchising

capital of the

US.”

startups and research univer-sities.

Through Nine Sigma, for the problem is posted for or-ganizations or individuals around the globe to try and solve it. It is all done anony-mously. This is a great service for large companies to bring in fresh ideas from outside the company. This fosters col-laboration and facilitates the development, commercializa-tion and deployment of new science and technology in the region.

How does the local business community respond to the chamber’s efforts to help the foreign business communi-ty?

The business community is working collaboratively on economic development, to start, grow and attract lead-ing companies to the region. In fact, a large portion of the companies that we have re-cruited this year are for-eign-based. To ensure that we continue to attract and retain top talent, our leaders are open to helping in any way they can. They are proud of the global work we do. We learned a lot from the reces-sion and moving forward we see that by working together we can achieve so much more. Foreign companies bring for-eign talent, fresh perspectives and new products. It opens new doors to companies that are already established here by expanding our interna-tional business network. Ulti-mately, business leaders in Georgia know that when the region prospers, everyone wins.

How does being based in Georgia make operations easier for Gulfstream?

The success of our home base in Savannah can be at-tributed first and foremost to the great workforce that we have had here for almost 50 years. The jobs we have creat-ed and the investments we have made build on this workforce and are a result of our strong partnerships with the Savannah Economic De-velopment Au-thority (SEDA), the Georgia De-partment of Eco-nomic Develop-ment, the state’s technical college system, the city of Savannah and Chatham County. Combined with this excellent workforce, the ar-ea’s transportation and logis-tical infrastructure, along

Taking Business Jets to New HeightsMark Burns, President, Gulfstream

Gulfstream has led the evolution of business and personal aviation since the 1958 debut of the Gulfstream I, the

world’s first purpose-built business aircraft. Today, Gulfstream produces the world’s most advanced business

aircraft, with innovations from nose to tail to wingtip, all while offering unmatched global support and service.

with good weather for flight-testing, are also key to our success in Georgia. We also receive a significant number of parts for our large-cabin aircraft, the G450, G550, G650 and G650ER, through the Port of Savannah.

How does Georgia assist with the company’s work-force needs?

Georgia Quick Start and the Technical College System of

Georgia have been valuable training partners for Gulfstream, not only in Savan-nah but for our facility in Bruns-wick as well.

Thanks in part to this partner-ship, we have been able to ex-pand with the confidence that we will have the employee training resources we need, in

150Number of aircraft

Gulfstream will build this year

14 hoursA customer flew a

G650ER from Las Vegas to Singapore in just over

14 hours

12%The G280 is 12% more

fuel efficient than other super mid-sized jets

“Our customers

drive our

innovations.”

areas that range from effective delegation to aircraft assem-bly. Just this summer, we opened a new 110,000-square-foot maintenance hangar in Brunswick, and we have been working with Georgia Quick Start over the past year to train the employees that this new hangar accommodates. Military hiring is also a priori-ty for Gulfstream, and in ad-dition to holding job fairs at military bases and other mili-tary-focused recruiting activi-ties, we were the first corpo-rate sponsor for Georgia Tech’s military transition pro-gram, VET2. VET2 allowed us to offer internships to ac-tive-duty military, all of whom were offered full-time jobs at Gulfstream.

How much does Gulfstream invest in R&D and what drives the company’s culture of innovation?

Our culture of innovation is driven by our employees, who are the best in the indus-try and who take great pride in setting new standards for business aviation. We have a robust research and develop-ment program, thanks to the support of our parent compa-ny, General Dynamics. Our 2006 expansion included growing our Research and Development Campus, which is now fully operational with more than 1,500 engineers. Our investments in research and development can be di-rectly linked to the success and performance of the Gulf-stream G650 and G650ER and to the introduction of our new family of aircraft, the G500 and G600.

When choosing West Point, GA. as your manufacturing base, what was a key decid-ing factor?

Hands down, workforce. We were aware that the textile industry was being phased out in Georgia. Man-ufactur ing i s not easy work and it demands d e d i c a t e d p e o p l e w i t h a strong work ethic and fami-ly-based values. It worked out very well. Today, the data-base is well over 135,000 of people that want to work for us. We work with a network of more than 25 suppliers in the state, too. All togeth-er we’ve created more than 15,000 jobs since opening the plant in Georgia.

Are all of Kia’s suppliers based in the state?

Currently it’s about 50% but ideally we’d like to make that 100%. Because we import 50% of parts, we’re the Port of Sa-vannah’s second-largest cus-

tomer. We went through a $100m expansion sev-eral years ago, which brought us from 300,000 to 360,000 units a n n u a l l y, s o we’re on track to create a more lo-calized model.

What were some of the challenges of establishing a base in Georgia?

We worked closely with economic development offi-cials to secure the purchase of 2200 acres of land. Not an easy task but once the prop-

erty owners understood our vision, they were happy to get on board. We built a water tower to support the plant and a new exit 6 referred to as Kia Boulevard. We added Kia Parkway to provide access to the site. We’ve extended the rail track to provide more ca-pacity due to growth.

How innovative is KMMG’s production line?

Our system is really differ-ent. We sell the vehicle first, we build it second and deliv-er it third. Almost everything we build has already been sold. We have advanced tech-nology that we use in our facilities such as innovative stamping presses, robotics in Weld and Paint shops, and ergonomically friendly work-stations in assembly. But we take it further because our Kia Way philosophy supports innovation for humanity. We see people as the heart and soul of the company.

What programs do you have in place to ensure the contin-ued availability of workforce?

We have a multi-tiered ap-proach. First we introduce younger students to STEM with the A World in Motion program to trigger an in-terest in STEM fields from an early age. We helped es-tablish the THINC Career Academy, which opens its doors in August 2015 to sup-port high school pathways into engineering and mecha-tronics. Finally we run co-op programs and internships in partnership with the univer-sity system.

