James MagazineJames_July-August_2026_web - Flipbook - Page 38
shapes and sizes,” he envisions.
“They will be seeking opportunities
to collaborate on challenges large
and small that impact Georgia and
beyond. And there’s a common
thread among our future tenants.
They are expected to be innovators
in medicine, agriculture, the environment and the industries that
converge around and emerge from
those fields.”
IMPORTANT PARTNERSHIPS
During his Gwinnett Chamber
remarks, Ailstock stressed that
the Foundation has been striving
to form partnerships across the
University System of Georgia
and the state’s Technical College
System, as well as with the state’s
historically black colleges and
universities and other private colleges and universities. Rowen also
established an innovative Living
Lab Platform, creating real estate
and programmatic-driven partnerships that include the University of
38
JAMES JULY/AU G U ST 2 02 6
KEY ROWEN PARTNERS: NICK MASINO (PRESIDENT & CEO OF THE GWINNETT CHAMBER), KEVIN
CARMICHAEL (SVP OF PARTNERSHIP GWINNETT), CHAIRWOMAN NICOLE HENDRICKSON (GWINNETT
COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS), NICOLAS DEBRUYNE (SENIOR DIRECTOR, HEAD OF U.S.
ENGINEERING FOR UCB), MASON AILSTOCK (PRESIDENT & CEO OF THE ROWEN FOUNDATION)
Georgia, Emory University, Georgia Gwinnett College, Gwinnett
Technical College and a variety of
industry partners.
“These projects,” Ailstock says,
“represent a diverse array of institutional and industry strengths
that center around Rowen’s three
programmatic drivers: agriculture,
medicine and the environment.
Through their collective work, the
Foundation is serving as a convener of students and faculty around
critical topics such as energy,
sustainability and artificial intelligence.” The lab, he says “is just the
beginning of how Rowen envisions
serving as a neutral convener
for higher education institutions
across the state and a comprehensive point of connection for diverse
industries attracted to Georgia’s
strong business climate, diverse
workforce population and exceptional research and innovation
capabilities.”
