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Friday May 27: Vijay Balasubramaniyan of Pindrop Security (winner of the 2011 GRA/TAG Business Launch Competition) and Ian Campbell, ViscidTech (finalist of the same competition) described these exciting new companies.

V IJAY BALASUBRAMANIYAN

Vijay A. Balasubramaniyan is the Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer at Atlanta-based Pindrop
Security. The technology behind Pindrop Security is largely based on his PhD work at the Georgia Tech
Information Security Center. He has published his research at leading security conferences and holds
patents on VoIP security and scalability.
He is a recipient of the Microsoft Trustworthy Scholar award for Information Assurance. Prior to joining
Pindrop Security, Vijay held various positions at several of the Fortune 500 telecommunication and
technology industry giants including Siemens, IBM and Google. Vijay has master’s degree in Information
Security from the Georgia Institute of Technology and recently defended his PhD in Computer Science
from the Georgia Institute of Technology

http://www.pindropsecurity.com/

IAN CAMPBELL

Ian Campbell is a technologist and product developer with nearly a decade of experience bringing consumer and professional products to market for clients around the world. Prior to founding ViscidTech, Ian worked as a management consultant with Value Prism in Atlanta, GA and Booz Allen Hamilton in Washington, DC. Ian holds an MBA and Masters of Science in Aerospace Engineering from Georgia Tech.

http://www.viscidtech.com/

 

It was Dale Carnegie Training Day (ATL Office) on May 27th. Listen as Wendy Johnson (Pres.) and Nancy Glube (VP) discuss the Generation.NEXT program. Student Brian Chenard and Mom (Becca) discuss their experiences with this course.

WENDY JOHNSON

As President and Principal of Dale Carnegie of Georgia, Wendy Johnson is responsible for managing the sales, administration and delivery of the full range of products and consulting services offered by the Company. These services include customized professional development training programs delivered to Georgia firms, such as Genuine Parts, KPMG, BMW, Centers for Disease Control, Kroger, and a host of other companies ranging in size from 25 to more than 350,000 employees. On an annual basis, Ms. Johnson is responsible for the continued professional growth of more than 3,500 workers in Georgia.
Prior to her current position at Dale Carnegie, Ms. Johnson represented Carreker Corporation, a consulting firm specializing in the financial industry. As the Global Sales Manager for the Risk Management Group, she facilitated sales of all Risk Management Consulting and Software Products worldwide. In the her seven years with Carreker, Ms. Johnson provided Risk Management solutions to a client base including 60 of the top 100 banks in the United States, such as Chase, Citibank and Bank of America. Internationally, she opened the markets in England, Ireland, Scotland, South Africa and Australia.
Prior to her time at Carreker, Ms. Johnson worked in the financial and medical industries for over fifteen years, assuming several management and consulting positions along the way.
Educated at the University of California, Ms Johnson is a golfer, tennis player and pianist. Ms. Johnson has one daughter, Alexandra, who spent two years at Texas A&M University, and is now a student at Kennesaw State University. Ms. Johnson serves on the Advisory Board of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, the Advisory Board of Long Grove Blockstock, LLC and the Board of the Women’s Commerce Club.

NANCY GLUBE

Nancy Glube has a 20+ year career in Human Resources most recently from Cingular Wireless (ATT) Mobility. Nancy’s background includes leadership HR positions in a variety of industries- wireless communications, healthcare, international shipping and transportation, consumer goods manufacturing. She has the versatility to excel in small, medium and large organizations. She also has experience as a HR consultant.
Nancy’s focus has been translating HR strategy into winning business results. Functional areas of strength include: leadership development, talent assessment, mentoring, employee engagement and retention. She has strong experience delivery HR services to large and diversified client bases. Also she has an excellent track record developing high performing HR teams.
Nancy is a speaker at previous SHRM conferences, and she has also been a member of several SHRM Special Expertise Panels. Nancy is also actively taking interviews and fielding media questions for SHRM.
One of Nancy’s areas of specialization includes the grooming and development of HR practitioners. A program she developed at ATT has been adopted company wide. She presented at the 2008 national convention on the topic of “Spa Treatment For Your HR Career” today!!
Nancy holds both Bachelors and Masters degrees from Binghamton University. Nancy graduated from a study abroad program in Salamanca, Spain and has knowledge of Spanish. Nancy’s first career was in education where she taught in secondary schools and adults

