Big C-Suite changes in Atlanta

Welcome to Atlanta Business Chronicle’s LinkedIn Weekly Edition! I'm Digital Editor Chris Fuhrmeister, bringing you the business news to keep you in the know.

There was a major shakeup in the world of corporate restaurants this week. Rob Lynch, who led Papa Johns out of the darkness in the wake of founder John Schnatter's racism scandal and back to profitability, is leaving. Booming burger chain Shake Shack, one of the hottest quick-service restaurant brands around, hired Lynch to become CEO. He replaces Randy Garutti, who is retiring after leading Shake Shack since 2011.

Read the full story here for more on Lynch's time as CEO at Papa Johns, why he won the Shake Shack job and who is taking over at Papa Johns — for the time being.

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Norfolk Southern made a few C-Suite moves this week. These come as the Atlanta-based railroad tries to keep its CEO amid a proxy battle following Norfolk Southern's derailment disaster in Ohio last year. The company hired industry veteran John Orr to replace Paul Duncan as chief operating officer. Norfolk Southern also added Betsy Talton-Buck, who has experience in crisis and reputation management, as chief communications officer. Angie Kolar is now chief compliance officer, a new position at NS focused on safety and regulatory compliance.

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Grady Health System make a notable C-Suite change, too. Grady promoted Anthony Saul to executive vice president and chief operating officer/chief financial officer. Saul had been serving as Grady's CFO since 2021. The COO position is new at Grady. In his updated role,?Saul will oversee day-to-day operations and provide financial leadership for the health system.

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One more leadership change: Kilpatrick Townsend Stockton, Atlanta's third-largest law firm, announced Wab Kadaba will take over as chair-elect, effective July 1. Kadaba will replace Henry Walker, who has held the position since 2013.

Real estate news of the week

• Fast-growing daily fantasy sports company PrizePicks inked a lease for a glitzy new headquarters at Star Metals Offices in West Midtown. PrizePicks is expanding its office space, illustrating the booming daily fantasy industry.
• Atlanta leaders have identified 11 Downtown office buildings that could be converted to residential in the next five years.
• Atlanta BeltLine Inc. named its development partners and shared new details for the Murphy Crossing redevelopment near the Westside Trail.
• The City of Atlanta is providing $3 million for more "rapid housing" units to combat homelessness.
• A new-to-market restaurant supply wholesaler is bound for Sandy Springs.
• The Chiarabella Gallery, a destination for high-end home design, will open its first public-facing showroom in Atlanta.
• A Cumberland office building that was in danger of foreclosure secured a $65 million loan. That may be a good sign for landlords.
• A California-based investor in affordable housing has surrendered its stake in a Brookhaven senior development to the Housing Authority of DeKalb County.
• Atlanta's biggest commercial brokerage is — drumroll, please — CBRE. The Dallas-based firm's local office is on top for the eighth straight year.

Retail, restaurant and hospitality news of the week

• From fast food to fine dining and medical spas to pickleball, Atlanta is a top target for restaurants and retailers in expansion mode. But there isn’t enough space to go around. The vacancy rate for metro Atlanta retail space is at a record low.
• After a two-year hiatus, BeltLine restaurant Hawkers Asian Street Food set a reopening date.

• Good news for folks shopping for designer bargains: Bloomingdale's is developing an Atlanta outlet store, its first in Georgia.
• Local high-end outdoors retailer High Country Outfitters plans to open another Atlanta store.
• Alpharetta-based Songy Highroads signed an agreement to start the process of developing a long-planned convention hotel in Savannah.

Philanthropy news of the week

• Nine Georgia nonprofits, including affordable housing organization Mercy Housing Southeast, received a total of $15 million in billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott's latest round of donations.
• Kaiser Permanente is granting $490,000 in an effort to increase the number of diverse licensed clinicians and address Georgia’s mental health workforce shortage.
• Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta is busy raising funds as it sees rising demand for financial aid.

More Atlanta business news

• Southern Co. CEO Chris Womack spoke at the Chronicle's Clean Energy Forum and called for greater investments in energy efficiency?as energy demand surges.
• Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon told the Chronicle why he's bullish on the investment firm's presence in Atlanta.
• Georgia, now considered a political battleground, is one of three states to approve nonpartisan nonprofit Defending Digital Campaigns to provide free cybersecurity assistance and training to state political campaigns.
• FedEx Supply Chain Inc. is shutting down its Union City facility, impacting hundreds of jobs.
• Bennett Thrasher Managing Partner Jeff Call dishes on how the accounting firm is finding success and growing.
• Dr. Alistair Erskine is Emory Healthcare's inaugural chief information and digital officer. He spoke to the Chronicle about the role of AI in health care and what it could look like going forward.
• Here's a look at the $134 million Blue Ridge Connector that will pull freight trucks off the road.
• Ready for some baseball? You're not the only one. Braves tickets are among the hottest in the majors going into the 2024 season.

That's all for this week's headlines. Thanks for reading Atlanta Business Chronicle! Questions? Comments? Concerns? News tips? Send them to [email protected].