“Our system isreally different. We sell the vehi-cle first, we build

it second anddeliver it third.”

A New Era of Manufacturing in Georgia Randy Jackson Senior Vice President Human Resources & Administration KMMG

Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia (KMMG) is Kia’s first North American automobile manufacturing plant. Based in a state-of-the-art facility in West Point, KMMG began production in November 2009 and is home to the Kia Sorento and Kia Optima, two of the brand’s best-selling models in the US.

15,00015,000 jobs created

since the plant opened in 2009

360,000360,000 units

produced annually

50%50% of Kia’s parts coming through

the Port of Savannah, making Kia the port’s second-

largest customer

When choosing West Point, GA. as your manufacturing base, what was a key decid-ing factor?

Hands down, workforce. We were aware that the textile industry was being phased out in Georgia. Manufactur-ing is not easy work and it demands dedi-cated people with a strong work ethic and family- based values. It worked out very well. Today, the da-ta-base is well over 135,000 of people that want to work for us. We work with a network of more than 25 supplers in the state, too. All together we’ve created more than 15,000 jobs since opening the plant in Georgia.

Are all of Kia’s suppliers based in the state?

A New Era of Manufacturing in GeorgiaRandy Jackson, Senior VP, Human Resources & Administration KMMG

Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia (KMMG) is Kia’s first North American automobile manufacturing plant.

Based in a state-of-the-art facility in West Point, KMMG began production in November 2009 and is home to the

Kia Sorento and Kia Optima, two of the brand’s best-selling models in the US.

Currently it’s about 50% but ideally we’d like to make that 100%. Because we im-port 50% of parts, we’re the Port of Savannah’s sec-

ond-largest cus-tomer. We went through a $100m expan-sion several years ago, which brought us from 300,000 to 360,000 units annually, so we’re on track to create a more lo-calized model.

What were some of the chal-lenges of establishing a base in Georgia?

We worked closely with economic development offi-cials to secure the purchase of 2200 acres of land. Not an easy task but once the prop-

15,00015,000 jobs created since the plant opened in 2009

360,000 360,000 units produced

annually

50%50% of Kia’s parts

coming through the Port of Savannah, making Kia the port’s second largest

customer

“Our system is

really different.

We sell the

vehicle first, we

build it second

and deliver it

third.”

erty owners understood our vision, they were happy to get on board. We built a wa-ter tower to support the plant and a new exit 6 referred to as Kia Boulevard. We added Kia Parkway to provide access to the site. We’ve extended the rail track to provide more ca-pacity due to growth.

How innovative is KMMG’s production line?

Our system is really differ-ent. We sell the vehicle first, we build it second and deliv-er it third. Almost everything we build has already been sold. We have advanced tech-nology that we use in our fa-cilities such as innovative stamping presses, robotics in Weld and Paint shops, and er-gonomically friendly work-stations in assembly. But we take it further because our Kia Way philosophy supports innovation for humanity. We see people as the heart and soul of the company.

What programs do you have in place to ensure the con-tin-ued availability of work-force?

We have a multi-tiered ap-proach. First we introduce younger students to STEM with the A World in Motion program to trigger an interest in STEM fields from an early age. We helped establish the THINC Career Academy, which opens its doors in Au-gust 2015 to support high school pathways into engi-neering and mecha-tronics. Finally we run co-op pro-grams and internships in partnership with the univer-sity system.

What role did Georgia Tech play in the launch of Patientco?

We are a graduate of the Ad-vanced Technology Develop-ment Center (ATDC) at Geor-gia Tech. It is listed in Forbes as one of the top ten incuba-tors in the US and the no. 1 public university incubator. They gave us a lot of support in terms of product launch, customer discov-ery, financing and recruiting. We were able to use Georgia Tech to give us access to talent as well since it’s no. 5 for engi-neering in the country. If you want to make a great company, you have to have great talent, so having that link was vital for us. Great talent is the most important

Passion for Pain-Free Payments Solutions Bird Blitch, CEO, Patientco

A pioneer in the Healthcare Payments industry, Patientco is passionate about pain-free payments solutions for

healthcare providers and their patients. Patientco’s software simplifies payment management for healthcare providers

by giving them a single platform to manage every payment that is processed at any point in the health system.

thing when you are solving complex problems. Just being in that environment, being around innovators and for-ward-thinkers, the energy is contagious. And Georgia Tech does a great job of creating that environment.

What makes Patientco’s tech-nology unique?

What’s unique about Pa-tientco is that we process 100% of patient payments that come into a health system for every healthcare treatment. In the US healthcare sys-tem there are often different tech plat-forms running the

various physician groups, hospital groups, ancillary groups, labs, radiology, anes-thesiology and so on. Patient-

3-5xPatientco projects

3-5x growth in patient payments by the end of

2016

12mPatientco will add 12 million patients to its

user base by the end of 2016

94%A recent customer satisfaction survey

gave Patientco a 94% satisfaction rating

“Financial

health can now

be managed in

one centralized

place.”

co works with all of those sys-tems to give providers one single place to process and automatically reconcile all the payments coming into the health system. That service was not available until Pa-tientco came along. Most im-portantly, for the patient, that hospital’s billing process now exists in one single online por-tal we call PatientWallet, which is simple for them to use. When everyone’s work-ing off one single technology platform, it means the hospital or clinic can run smoothly and patients are always up to date on their payments.

How has Patientco adapted its mobile design to facilitate ease-of-use for patients?

The payment experience is simplified because the patient now has one place to manage all their healthcare expenses, questions and communica-tions about the financial por-tion of their care. That makes life simpler. It also takes into account where the industry is going because healthcare in the states is moving from a fee-per-service model to a val-ue-based model where ser-vices and costs are combined to deliver better care. What we are doing is the “amazonifica-tion” of healthcare. The focus of Patientco is similar to Ama-zon’s – one patient portal to pay for everything and one back-end system for providers to manage the entire payment process. This optimization is crucial as the healthcare in-dustry shifts to a heavier reli-ance on patient payments as a major source of health system revenue.