http://atlanta.dalecarnegie.com/

DATES OF FUTURE GENERATION.NEXT CLASSES FOR ATL:  JUNE 15-17  and again on JULY 20-22

No Accelerator Avenue shows Friday May 20th—-We're helping our colleagues conduct a live broadcast from the Entrepreneur Advisors' Symposium that day.

Entrepreneur Advisors believes that education and commerce are core strategies that will elevate our members to set market standards and to own and dominate as a category leader. We improve the business lives of our members by providing valuable ideas and solutions that positively affect their results. We serve our members by providing a long-term, trusting relationship, putting their interests first.
Our Services Include
Entrepreneur Education
Business Management and Advisory
Wealth Leadership
Entrepreneur Advisors Deliverables
Declare Leadership in Your Market and Category
Brand Ownership
Set and Demonstrate the Standards and Best Practices in Your Market and Category
Ensure High Performance Leaders in Your Business
Innovate and Dictate in Your Market and Category

Michael Horten, HortenCC, joined us on the Avenue Friday, May 6th, to discuss his firm's unique approach toward providing legal services to companies. Also joining us was Gareth Young, Abraxas Business Services, Inc., specialists in business brokerage and mergers & acquisitions for small and middle market companies.

Mr. Michael Horten:

Michael Horten is a US and European educated lawyer with over 35 years’ experience as a practicing
attorney. Mr. Horten began his legal career with Sullivan & Cromwell in New York and Paris. He then
spent 25 years with King & Spalding in Atlanta. At the end of 1999, he retired from the King &
Spalding partnership to launch Horten CC, a virtual law firm that focuses on the needs of small to
medium size companies, with particular emphasis on entrepreneurial growth companies.
Horten CC employs a non-traditional practice model that is based on two key philosophical
underpinnings: First, Mr. Horten founded the firm on the premise that top-rate legal services do not
have to be bundled with the “marble” and “mahogany” environment that typically is associated with
those services. The firm has no central offices, no paper files and it uses the latest technology to
create efficiencies. As a result, the firm’s fees are considerably lower, generally 40-50% less, than
those charged by firms of comparable ability and quality. Second, Horten CC bills its clients for the
value delivered and not for the time spent by the attorney. The firm does not keep track of every “six
minutes,” as is the norm in most law firms. The firm believes that its clients purchase its lawyers’
skill, not their time. The firm’s work is typically performed for a fixed fee.
Mr. Horten’s experience covers a wide variety of corporate, commercial, technology and financial
transactions, including domestic and international mergers, acquisitions, securities offerings, joint
ventures and strategic alliances. At King & Spalding, most of his clients were large public companies
like Coca-Cola, GE Capital, UPS, Georgia-Pacific, BellSouth, and Scientific-Atlanta. Most of his present
clients are private companies, primarily emerging growth companies.
Mr. Horten brings a unique perspective to early-stage financings. In addition to his extensive legal
work in this area, representing both investors and companies seeking capital, Mr. Horten has been an
active angel investor for the last 15 years and he is a member of several angel groups (including a
board member of the Atlanta Technology Angels) as well as the Angel Capital Association, the industry
trade organization for all US angel groups.
Mr. Horten has written numerous professional papers and articles and is a frequent speaker on
financial and legal issues. His publications include the following books: Joint Ventures in den USA:
Wirtschaftliche, Rechtliche and Steuerliche Aspekte (1996, Verlag C.H. Beck, Munich) (co-author with
Karl-Erbo Graf von Kageneck); Les Joint Ventures Franco-Americaines (1994, Larcier, Brussels, and
Forum Europeen de la Communication, Paris) (co-author with Philippe Sarrailhe); and Japanese-US
Joint Ventures (1992, Shogakusha, Tokyo).
Mr. Horten is actively involved in a number of business and civic organizations, including Association
for Corporate Growth, Angel Capital Association, Atlanta Technology Angels, Atlanta Venture Forum,
and Technology Association of Georgia.
Mr. Horten did his undergraduate studies at Washington State University. He received his law degree
from the University of Copenhagen in 1970 and his graduate law degree from Columbia University in
1971. In 1974, he completed the course work for a doctorate in EU law at the University of Paris.
A native of Copenhagen, Denmark, Mr. Horten speaks (at varying levels of fluency) Danish, French,
German, Norwegian and Swedish.

