Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Longtime Atlanta business leader A.D. Frazier, the chief operating officer of Atlanta’s Olympic organization and the former president of Invesco US, died Monday, friends of the executive told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was 80. Billy Payne was the visionary of Atlanta’s Olympic bid while Mayor Andrew Young provided the gravitas that helped land The Games. Frazier was the man who made sure it got done. As Payne’s right hand at the top of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games, Frazier helped to deliver a world-class spectacle that also left the city with no debt. “As I look at all the talented people that I’ve known in my life, I have known very few who had the same combination of intellect and intensity,” Payne said of his longtime friend and colleague. Read more about his life: https://lnkd.in/enfuexri

Gov. Brian Kemp at a recent #workforce #summit touted Georgia’s streak of large manufacturing announcements, adding that the state’s next challenge is preparing a workforce to fill the thousands of tech-focused jobs on the horizon. The second-term Republican governor told a packed ballroom at the Georgia World Congress Center that Georgia was named the top state for business for an 11th consecutive year by Area Development Magazine. Kemp also highlighted how most of the past year’s corporate recruitment — about 83% — landed outside of the 10-county Atlanta area. “Right now, there are roughly three job openings in our state for every person looking for one,” Kemp said. “And we know there are significant workforce gaps in critical areas like health care and logistics.” Read more: https://lnkd.in/eHmBZzFe

A group of high-ranking Fulton County leaders are planning a trade mission to India, where they'll meet with business owners and tell them why the county is a good place to set up shop. Fulton County Commission Chair?Robb Pitts,?along with?Kwanza Hall, the new chair of the Development Authority of Fulton County, and officials from the cities of South Fulton, College Park, East Point, Union City, and Fairburn, will travel across multiple cities in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu from Oct. 18 to Oct. 22. A few businesses from the southern part of the county will also be joining, though they have not yet been finalized, Pitts said. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eqAsJaWm

A big financial boost for workforce development is coming to Atlanta's westside. The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation is giving nearly $4.5 million to Atlanta Technical College, Goodwill of North Georgia and the Atlanta Department of Labor and Employment Services for job training and other workforce development initiatives. Blank, owner of the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United FC, committed to supporting community development as part of a deal with the city for hundreds of millions of dollars in public funding to support construction of Mercedes-Benz Stadium. More: https://lnkd.in/ed-ZPTVD

With roughly six weeks to go before this year’s presidential election, economic matters still rate as the top issues on Georgia voters’ minds. But new polling shows that voters have tilted — tentatively — toward optimism. Views of the economy have grown rosier, with 58% of respondents saying they expect the economy to improve over the next 12 months, according to a poll conducted this month for?The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Read more: https://lnkd.in/epQtbjYK

Atlanta’s dreams of nabbing the prestigious Sundance Film Festival have been dashed. Sundance has narrowed its picks for its next home to three cities, and Atlanta didn’t make the cut. This leaves its existing home of Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah; Boulder, Colorado; and Cincinnati, Ohio, as the three finalists who would host the festival starting in 2027. A decision for what is expected to be a long-term commitment is expected to be made early next year. https://lnkd.in/e7Yf9TZ9

Ben Carter rose to fame as a dreamer and dealmaker, a glint of mischief in his eye and with the endless energy of a schoolboy. A son of Atlanta real estate royalty, Carter made a fortune not in developing office towers like his father, but in building retail palaces across the Southeast. He also saw his biggest development dream — the Streets of Buckhead, a bold plan to turn Buckhead’s rowdy bar scene into something akin to a Rodeo Drive of the South — come undone during the Great Recession. “If you’re scared to fail, you’ll never succeed,” he said in 2012 as he planned a business comeback on the coast. “You don’t learn anything from success. You learn from failure.” Carter, co-developer of the Mall of Georgia who also led the revitalization of Savannah’s Broughton Street, died Sunday at his family’s hunting plantation in Madison, according to a family obituary published in the AJC. He was 70. Read more about his life: https://lnkd.in/eZXhj7dx

Gov. Brian Kemp set out about five years ago to make Georgia the “e-mobility capital of the world.” In that time, Georgia has emerged as not only an e-mobility hub, but a clean technology giant. The state has recruited a pair of multibillion-dollar electric vehicle plants, dozens of parts suppliers to support those factories and several facilities across the battery supply chain. Georgia has also benefited from huge incentives pushed by President Joe Biden to expand EVs and clean technologies, while state and local leaders have offered up their own bevy of incentives to woo companies. Georgia ranks second behind North Carolina for most EV industry investment since Biden’s landmark climate and health care law, the Inflation Reduction Act, was adopted in 2022, according to nonpartisan group E2. More: https://lnkd.in/enznQcKv

The country’s largest privately held food producer announced it will be taking up office space within a glassy Midtown tower to establish a new technology hub with 400 workers. Cargill, which is based in Minnetonka, Minnesota, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Monday it agreed to sublease within the NCR campus at 864 Spring St. Cargill announced in June it would open a digital hub in Atlanta to focus on supply chain reliability and sustainability. The company’s digital technology and data division will primarily occupy the new office space, which Cargill expects to move into this fall. More: https://lnkd.in/exhkDddj

UNCONVENTIONAL.?UBIQUITOUS.?UNDENIABLE.?UNITED. One letter. Endless expressions. UATL. ATL is the center of modern #Black #culture and now “U” can become a member of #UATL, with features that include The LineUp, a weekly list of the top five Black culture event recommendations, news, interviews, profiles, opinion columns and other cultural coverage. “We’ve assembled some of the best journalists, thinkers and cultural innovators in Atlanta to offer a layered and nuanced look at Black culture, Black thought and Black success,” said AJC Editor-In-Chief Leroy Chapman Jr. Sign up here: https://ajc.com/joinuatl