What is Travelport’s ap-proach to service develop-ment and innovation?

The traveler touches every industry, from car, hotel, t r a n s p o r t a t i o n and airline indus-tries, and each one of those busi-nesses has a spe-cific relationship with the custom-er. Travelport, through our com-merce platform, teams up with our business partners and allow our cus-tomers either on day of book-ing or day of travel to be able to go through us and get the full travel experience. To give you an example: a hotel will see the travel booking for the night and the airline will see the booking for the flight, but we see the booking end to

Travelport: Redefining Travel CommerceMatt Minetola, CIO, Travelport

Travelport is a leading Travel Commerce Platform that provides distribution, technology, payment and other

solutions for the $8 trillion global travel and tourism industry. Its Travel Commerce Platform enables travel

providers, travel agencies, corporations and developers to connect to the B2B travel network increasing

profitability and driving business success.

end for the traveler. By hav-ing that visibility it allows us to partner with our business partners to build the technol-ogies for the consumer and

cater to a range of needs. So, we pro-vide our business partners with cus-tomer value but yet they still own the customer. In that way, we are the glue or the fabric that allows

these very brand-centric companies to provide niche services.

How does Travelport’s ser-vices benefit its customers’ brands?

Each brand has a strong alignment to the customer but they have a hard line in terms of what they offer and

170Travelport has

unmatched global reach and a presence in 170

countries

$2bnIn 2014 Travelport’s net revenue was $2 billion

73%Travelport has a 73% holding in eNett, its

virtual payment provider

“We offer

brands the

whole mobile

experience.”

for them to get to what I call the end-to-end experience for the customer, each one wants to own that customer on day of booking or day of travel. We have the ability to provide that glue. As the customer moves from time of booking to time of travel we have a lot of information that we can provide to them. For exam-ple, we know the time of your flight, where you are going, what hotel you are staying at. That gives us a lot of informa-tion and a range of possibili-ties of what to do with that information, and we can serve those up to travelers with our advertising capabili-ty, such as concierge service for the day. It really allows what we call ‘micro content day-of transactions.’ We ask, at the time of traveling, how can we give the traveler what they think they want? We are well positioned for that. We have an innovation program because this industry is cur-rently $8 trillion and it’s go-ing to be $11 trillion. When you look at innovation start-ups, travel is number one or two because it’s such a grow-ing industry.

What products has Travel-port recently launched?

We launch products on a regular basis. Our most recent release is Travelport Smart-point 6.0. It allows a lot of rich content and branding. We are servicing more than 250,000 desktops and with this tech-nology we can integrate all these services, which allows our partners to upsell or add services. The airlines are lin-ing up for that.

How does Paymetric’s pro-prietary tokenization work?

Paymetric provides patent-ed tokenization technology to ensure sensitive data does not enter the enterprise. This sensitive data is turned into a to-ken, separating it from the original raw data format. Paymetric offers this tokenization solution through a managed soft-ware–as-a-service model. Tokeniza-tion affords busi-nesses the opportunity to eliminate the storage and transmission of sensitive data in enterprise systems and applications. By leverag-ing tokenization technology, companies can reduce the risk of data security breach-es.

Securing Payments across the Globe Asif Ramji, President & CEO, Paymetric

With 18 years of experience in the Financial Technology industry, Paymetric was one of the first companies to develop

a secure tokenization payment system. Today Paymetric works with companies of all sizes, right up to the Fortune

1000, providing a secure payments model that safeguards data and integrates payments into enterprise systems.

Are more companies choos-ing to store data in the cloud?

Data breaches are on the rise. As a result, companies are searching for better methods to protect customers’ sensitive

information. With-in large enterprise systems, the na-tive ability to ac-cept and secure payments doesn’t exist. Many com-panies are search-ing for cloud-based solutions to completely re-move sensitive fi-

nancial data from the enter-prise. There has also been a significant increase in the need to secure other types of personal data such as social security information, and bank account information, all attributed to the growth in fraud and identify theft. A

18 Years Paymetric has over 18 years of experience in

Global Secure Payments and is headquartered in

North Atlanta.

2008Paymetric introduced its tokenization system in

2008

$201The average cost of a

stolen file

“Paymetric

is the global

leader for

integrated

payments and

data security.”

breach of this nature can be equally damaging and costly as one involving payments. By not storing data onsite, but in-stead storing tokens, helps eliminate the liability and pro-tects sensitive card informa-tion and the associated risk. Paymetric solutions integrate into the epicenter of enterprise applications and seamlessly streamline ERP workflows while securing critical sensi-tive information through a sin-gle cloud-based integration.

What is the next stage for the payments industry in the US?

There is tremendous growth in commerce with the addition of mobile and electronic pay-ments. The industry is facing unprecedented demand from customers to support new se-cure methods of payments from credit cards and electron-ic checks to alternative pay-ments like PayPal, Apple Pay and Google checkout. In the US, we are following both Eu-rope and Canada with the adoption of the EMV chip-based card. These changes represent tremendous chal-lenges to support multiple and complex platforms while properly addressing the po-tential risk of fraud. Paymet-ric’s market leading solutions address these secure payment integration challenges in en-terprise systems. In the B2B market, the order-processing model is ripe for error due to software incompatibility and inefficiencies. Companies look to Paymetric for their experi-ence in secure processing and integration to optimize opera-tions and improve electronic payment acceptance.

What is the scope of Sun-Trust Banks?

SunTrust has $190 billion in assets, with three primary business seg-ments: Consum-er Banking and Private Wealth M a n a g e m e n t ; Wholesale Bank-ing and Mort-gage. Today, our client base in-cludes over 4 mil-lion consumer households and more than half a million business cli-ents. Most of our businesses include specialized services. For example, we have a doc-tor specialty in mortgage, which means we can help people who are just graduat-ing from medical school all the way through running a successful practice. We tailor financial solutions to people

Banking on a Bright Future William H. Rogers Jr., CEO & Chairman, SunTrust Banks Inc.