http://www.hortencc.com/

Mr. Gareth Young:

Gareth Young has extensive experience in business and corporate development, finance, and the nuts and bolts of running a small business.
In 2006, Mr. Young founded finanSight LLC, a professional services providing financial and operational services to start-ups and small businesses, including services such as training, organizational consulting, and assistance with state tax credits.

Prior to his experience with finanSight, Mr. Young was Executive Director of Corporate Development for BellSouth Corporation, a role in which he served in Atlanta for over ten years. In that position, he was responsible for developing and executing business expansion strategies for BellSouth through mergers and acquisitions, partnerships, and other transactions. Working closely with BellSouth business units, Mr. Young identified strategic needs and alternative courses of action, and he helped business-unit executives establish priorities and execute on them in efficient, effective ways. Where alliances, acquisitions, or divestitures were required, he selected appropriate targeted candidates; staffed and led teams to negotiate, execute and close transactions that realized immediate improvement in operational and financial performance; and laid the foundation for financially responsible, sustainable growth. He previously worked in a BellSouth special-projects finance group, where he designed, staffed, and managed due diligence for acquisition and divestiture candidates; assisted with transaction strategy; and built operations models.

Mr. Young began his career at Deloitte, where he spent seven years serving diverse clients in industries including banking, retail, paper and printing, and light engineering. Other Deloitte duties included serving as a facilitator in Deloittes United Kingdom national training group before becoming regional training director in the United States. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant in the UK and worked as an audit manager in the UK and the US. He has received a number of awards, including the Elijah Watt Sells Award for the C.P.A. exam.

A graduate of Jesus College, Oxford, in the UK, with an M.A. in mathematics, Mr. Young is married and lives in Atlanta with his wife and two teenage children. His is also an author, and his first novel was published in 2009.

 http://abraxas.biz

It was HUB DAY on the Ave, Friday, May 6th. What's the HUB? A "a dynamic, collision rich work and meeting space"–The Hub's Michelle Morgan, and Members Ross Rankin(Trip Lingo), & Lewis Perkins (New House Consulting) described The Hub and their companies.

During the day, the Hub is a dynamic, collision rich work and meeting space designed by its members for productivity and value exchange.  At night, Hub Atlanta transforms into an event platform for member-driven collaborations, lectures, screenings, innovation labs, and some of the most imaginative and compelling minds from around the world.

http://atlanta.the-hub.net/public/

On the Avenue Friday, April 29: Rich Fabritius, Managing Director–Atlanta, Brunner Marketing.

Brunner is a $200 million independent advertising agency with 200 employees and offices in Pittsburgh, Atlanta, and Washington, D.C. The agency provides a broad range of services in research and planning, branding, advertising, digital marketing, direct/one-to-one marketing, public relations, promotion, and design services to clients, such as Cub Cadet, CONSOL Energy, The Dow Chemical Company, GlaxoSmithKline, GNC, Philips Respironics, and Zippo. In addition to being a Top 100 U.S. ad agency, Brunner ranks among the Top 75 digital marketing firms in the country.

Rich Fabritius–Atlanta Managing Director
Rich has developed a reputation as a team player who is well respected by his clients and colleagues for his ability to apply market research findings to establishing effective strategies that lead to truly integrated marketing plans. Rich also has worked with clients ranging from The Dow Chemical Company to Goody Hair Care to Eaton Corporation, and beyond.

http://brunnerworks.com

Attorneys Lynn Scott and Sherman Cohen of Arnall Golden Gregory, LLP appeared on the Avenue Friday, April 22.

