James_March-April_2026_web - Flipbook - Page 36
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DAVID THOMAS
CAROL TOMÉ
PRESIDENT, MOREHOUSE COLLEGE
CEO, UPS
The 12th president at one of the
nation’s most prominent HBCUs,
Thomas immediately made fundraising a priority when he began
his tenure in 2018, embarking on a capital
campaign that has generated nearly $330 million so far— the most in school history. He’s
also helped launch the school’s first online
degree programs and cemented its position
as a center of intellectual discourse and social
engagement.
This former Home Depot executive became UPS’ 12th CEO in
2019, bringing a background in
finance to the helm of the Atlanta-based shipping giant. Twice named to the
Forbes list of ‘The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women,’ Tomé’s civic endeavors have
included board seats for the Grady Memorial
Hospital Corporation and the Buckhead Coalition, among others.
ARMAND VARI
LEE THOMAS
PARTNER, JACOBY DEVELOPMENT
DEPUTY COMMISSIONER, GEORGIA FILM,
MUSIC & DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT
This veteran developer has powered a four-decade career spanning
iconic projects such as Atlantic
Station, the Ford Aerotropolis redevelopment and the Porsche North American
headquarters. Vari is also driving the development of Celebration Village senior living
communities across metro Atlanta. He’s also
a point person for Georgia to World Rugby,
helping shape Atlanta’s bid for the 2031 Rugby World Cup.
Georgia currently is second for
sound stage space in the U.S. and
remains among the top filming
locations in the world, a far cry
from where it was when Thomas began her
career in the Georgia Film and Videotape office in 1996. Her latest mission is to encourage visual effects companies to set up shop in
the Peach State, ensuring that films aren’t
just shot here, but produced here as well.
MICHAEL THURMOND
DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNOR
This author and attorney is a former state legislator, Georgia labor
commissioner and most recently
DeKalb County CEO. He brings that
wealth of experience to the 2026 gubernatorial race, where he is among the frontrunners
in a crowded Democratic primary slated for
this May.
ERIC TOLER
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, GEORGIA CYBER CENTER
Nestled between Fort Gordon’s U.S.
Army Cyber Center of Excellence
and Augusta’s thriving cybersecurity industry that has sprung up
around it, Augusta University’s Georgia Cyber
Center serves as a vital cog in the machine by
preparing the state’s cyber-workforce of the
future. A retired U.S. Army colonel and former commander of NSA Georgia, Toler is an
ideal fit to bring together that weave of government, academia and private industry.
HUGH “TRIP” TOLLISON
PRESIDENT & CEO, SAVANNAH ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY
With his fingerprints on nearly
every major economic development project in southeast Georgia
over the past decade, the
hard-working Tollison brings a wealth of experience and connections to Savannah’s business community, one of the fastest growing
in the U.S.
JESSICA WALDEN
PRESIDENT & CEO, GREATER MACON CHAMBER
OF COMMERCE
The Walden name is well-known in
Macon’s music community— her
uncle founded Capricorn Records
and her father managed Lynyrd
Skynyrd. But Jessica has made a name for
herself in the Middle Georgia business community, spearheading an ambitious Forward
Macon Plan that has created some 3,100 jobs
and brought in nearly $56 million in investment to the region.
PAULA WALLACE
PRESIDENT, SAVANNAH COLLEGE OF ART
AND DESIGN
SCAD has come a long way since
Wallace helped found it in 1978,
when the tiny art school had only
seven faculty members and 71 students. Today it enrolls more than 18,000 students and is recognized as one of the premier
art and design schools in the world. Last year
Wallace was a recipient of the Presidential
Citizens Medal, the second-highest civilian
award in the U.S., and before that became the
first woman to be named a Georgia Trustee
by the Georgia Historical Society.
DAVE WILLS
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ASSOCIATED COUNTY
COMMISSIONERS OF GEORGIA
As the lead advocate for all 159 of
ACCG’s member counties Wills
stays very busy under the Gold
Dome representing the needs of
county governments large and small,
totaling over 80,000 employees statewide. In
recent years he has made broadband access
and property tax formulas key legislative
priorities.
PAT WILSON
COMMISSIONER, GEORGIA DEPARTMENT
OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Since Wilson became commissioner of GDEcD in 2016, the state
has never relinquished its title as
the No. 1 state in the nation to do
business, propelled by its award-winning
economic development team. James’ 2022
“Georgian of the Year” got his start in politics as a staffer for former U.S. Sen. Paul
Coverdell and later for then-U.S. Rep. (and
later governor) Nathan Deal.
CHRIS WOMACK
CHAIRMAN, PRESIDENT & CEO, SOUTHERN COMPANY
The Alabama-born Womack started his career on Capitol Hill as a
congressional aide before joining
Southern Company in 1988. He
rose the ranks to become CEO of its largest
subsidiary, Georgia Power, before taking the
big chair at Southern Co. in 2023. One of the
nation’s largest utilities, Southern serves
more than 9 million gas and electric utility
customers across six Southern states and has
more than 28,000 employees.
CAL WRAY
PRESIDENT, AUGUSTA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
AUTHORITY
Wray joined AEDA in 2017, where
he heads up an organization that
serves as the point of contact for
economic development projects in
the booming Augusta-Richmond County
region. In recent years that’s meant a focus
on military-related companies to work with
Fort Gordon’s Cyber Command Headquarters, which have ignited Augusta’s cybersecurity industry.
ANDREW YOUNG
FORMER ATLANTA MAYOR, FORMER U.N.
AMBASSADOR
The civil rights legend has been
out of public office for more than
three decades, but the one-time
Georgia congressman, former ambassador to the United Nations under President Jimmy Carter and two-term mayor of
Atlanta remains very active as a Democratic
Party elder statesman as well as a prominent
business booster. He is also chairman of the
Andrew J. Young Foundation which is involved in multiple activities ranging from
feeding the hungry to addessing humanitarian crises.