Fast approaching its 125th year, SunTrust Banks is headquartered in Georgia with a client base that includes more

than 4 million households and half a million business clients. SunTrust’s primary businesses include Consumer

Banking and Private Wealth Management; Wholesale Banking and Mortgage.

at different life stages, and our unique expertise allows us to dive deeper and under-stand the niche needs of indi-

viduals and busi-nesses. Those specialized seg-ments tend to grow faster, and that’s much of the reason for our success, our will-ingness to under-stand niche needs and cater to them.

What are the benefits of be-ing headquartered in Atlan-ta?

Atlanta’s business environ-ment is highly collaborative and welcoming. We all want to work together for the bet-terment of Atlanta. For ex-ample, we have a Democrat mayor and a Republican governor who work together

7,600SunTrust Banks has more

than 7,600 employees based in Georgia

105,000+SunTrust Banks serves

more than 105,000 business clients in the

state of Georgia

125 yearsSunTrust Banks have

been operating in Georgia for almost 125

years

“Today, 60%

of our clients

interact with us

digitally.”

hand-in-glove on major state issues. That’s unique and the business community emu-lates it. Atlanta serves as the world’s largest transporta-tion hub. We have the third highest concentration of For-tune 500 companies. We have an influx of large and influen-tial companies moving here, such as Porsche and Mer-cedes Benz. Also, our aca-demic community works well with the business com-munity, which means we have a great pool of talent coming out of our universi-ties.

What is the future of bank-ing?

Like everything else, bank-ing changes with consumers’ tastes. Clients want more than one channel. They want the physical branches, so those are still important, but clients want other channels for their transactions. We have invested heavily in digi-tal platforms, and today, 60% of our clients interact with us digitally. We offer mobile, tab-let and online technology in addition to the bank. We have several branches where we are making “uber technolo-gy” investments, testing the very latest technologies, such as Teller Connect that allows access to a teller through an ATM. In the evolving digital landscape, we have to find a balance between providing a personal service, but with the speed and efficiency of tech-nology. And in private wealth, we developed an innovative tool named SummitView for those clients to see their full financial picture.

Can you describe JCB’s ac-tivities at your Savannah plant?

From our North Ameri-can corporate headquarters in Savannah, we manufac-ture side-entry skid steer and compact track loaders, the 3CX back-h o e ; p a r t o f JCB’s #1 selling backhoe load-er line, and the h i g h m o b i l i -ty engineered e x c a v a t o r (HMEE), a ful-ly armored 60 mph backhoe loader engi-neered and built for the US military and NATO Allies. The HMEE is a true testa-ment to JCB’s engineering capabilities and a product we are extremely proud of. All engineering, research and development for JCB

skid steers and the HMEE is done in Savannah, which is now the home of the com-pany’s global Government and Defense Division. By engineering and manufac-turing product within our primary markets, we are

able to quickly turn customer feedback and s u g g e s t i o n s in to product development, allowing us to deliver great-e r v a l u e t o the customer.

Our Savannah campus also serves as our southeastern parts distribution facility.

How much input does the team at Savannah have in the design of JCB products?

For all products manufac-tured in Savannah, we have

full responsibility from the ground up in terms of prod-uct design. That being said, we ship these products all over the world, so we work in partnership with all JCB global markets to ensure that any product manufac-tured here meets the needs of applications specific to that continent and country. This process is used around the world in our 22 manu-facturing facilities, allowing us to export products spe-cific to each market. In fact, 60% of what we produce in Savannah is exported to markets around the world.

What are some of the ad-vantages of being based in Savannah?

From a business stand-point, Savannah offers a unique blend of logistical capabilities that include easy access to airport and rail services and the Port of Savannah.

What state workforce ini-tiatives have been made available to JCB?

Quick Start is a fantas-tic state program. It has al-lowed us to bring new peo-ple into JCB and to train and re-train our staff as they go through job rotations. It is a benchmark program that allows us to partner with the state. In addition, we have an internal apprentice program to help train and develop tomorrow’s JCB workforce. We are passion-ate about workforce devel-opment to create jobs within our local community.

“Innovation is at the very core of our business.”

Building the World’s Toughest MachinesArjun Mirdha President and CEO of JCB North America

JCB is a British multinational with 22 plants globally producing manufacturing equipment for construction, demoli-tion, agriculture and the military. Established in 1945, today, JCB produces over 300 machines, which are sold in 150 countries making it one of the world’s largest construction equipment manufacturers.

1000More than 1,000

high-mobility engineered excavators in global

military use

60%JCB’s skid steer and

compact track loaders are the safest design in the industry; giving opera-

tors 60% better visibility

70 YearsIn just 70 years JCB

has gone from one man in a garage to a major

global brand known for it’s pioneering spirit

Can you describe JCB’s ac-tivities at your Savannah plant?

From our North American corporate headquarters in Savannah, we manufacture side-entry skid steer and com-pact track load-ers, the 3CX back-hoe; part of JCB’s #1 selling backhoe loader line, and the high mobility engi-neered excavator (HMEE), a fully amored 60 mph backhoe loader engineered and built for the US military and NATO Allies. The HMEE is a true testament to JCB’s engineering capabili-ties and a product we are extremely proud of. All en-gineering, research and de-velopment for JCB skid

Building the World’s Toughest MachinesArjun Mirdha, President & CEO, JCB North America

JCB is a British multinational with 22 plants globally producing manufacturing equipment for construction, demolition, agriculture and the military. Established in 1945, today, JCB produces over 300 machines, which are sold in 150 countries making it one of the world’s largest construction equipment manufacturers.

steers and the HMEE is done in Savannah, which is now the home of the compa-ny’s global Government and Defense Division. By engi-neering and manufacturing

product within our primary mar-kets, we are able to quickly turn customer feed-back and sugges-tions into prod-uct development, allowing us to deliver greater value to the cus-tomer. Our Sa-

vannah campus also serves as our southeastern parts distribution facility.