Lynn Scott is a partner in the firm’s Corporate Practice Group. She concentrates her practice in corporate and securities law, with an emphasis on emerging growth companies in the technology and pharmaceutical and biotechnology fields; public and private equity offerings; mergers and acquisitions; corporate governance issues; and licensing, joint development and strategic alliance transactions.

Ms. Scott’s recent experience includes representing:

Start-up and early stage technology, telecommunications and biotechnology companies in their formation, structuring, financing and general corporate matters.
Companies in connection with license, strategic alliance, sales, supply, development and services agreements.
Growth companies in their corporate finance and general corporate matters.
Institutional and corporate venture capital funds in their investment activities.
Companies in mergers, acquisitions and divestitures.
Ms. Scott’s recent experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry includes representing venture capital investors in investments in early stage pharmaceutical and biotech companies and representing early stage pharmaceutical and biotech companies in licensing, development, financing and merger and acquisition transactions.

Awards and Recognitions
Ms. Scott was named one of Nightingale’s Outstanding Healthcare Transaction Lawyers for 2008. She has been included in The Best Lawyers in America for corporate law, venture capital law and private equity and leveraged buy-out law and named a Georgia Super Lawyer by Atlanta magazine.

Professional Activities
State Bar of Georgia – Advisor to Women and Minorities in the Profession Committee
Atlanta Bar Association – Past Vice Chair of Business and Finance Section
American Bar Association – Business Law Section and committees on Venture Capital, Private Equity and M&A
Education
J.D., magna cum laude, Mercer University,
– Research Editor, Mercer Law Review
– Member, Brainard Currie Honor Society
– Member, Phi Kappa Phi
B.S., University of Georgia
Admitted to Practice
Georgia, 1988
Additional Information
Publications
Ms. Scott has co-authored and authored numerous articles on corporate and securities law topics, including an article regarding board composition published in American Venture magazine.

Speeches
She is a frequent speaker at national and local seminars focusing on corporate and securities laws, private equity transactions and technology issues topics. She has chaired Thompson West Legalworks Southeastern Private Equity Summit and co-chaired its Southeastern M&A Forum. She has participated in webcasts on legal topics and topics related to the advancement and retention of women in the legal profession. She has chaired Practicing Law Institute’s “Doing Deals” seminars and various other legal and financial services seminars.

Mr. Cohen is Chair of the firm’s Corporate Practice Group. He concentrates on transactional matters including public and private company mergers and acquisitions, going private transactions, and equity and debt financings. Mr. Cohen has lectured on venture capital financing and employment and trade secret issues. In 2004, 2005 and 2006 he was named a “Georgia Super Lawyer” by Atlanta Magazine and in 2003, 2007and 2008 he was named one of Georgia’s “Legal Elite” by Georgia Trend Magazine. Clients of Mr. Cohen include publicly held and private companies in the technology, healthcare, distribution and retail industries. Mr. Cohen also represents groups of early-stage “angel” investors in their fundraising activities, venture capital funds and companies seeking venture capital funding.

Professional Activities
Board of Directors, American-Israel Chamber of Commerce, Southeast Region
Delegate, Governor Sonny Perdue’s Technology and Trade Mission to Israel, November 2005
Board of Advisors, Atlanta Legal Aid Society
Atlanta Venture Forum
Technology Association of Georgia
State Bar of Georgia, Uniform Commercial Code Committee
Education
J.D., Columbia University School of Law, 1984
– Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar
B.S., Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, 1981, Accounting and Finance
– Cum Laude  
Admitted to Practice
State of Georgia, 1984
Representative Transactions
Represented joint venture of non-profit Blue Cross/Blue Shield companies in $9.5 million investment in informatics company that closed on October 16, 2008.
Represented specialty finance company in closing $200 million warehouse financing facility from Goldman Sachs Credit Partners L.P.
Represented public life sciences company in closing $15 million secured financing facility from GE Capital Corporation.
Represented German company in acquisition of an interest in a Georgia textile company.

http://www.agg.com/Contents/Home.aspx

  
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

 

 
 
 

 

 

Reid Hutchinson, Founder and President of NRG SVRS appeared on Friday 4/15, joined by Elyse Hammett and Susan Frost of EOS.