How much input does the team at Savannah have in the design of JCB products?

For all products manufac-tured in Savannah, we have

1000More than 1,000 high-mobility engineered excavators in global

military use

60% JCB’s skid steer and

compact track loaders are the safest design

in the industry; giving operators 60% better

visibility

70 Years In just 70 years JCB

has gone from one man in a garage to a major

global brand known for its pioneering spirit

“Innovation is at the very core of our business.”

full responsibility from the ground up in terms of prod-uct design. That being said, we ship these products all over the world, so we work in partnership with all JCB global markets to ensure that any product manu-fac-tured here meets the needs of applications specif-ic to that continent and country. This process is used around the world in our 22 manufacturing facilities, al-lowing us to export products specific to each market. In fact, 60% of what we pro-duce in Savannah is export-ed to markets around the world.

What are some of the ad-vantages of being based in Savannah?

From a business stand-point, Savannah offers a unique blend of logistical ca-pabilities that include easy access to airport and rail ser-vices and the Port of Savan-nah.

What state workforce initia-tives have been made avail-able to JCB?

Quick Start is a fantastic state program. It has al-lowed us to bring new peo-ple into JCB and to train and re-train our staff as they go through job rotations. It is a benchmark program that al-lows us to partner with the state. In addition, we have an internal apprentice pro-gram to help train and de-velop tomorrow’s JCB work-force. We are passionate about workforce develop-ment to create jobs within our local community.

How strategically important is the base at Marietta, Geor-gia to Lockheed Martin?

The location of military bas-es here in Georgia makes this the right place for Lockheed Martin. It puts us close to our customers, gives us access to great talent, the folks who are transitioning from the mili-tary and under-stand our prod-ucts and services. That makes it a win-win for us. Due to the prox-imity of the air-port and the ports, and the fact that many of our customers are international, it means they have easy ac-cess to us and we can easily get to them. Being located here means we can run our operations more efficiently

Herculean Talent that Builds Pioneering AircraftShan Cooper, VP & General Manager, Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs about 112,000 people worldwide and is

principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced

technology systems, products and services. The company’s site in Marietta, Georgia assembles the C-130 Hercules.

and be close to our custom-ers.

What kind of local commu-nity projects is the company involved in?

STEM Education is our number one focus area. Our biggest challenge is talent. The aerospace workforce is

aging and this is a problem for us. The average age here is 55 so de-veloping educa-tion is critical for us. We have a two-point ap-proach in terms of what we look for

in talent. Yes, we want those with four-year degrees, engi-neers, scientists, but we also have partnerships with tech-nical schools because we need welders and electri-

70 CountriesLockheed Martin has

customers in 70 countries

60 YearsLockheed Martin’s C-130

program has recently celebrated 60 years

257 CompaniesLockheed Martin works with 257 suppliers across

the state of Georgia

“Georgia is an

ideal location

because it gives

us access to

great talent.”

cians, trade professions. We try to start early, focusing on kids in middle school. But our efforts extend to college.

What innovations is Lock-heed Martin currently fo-cused on?

The C-130 program has just celebrated 60 years. It is the longest running military air-craft production line in histo-ry; we have never had a break in that production line. This aircraft has had to reinvent itself year after year to re-main relevant for our cus-tomers. The last few years we have been focused on reduc-ing the cost of owning an air-craft, so the team implement-ed little devices called microvanes which reduce the cost of operating an aircraft. The other key area for us is robotics. When we get to full rate on the F-35 center wing assembly, we will be building one center wing assembly ev-ery manufacturing day. It’s not possible for humans to keep up with that production so robotics has been brought in to help us deliver on our commitments. 3D Printing is another key area for us and has changed how we service our customers. We have cus-tomers in 70 countries and when someone buys one of our planes, it has to be main-tained for decades. For exam-ple, the lifespan of the C-130 is up to 40 years. If that cus-tomer needs a part, they need it immediately. 3D Printing allows us to respond quickly. At Lockheed Martin we leverage all sorts of technolo-gy to make our products and operations more efficient.

How important is Georgia to the Synovus brand?

Our roots are in Georgia. We have been here since 1888 so we have a tremendous histo-ry here. Of our 4,400 team members, around 2,800 are in Georgia. There is a strong em-ployment base and we have leading market share in the mar-kets in which we operate in Geor-gia.

How has the banking sector in Georgia contrib-uted to the state’s recovery?

The state has about 210 banks that generated over $2.5 billion in profit last year. We have a strong political system and a pro-business governor in Georgia. Even though it was tough during

State-of-the-Art Banking for SMEsKessel Stelling, Chairman & CEO, Synovus Financial Corp.

Synovus Financial Corp. is a financial services company with approximately $28bn in assets based in Columbus,

Georgia. Synovus provides commercial and retail banking, investment and mortgage services to customers

through 28 locally branded divisions, 258 offices, and 341 ATMs across the South East of America.

the crisis, our political and department leaders guided the industry with a steady hand, and now the sector is gaining momentum: 86% of Georgia-based banks were profitable in 2014 and 88% as of the second quarter of this year, which makes Georgia a

great state for business.

What is Syno-vus’s role in funding small business in Geor-gia?

Our role is large and important.

For a five-state franchise, we have top five market share in markets representing approx-imately 80% of our core de-posits. In Georgia, we are number one in Columbus, Warner Robins, Athens, Val-dosta, and Statesboro, and

2,800Synovus has 2,800 team

members based in Georgia

19 AwardsGreenwich Associates

awarded Synovus 19 customer service excellence awards

200 ATMsIn 2014 Synovus added

200 state-of-the-art ATMs to its service footprint

“Georgiais a

great statefor

business.”

we are top-five in almost ev-ery market, including Bruns-wick and Atlanta. We are a big provider of credit to small- and medium-sized business. Greenwich Associ-ates recently awarded us 19 customer service excellence awards for middle market and small business banking. That segment was important to us during the crisis. We were concerned not just about surviving the crisis, but also about supporting local busi-nesses in communities throughout the state. Our role will continue to be substantial in the small business, con-sumer, and middle market space.