Reid Hutchinson is the President and Founder of NRG SVRS “Energy Savers,” an Atlanta based whole house, turn-key, Home Energy Savings Company.

Founded in 2007, the company’s realistic goal is to cut home energy costs in HALF! Reid says “Zone/Decentralize using Mini-Splits” is the most cost effective way homeowners can make a significant reduction in energy costs and energy consumption. Reid has launched and successfully grown NRG SVRS during a difficult economic time period when other companies are trying to survive. He believes the launch of NRG SVRS went smoothly due to preparation during the Research and Development stage of his business. He says “The combination of saving money, saving energy, and helping homeowners is the reason why people want our service.”

Born and raised in Boulder, Colorado, Reid was an entrepreneur at the age of 7. His first business was “Cheap Choppers,” a lawn mowing service company. Realizing the cyclicality of the spring/summer business, he would shovel snow in the fall/winter. He later expanded his offerings by hand washing cars. By the time he graduated from high school, his first business had over 30 weekly clients year round! Reid prides himself on running a lean operation and keeping his employees motivated and tied to performance. Competitive by nature, he was the captain of the football and baseball team in high school, and played college football and rugby. Today he is still active, and plays flag football and softball at the Brookhaven Boys and Girls Club. His Boulder, CO roots played a significant role in the development of the energy savings company, NRG SVRS.

Reid graduated with a business degree from the Calloway School of Business from Wake Forest University with an emphasis in Entrepreneurial Strategy. Reid believes it is the entrepreneurial spirit that drives him as a business owner and entrepreneur. After graduating in 2002, Reid moved to Atlanta to work for SunTrust Bank, where he acquired the entrepreneurial business fundamentals he utilizes today. He is currently a member of 6 business partnerships at various stages and industries, and has identified 8 additional business ventures he would like to pursue. He considers himself a ”get it done” businessman, where rolling up the sleeves and setting an example with his associates at NRG SVRS is a daily occurrence.

http://nrgsvrs.com/

Elyse Hammett, APR
Vice President, Public Relations, EOS

Intrinsically passionate about the clients she serves and the relationships she builds on their behalf, Elyse’s zeal to tell their story is immediately obvious to those who partner with her.   Leveraging 20 years of public relations and marketing communications experience, she has served Fortune 500 firms including BellSouth, Centex, Emory Healthcare, HD Supply and Troutman Sanders.  Elyse’s positive roll-up-your-sleeves attitude has won both accolades from C-level executives to awards from the American Hospital Marketing Association, Public Relations Society of America, Computerworld, CIO Magazine and the National Telecom Marketing Association.  

A frequent guest lecturer at her alma mater, Emory University, Elyse also serves on the board of the Public Relations Society of America where she co-chairs the association’s APR training program, coaching more than 60 candidates since 2007 through the universal accreditation process.  An active community member, Elyse volunteers for the Woodward Academy Parents’ Club, the Atlanta Ballet, the Atlanta Interfaith Prayer Breakfast and Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church.

Susan Frost, EOS

Susan Frost has longed to run a company for years. She always knew that one day she would.  So in her years of working for ad agencies, she kept mental notes of things she would do, and especially things she wouldn’t do. 

Susan is endowed with an excellent mind. She is also a meticulous administrator, has a strong work ethic, enjoys excellent interpersonal relationships and is an insightful strategic thinker.  Clients like her calm approach to her work and theirs.

At EOS, Susan is the strategic planner and account director.  She is also the agency’s Chief Operating Officer. In her past, she has worked for a Dutch real estate developer in sales, marketing and marketing research, worked with several ad agencies and eventually went to work for Austin Kelley Advertising where she met Margaret.