How important is technolog-ical innovation to banking?

Technology is huge in our industry. Customers more and more want the conve-nience of online and mobile banking and access to full-ser-vice ATMs. Last year, we completed the installation of around 200 state-of-the-art ATMs that serve as virtual branches. Same thing with smartphones: As we’ve strengthened our mobile banking platform, we’ve seen a decline in branch traffic. So as habits and preferences con-tinue to evolve, we want to ensure our customers have access to all the latest tools and technology. For example, millennials don’t go to the bank. But if they have a prob-lem, they want to know who they can call to solve it. So we try to strike a balance by pro-viding relationship-based ser-vice, focused on individual customer needs.

How has Georgia’s tourism boom impacted the Golden Isles?

The most dramatic impact has been on the recognition of the state, both nationally and internationally. In 2015, the state of Georgia increased its international tourism by 22% and tourism here in the Golden Isles increased by 13%. Clearly word has gotten out that Georgia is a great place to travel to. We have such vari-ety from the mountains to the coast, which attracts visitors to all parts of the state.

What kind of tourism do the Golden Isles attract?

We attract a lot of tour buses here, mostly domestic but

A Conference Room with a View Scott McQuade, President & CEO, Golden Isle Convention & Visitor Bureau

The Golden Isles Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) is the official destination marketing organization

dedicated to promoting tourism in Glynn County, Georgia. The Golden Isles CVB also oversees the operation and

maintenance of two Welcome Centers in Glynn County as well as a state-of-the-art convention center.

sometimes international too. We are a popular spot for re-unions and weddings. We have a lot of social business that comes from our confer-ences, which benefits indi-

vidual hotels as well as the confer-ence center. We cater for corpo-rate groups too and have seen in increase in corpo-rate events here, for example, in-centive trips and things of that na-ture. With 190

holes of golf, Golden Isle is popular for corporate re-treats. We also benefit from association business. For ex-ample, we have a 148,000 square foot convention center on Jekyll Island, which is one of only two coastal conven-tion centers on the east coast.

6,000A 6,000 square foot

facility has recently been opened on St. Simon’s

Island

13%Tourism increased by

13% on the Golden Isles in 2015

190There are 190 holes of

golf on the Golden Isles

“That really

creates a

quality

experience for

the visitor.”

The center is a brand new state-of-the-art facility. The tourism boom means we have been able to attract a lot more business but a lot of that busi-ness has come because of the quality of that convention center.

How does the promotion of the Golden Isle CVB benefit the local community?

We participate with the state on a lot of their co-operative marketing efforts for both the domestic and international market. For the last several years we have been able to participate in various interna-tional campaigns that have impacted our tourism figures. While the state campaigns market the whole state, we fo-cus on the Golden Isles, and tell its story. That gives us the opportunity to really push lo-cal events and amenities. We work closely with the other conventions centers to pro-mote our corporate services. Local hotels, restaurants and attractions such as our golf courses benefit from that busi-ness of course but we like to be more involved than that. We have an annual cultural calendar, which we also heav-ily promote. In fact, we are the catalyst that helps bring the community together. We pro-vide a number of programs throughout the year that real-ly brings the community and the tourism partners together. We like to partner up to tell our story because that makes it a more powerful singular voice. We really see our role as unifying the community, which means organizing events and promoting them.

What’s the next stage of inno-vation for Sharecare’s con-sumer health services?

In health, you hear a lot about “patient engagement” – but it’s not just about “patients.” At Sharecare, we are focused on en-gaging people no matter where they are in their health journey - whether managing a chronic condition, sick with the flu or wanting to shed 10 pounds. To get started with Sharecare, someone takes the RealAge test, our scientifi-cally validated health risk as-sessment, which gives us per-sonalized insights to deliver highly relevant content and resources - all of which are free. Our next stage of innova-tion is laser focused on “invis-ible health,” developing new ways to help people be mind-

ful of their health without dis-rupting their daily routine. And by harnessing the power of ultra-personalization and mobile technology - in par-

ticular the smart-phone - we can help people opti-mize their health to live happier, more fulfilling lives.

Talk a little more about the concept of “invisible health.” What’s an example of some-thing you’re working on in that area?

The smartphone stands to be the single greatest healing de-vice of our time – consider all the insights you can get from it: how many steps you take, your heart rate, how many hours you sleep and - some-thing I find particularly in-triguing - what your voice can

tell you about your health. Each voice has a unique iden-tifier - called a fractal pattern - that reveals a lot about your mindset and stress. Earlier this year, we launched a smart-phone app that “samples” and analyzes your unique pattern (not your conversation) dur-ing phone calls, enabling us to determine your mindset and stress level with the same clin-ical accuracy as a functional MRI. While the technology is cool, what’s profound is the self-awareness it yields, which we believe helps both reduce stress and improve relation-ships. To test this theory fur-ther, we partnered with Geor-gia Tech’s Human Computing Lab and Dr. Sanjay Gupta on an adaptive trial in which sev-eral organizations (Trinity Health and Univision, to name two examples) have invited their populations to partici-pate. While we’re still in the throes of the trial, we’re learn-ing that over time, the voice is the truth and - in many ways - the key to unlocking better health.

What’s the end goal for Sharecare?

Healthcare is in the midst of an incredible transformation – and we can learn a lot from companies outside of health that harness data analytics and personalization to create a de facto “profile” for consum-ers. That kind of predictive personalization is powerful. Soon, Sharecare will enable people to store, share and ac-cess all of their health informa-tion in one place – and that will be a game changer.