Susan is a native of Alabama, a graduate of the Goizueta School of Business at Emory University, and is married with one daughter.

http://www.eosmarketing.com/

Licensing Brands, Inc. execs Pete Canalichio and Priyanka Khare were on The Avenue Friday April 15th, joined by Lisa Calhoun and Holly Frew of Write2Market.

Pete Canalichio

FOUNDER, Licensing Brands, Inc.: Founded in 2009.  Executed Coca-Cola’s first ever Olympic retail program in Vancouver using products made with RPET (plastic bottles) and other recycled content. Supported Coke Shanghai Expo program
GENERAL MANAGER, CardScan ($20 million global technology business unit of Newell Rubbermaid): Delivered both quick wins and strategic long-term growth while rejuvenating the organizational culture
DIRECTOR, GLOBAL LICENSING, Newell Rubbermaid: More than doubled wholesale sales to $70 million, royalty revenues to $5.6 million in 2 years
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR, Tula Communications: Elevated Tula and key client Samsung into world-class ranks in Olympic marketing
LICENSING EXECUTIVE, Coca-Cola: Directed sponsorship activities in conjunction with 3 Olympic Games and negotiated high-profile sports sponsorships (MLB, NHL, NASCAR, World Cup)
TREASURY OPERATIONS MANAGER–LONDON, Coca-Cola: Recruited into the global finance unit and rose quickly to managing $32 billion in transactions yearly
US NAVY: Award-winning Naval aviator and instructor pilot

Priyanka Khare


MARKETING MANAGER, Licensing Brands, Inc.:  Executed Coca-Cola’s Olympic retail program in Vancouver, supported Coke Shanghai Expo program and licensing programs for several other regional brands,  manufacturers and artists
SALES & MARKETING SUMMER ASSOCIATE, Kimberly-Clark Corporation: Developed and executed a $70MM product repositioning strategy as part of the Global Strategic Marketing group.
SECTION MANAGER MERCHANDISING, East West, Inc.: Managed key client accounts including new customers; built client and vendor relationships
ASSISTANT MANAGER MERCHANDISING, East West, Inc.: Led the business development efforts for the company
MERCHANDISER, East West, Inc.: Sourced apparel worth $10 million for a North American licensee

http://www.brandlicensingexpert.com/

Lisa Calhoun, MBA – CEO & Founder, Write2Market
Driven by a vision of a better marketing agency, Lisa has developed Write2Market into a global authority on creating recognizable industry leadership. She’s proud to have helped dozens of companies break their first Wall Street Journal article and reap the rewards of well deserved recognition.
Relied on by top performing CEOs as their publicity council, Lisa is no stranger to entrepreneurship. She was raised in her family’s printing business and later pursued a degree in professional writing from Baylor University on National Merit Scholarship–while using her dorm fax machine to run a small ad agency. She graduated summa cum laude in 1994 and later worked in financial services marketing with BBDO and Ogilvy Worldwide in Manhattan.
After 8 years running fast-growth sponsorships, national events and trade journals in the financial services space, Lisa received her MBA from University of Texas with honors in 2003, the same year she launched Write2Market. The firm has been recognized by Wall Street Journal, Inc., Entrepreneur, and USA Today for its innovative approach to publicity. Lisa is also a frequent guest columnist, speaker and author, appearing at local business conferences as well as national speaking opportunities on a regular basis.
She is incoming president of the Atlanta Chapterof Entrepreneur’s Organization, a global network of 7,000 entrepreneurs in 38 countries.
 

 

 Holly Frew, Director of Public Relations, Write2Market

Holly Frew broke the Haiti earthquake story to CNN and is well known to technology and healthcare reporters globally. A frequent contributor to Huffington Post, Holly is a social media hound, member of PRSA, and leads teams that deliver dynamic and ongoing results in the new era of multi-media public relations. She’s  particularly proud of creating relationships that network her clients into major media, and you can find stories she’d developed every day in major business news.

http://www.write2market.com/

Craig Lesser, Managing Partner of the Pendleton Consulting Group, and Pat Ryan, District Manager with Insperity, appeared on April 8.