Technology that can Revolutionize Relationships

Created by Arnold and Dr. Mehmet Oz, Sharecare is an engagement platform where people can access their

personalized health profile and resources to live their healthiest lives. Millions use Sharecare each day, including

patient populations of the country’s leading hospitals and every Soldier in the United States Army.

$160mSharecare has secured

more than $160 million in funding from

investors ranging from Discovery to Wellington

Management

62mSharecare has 62 million

registered users

5bnConsumers have given Sharecare 5 billion data

points about their health

Jeff Arnold, Founder & CEO, Sharecare

“Better

relationships

lead to better

health.”

What transit challenges face Atlanta?

One of our biggest challeng-es is the stratification of the different governments in this region. Atlanta is the largest city but there are dozens of cit-ies throughout the region each with their own transportation systems and quite often, their own governments. Cre-ating a system that works for all those governments is a challenge but we are overcoming those challenges by being fiscally efficient and customer focused and by investing in our em-ployees. By doing that we are becoming more attractive to our cities and counties. For ex-ample, Clayton County joined our transit system, voting by a 3 to 1 margin to join MARTA a

A Transit System that Wins Big Business Keith T. Parker, General Manager & CEO, MARTA

The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) is the rapid-transit system in the Atlanta

metropolitan area. It is the 9th largest rapid transit system in the US by ridership. Formed in 1971, today MARTA

operates a network of bus routes linked to 77km of rail track with 38 stations.

year ago and we anticipate that others will follow.

How have you applied inno-vation and sustainability to your maintenance policies and technical teams?

We have a lot of things going on in that regard. In the last

three years, our bus fleet has gone from one of the oldest in the nation to one of the new-est. We are looking at other technolo-gies including electric vehicles and we are also

looking at solar power. For ex-ample, we have solar panels at one of our garages that pro-vide electricity to the point that it has excess capacity we are selling off to the power company which saves us tens of thousands of dollars per

16 minutes

The length of time it takes to get from the airport to downtown Atlanta using

MARTA rail

$42mMARTA spends approx. $42 million annually on

its IT infrastructure

$1By switching to CNG, MARTA reduced its

average per gallon fuel cost to $1

“We’re overcoming

challenges by being fiscally efficient and

customer focused.”

year. We have made a concert-ed effort to get LED lighting throughout our system; half of our Peachtree Center Station has been converted to LED and that’s already saving us a lot of money.

How important is Atlanta’s transit system to the contin-ued growth of its business community?

The impact is huge. We have seen some great examples of that in recent months. For ex-ample, one of the recent big wins for the city was NCR moving into the heart of the city. They did that partly be-cause they wanted greater ac-cess to the public transit sys-tem. Kaiser Permanente chose their location for similar rea-sons. Mercedes-Benz men-tioned specifically that they wanted to be near a MARTA station. The biggest one of all in recent times has been State Farm where they are creating their largest HQ in Atlanta next to our Dunwoody rail sta-tion. They will have 10,000 people there and 3,000 new jobs. They told us that they wanted to be next to a station so that they could provide that service to their employees. Through surveys we have found that the millennial pop-ulation is not as interested in suburban living. Many want an urban lifestyle and that in-cludes more mass transit so we are confident we will con-tinue to play a major role in corporate relocation to Atlan-ta. We are open to trying new things too, for example, we are among the first in the nation to provide a farmer’s market at a rail station.

How is the Georgia Ports Authority model different from other states?

When you look across the ports sector in the United States, it is clear our ports are not being modernized at the pace they need to be. Most US ports don’t have the neces-sary capacity. Cargo handling through our ports is not oc-curring as efficiently as it should be. For Georgia, how-ever, we have pro-actively invested in the future. This is possible be-cause the Georgia Ports Authority is an owner-opera-tor, unlike many ports, which leas-es out dock and terminal space. We can coordinate our assets and resources, both from an investment and infra-structure standpoint, to meet

A Southern Port to the World Curtis J. Foltz, Executive Director, Georgia Ports Authority

The Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) oversees the development, maintenance and operation of four ports: Port of

Savannah, Port of Brunswick and two inland ports. The GPA is dedicated to providing the most efficient port

facilities in the nation and to creating opportunities to benefit more than 9.7 million Georgians.

the entire state’s needs, not just the needs of a single city. Today, we operate our ports and coordinate our port as-sets on behalf of the state.

What are the logistical bene-fits of using the Port of Sa-vannah?

Because our container port is 100 miles closer to Atlanta than any other port in the US, GPA is a magnet for global

trade and com-merce. In fact, the Port of Savannah is centrally located to serve the entire U.S. Southeast – the fastest grow-ing demographic region in the na-

tion. Savannah serves as a distribution center hub, with major retail outlets such as Target, Walmart, Ikea, The Home Depot and Pier 1 oper-

1,100There are more than 1,100 people employed at the

GPA

$2mGPA invested up to $2m in a training simulator

45%GPA services an area that covers around 45% of the

US population

“We are very

advanced from

a technology

standpoint.”

ating locally. These DCs are within minutes of the termi-nal, reducing drive time and increasing supply chain effi-ciency. Garden City Termi-nal’s location west of Savan-nah and direct links to Inter-states 95 and 16, only six miles from the port, mean truck drivers do not have to deal with city traffic.

How has the port innovated to handle cargo transport?

Garden City’s single-termi-nal design means drivers en-joy fast turn-times through one simple check-in process, even when moving containers for multiple shipping lines. Served on-terminal by two Class I railroads (CSX and Norfolk Southern), Savannah has the fastest westward tran-sit in the South Atlantic region – including overnight rail ser-vice to a five-state area: Ala-bama, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina.