Craig Lesser is the Managing Partner of the Pendleton Consulting Group.

Prior to joining The Pendleton Consulting Group, Craig Lesser served as the Managing Director and Head of International Public Affairs for McKenna Long & Aldridge, a law firm based in Atlanta. His primary focus was on expanding the firm’s presence abroad and interfacing with international businesses operating in the United States.

Until 2007, Craig served as Commissioner of Economic Development for the State of Georgia where he was the Chief Marketing Officer responsible for investment, trade and tourism. Governor Sonny Perdue appointed him to this post in 2004. In this role, he led efforts to recruit new business to Georgia from around the world. Craig’s responsibilities also included oversight of the state’s small business and entrepreneur programs, efforts to grow existing business as well as marketing Georgia as an ideal destination for filmmakers, the music industry, multi-media companies and tourists. While serving as Commissioner, there were almost 500 new investment and expansion announcements, totaling $8 billion and creating more than 40,000 new jobs. Craig also oversaw the expansion of Georgia’s international presence resulting in the state’s official presence in eleven countries.

Before his gubernatorial appointment, Craig served as Vice President of Government and Regulatory Affairs for Georgia Power Company; President and CEO of Mirant New York; and Senior Vice President of External Affairs for Mirant Americas. He was also a partner in a public affairs consulting firm.

Craig’s past experience also includes serving, while commissioner, as president of Hemisphere Inc., a public-private partnership created to attract the Free Trade Areas of the Americas Secretariat. During his tenure, five Latin American nations opened consulates in Atlanta and many new business relationships were forged between Western Hemisphere nations and Georgia.

He is Chairman of the Board of the World Trade Center of Atlanta, Chairman of the Board of the World Chamber of Commerce, Chairman of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce International Committee, Trustee of CIFAL, an Atlanta based initiative under the direction of the United Nations and Secretary of the Georgia China Alliance. He formerly served as Chairman of the Vienna International Exchange and was on Emory University’s Board of Visitors.

He has been recognized by Georgia Trend, James Magazine and the Atlanta Business Chronicle as one of Georgia’s most influential people and has received awards from organizations such as the Georgia Indo American Chamber of Commerce and Global Atlanta for his leadership in international initiatives.

Craig received his B.A. from the State University of New York College at Oneonta and is a graduate of the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School, Leadership Georgia and the Regional Leadership Institute. He is Chairman of the Board of the World Trade Center of Atlanta, Chairman of the Board of the World Chamber of Commerce, Chairman of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce International Committee, Trustee of CIFAL, an Atlanta based initiative under the direction of the United Nations and Secretary of the Georgia China Alliance. He formerly served as Chairman of the Vienna International Exchange and was on Emory University’s Board of Visitors. He has also been named to the Board of Directors for Georgia Public Broadcasting

http://www.pendletonatlanta.com/

Pat Ryan is district sales manager in Atlanta for Insperity (NYSE: NSP), a trusted advisor to America’s best businesses for more than 25 years. Insperity provides an array of human resources and business solutions designed to help improve business performance. Its offerings include a comprehensive Workforce Optimization solution that delivers administrative relief, better benefits, reduced liabilities and a systematic way to improve productivity. Additional services include MidMarket Solutions, Performance Management, Expense Management, Time and Attendance, Organizational Planning, Employment Screening, Recruiting Services, Retirement Services, Business Insurance and Technology Services. Insperity business performance solutions support more than 100,000 businesses with more than 2 million employees. The company posted 2010 revenue of more than $1.7 billion and operates in 58 offices, including Atlanta, throughout the United States.

Ryan joined Insperity in 2007 and has more than 20 years of experience in sales. He currently oversees sales and marketing operations for Insperity in the Atlanta area, ensuring that client needs are met in a timely manner.

Ryan holds a bachelor’s degree in business and marketing from County College of Morris in Randolph, N.J.

http://www.insperity.com/