At 1,200 acres – with 22 ship-to-shore cranes and 116 rub-ber-tired gantry cranes – Sa-vannah has the capacity to handle influxes of cargo, and the flexibility to handle mega-ships carrying freight for al-lied shipping lines. With 38 weekly vessel calls, Savannah provides more global connec-tions than any other East Coast port, except for New York/New Jersey. This means more choices to more destina-tions, with greater scheduling flexibility. With room to grow and an infrastructure plan to increase annual container ca-pacity to 6.5 million TEUs, Sa-vannah is well positioned to take advantage of new market opportunities.

Why did Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group (MOHG) choose to open a hotel in At-lanta?

MOHG is always exploring development opportunities in key leisure and business destina-tions around the world, and Atlan-ta had been on the group’s radar for 10 years. With the busiest airport in the world, Atlanta is an amazing hub and a key destination for a group like ours. Therefore, when this Buckhead hotel project be-came available, we jumped at it. We had many reasons why this particular address ap-pealed to us. It’s an iconic building, designed by archi-tect Robert A.M. Stern. It’s the ideal location in Atlanta, on Peachtree Road in the

Southern Hospitality with an Asian Flavor Robert Lowe, General Manager, Mandarin Oriental, Atlanta

Mandarin Oriental, Atlanta is part of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group with hotels in 27 locations around the

world. The hotel’s 127 rooms and suites are housed in a 42-storey skyscraper designed by American architect

Robert A.M. Stern. The exclusive Mandarin Oriental, Atlanta Residences are on the top 27 floors.

prestigious Buckhead neigh-borhood. Since 2007, MOHG has had a regional office in Atlanta. Our Development Director and President of the Americas, Terry Stinson, is

based there, so any development of the group comes out of that office. We saw the vision for the city back in 2007 and it’s all forward thinking, so that’s

why we chose Atlanta.

How does MOHG define 21st century luxury?

21st century luxury means creating an experience and customizing that experience for each guest. We are very proactive in figuring out what people might like and our colleagues really respond to that because it allows them

4 StarsForbes Travel Guide

awarded the Mandarin Oriental, Atlanta with 4

stars

35Mandarin Oriental,

Atlanta has 35 exclusive residences on the top 27

floors of its building

90 DaysMandarin Oriental,

Atlanta spends 90 days training new colleagues

“Atlanta is

considered the

New York of

the South.”

to be themselves and connect with the guest in a genuine way. Southern hospitality is very open and embracing and our colleagues make that part of the experience.

What kind of training pro-grams and incentives are of-fered to staff?

We provide an intensive ori-entation, which encompasses 90 days. So for the first 90 days of employment, the em-ployee is never alone. Follow-ing on from that we have var-ious programs that enable our employees to keep learning and they see a succession plan. For example someone might be interested in becom-ing a beverage manager, so we offer on the job training through our “MOve Up” classes. If someone wants to become a supervisor, we teach them the necessary skills to make that transition. That program goes all the way up to an MBA program we have for senior leaders. To be the employer of choice, that’s a key way of attracting people.

How does the Mandarin Ori-ental, Atlanta represent At-lanta?

We like to represent our-selves with a sense of place so we are certain to incorporate Southern touches throughout the hotel, such as peach roses and hydrangeas in the garden or sweet tea upon arrival. We have partnered with the Bill Lowe Art Gallery and he pro-vides us with rotating art for our lobby and public spaces from local artists. We want a connection with the commu-nity.

What makes SCAD a unique university for creative ca-reers?

SCAD’s curriculum is set up to create a positive learning environment but also with a mindset towards how students are going to apply that learning in a professional ca-reer after gradua-tion. We are al-ways thinking about the future of our students. For example we re-cently did a sur-vey and found that 97% of our students had found employ-ment or were doing a post-graduate course after finish-ing their studies with SCAD. Considering that figure is 48% nationwide, it’s a real testa-ment to our focus and prepa-ratory skills.

SCAD: Where Art Meets IndustryJohn Paul Rowan, VP of Strategy and Innovation, SCAD

Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) was established in in 1978 by Richard G. Rowan, Paula Wallace, May

L. Poetter and Paul E. Poetter to provide college degree programs in southeast Georgia and to create a specialized

professional art college to attract students from the US and abroad.

What are some of the way SCAD links students and in-dustry?

Our career services office is different from most universi-ties because we flip it around.

Traditionally the student would go to the office and ask for advice. But around 3 years ago we turned that around and gave our career of-fice a list of stu-dent names and said these are the students you are

required to work with, in ef-fect making it the job of the university to reach out to the students. So we say to the stu-dent, where do you want to work and how can I – as the university – help you achieve that goal? We do everything from help students build their

36 YearsIn 36 years SCAD has

grown to become a global university with institutions in Georgia, France and Hong Kong

97%After finishing their

studies with SCAD, 97% of our students have

found employment or are doing a post grad course

175The number of

companies that visited SCAD as part of its

career services program in 2014

“Companies

tend to come

to us with

specific design

projects.”

resume and identify opportu-nities. So we feel our approach is much more proactive. We find out what companies the students want to work for and we invite those recruiters onto campus and give the students that chance to meet with them directly.

What innovative programs are currently happening at SCAD?

We have many but for exam-ple at the moment we are do-ing interesting projects on augmented reality with Hewl-ett Packard. Our goal is to make the first Live City in the world. On credit cards there is a watermark that you can’t see but as you scan over with a de-vice, it creates a new experi-ence and we are experiment-ing with that technology. There are various points around the city, such as build-ings and signs, and when you scan them with a device, they become alive. We have been working on that for a few years now and are really excit-ed about it. We also work with Disney extensively on new de-signs for their parks. We have a themed Entertainment De-sign degree that we designed with Disney and it gives our students direct access to the Imagineering side of Disney. We have other ongoing proj-ects with Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble and Chick-fil-A to name a few. We recently took over the 14th Street Playhouse in Atlanta and it is now named SCAD Show. We have full pro-duction offices there provid-ing pre-production support to line producers and our stu-dents can intern there.