Terry Third Thursday

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Terry Third Thursday July 15, 2010

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Terry Third Thursday September 16, 2010

Terry Third Thursday October 21, 2010

Steve Green is a native of Savannah, Ga., where he attended Benedictine Military School and graduated from the University of Georgia. He began his professional career in his family's distribution business, Green Distributors, the exclusive franchisee for Frito-Lay products in Southeast Georgia. He was president of the company for 10 years, in which time its size tripled. In 1980, it was purchased by Frito-Lay, Inc. Following the sale, he joined Frito-Lay as vice president in charge of trade development for the Southeastern United States. In 1982, he left the private sector and moved to Washington, D.C., to become Special Assistant to Congressman Lindsay Thomas.

In 1958, Dink NeSmith was 10 years old and already active in the newspaper business. When the 3 o'clock bell rang at Orange Street Elementary School, he would jump on his bike and race seven blocks to the back door of The Jesup Sentinel. There he would buy a stack of the weekly newspapers for a nickel each. Pedaling as fast as he could, he rushed to meet the shift change at the Sea Island Shirt Factory. As the ladies left work, he turned his nickels into dimes before the ink dried on the latest edition of the local news.

In the mid 1980s, Boland Jones started his first company, American Network Exchange (AMNEX), which provided the first alternatives to the AT&T operator service. Jones foresaw the promising future of business communications applications and founded Premiere Global Services (PGi) in 1991. After 28 years in business, PGi now serves 90% of the Fortune 500. With customers around the globe in nearly every industry, PGi has been recognized by Forbes magazine as one of America's 200 Best Small Companies and received the Growth Excellence of the Year Award from Frost & Sullivan in 2008. PGi has been included in Gartner's Magic Quadrant for Web Conferencing Solutions and was recognized in 2009 by the Product Development & Management Association as an Outstanding Corporate Innovator of the Year.

Doug Griffin has been with AGCO Corporation for nine years and presently serves as Vice President, Global Marketing and Brand Management. Doug is responsible for developing global branding strategies and marketing initiatives for AGCO four global brands. In Doug's career at AGCO, he has also served as Vice President Marketing, North America, and Director of Sales and Marketing, North America, Challenger Division. Doug began his professional career working for several years with Caterpillar Inc in various sales and marketing assignments.

James A. Rubright is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of RockTenn (NYSE:RKT), one of North America's leading manufacturers of paperboard, containerboard and consumer and corrugated packaging. After the first ten years of Rubright's leadership, RockTenn underwent a transformation that made it the most profitable company in the industry measured by return on sales. In 2011, RockTenn acquired Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation, the second largest producer of containerboard and corrugated packaging in North America. The acquisition tripled RockTenn's size to approximately $10 billion in revenues and 26,000 employees in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Chile and Argentina. Before joining RockTenn as CEO in 1999, he served as Executive Vice President of Sonat, Inc., a diversified energy company headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. At Sonat, Rubright was the head of Sonat's interstate natural gas pipeline and energy marketing businesses. Prior to 1994, he was a partner in the law firm of King & Spalding.

Paul G. Schempp is an expert on expertise. Named the 2004 Distinguished Scholar by the International Center for Performance Excellence at West Virginia University, he has dedicated his professional life to understanding what it takes to be an expert performer. As a research professor and the Director of the Sport Instruction Research Laboratory at the University of Georgia, he has spent over a decade conducting award winning research into the characteristics and development of expertise. Schempp has more than 25 years of experience in the fields of research, teaching and professional development. Individuals and organizations in business, education and sport have elevated their expertise and achieved exceptional performance by working with Schempp.

Sherwood Dodge is the business leader of GE Capital Americas, Equity. GE Equity has been an active mid market minority investor for 15 years and leverages GE's deal flow, industry expertise, operating talent and global reach. Dodge also heads the team that is responsible for acquiring and divesting businesses and portfolios for GE Capital Americas.

Michael L. Eskew is the former chairman and chief executive officer of United Parcel Service from 2002--2007. Mike remains on the board of UPS, and he is also a director of Eli Lilly and Company, 3M Corporation, IBM Corporation and chairs the board of trustees of the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Mike began his UPS career in 1972 as an industrial engineering manager in Indiana. He was named corporate vice president for industrial engineering in 1994, group vice president for engineering in 1996, executive vice president in 1999, and vice chairman in 2000. A native of Vincennes, Indiana, Mike graduated from Purdue University with a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering. Mike and his wife, Molly, live in the Brookhaven neighborhood of Atlanta and split time between Atlanta and Chicago. Mike is an avid reader and golfer and father of four grown children

Margaret Requa DeFrancisco was selected in December 2003 as the President/CEO of the Georgia Lottery Corporation following ten years in public service in state and county government in New York which included heading the New York Lottery, the largest in North America. Since coming to Georgia, her focus has been on growing the sales of a very successful lottery, whose profits have supported the HOPE Scholarship and Pre-Kindergarten programs, directly impacting over 2.5 million students in Georgia.

Kirby Smart, Head Football Coach, University of Georgia speaks at Terry Third Thursday

Steve Fisher is president and CEO of Novelis Inc., the global leader in aluminum flat-rolled products and the world’s largest recycler of aluminum. Novelis supplies premium aluminum sheet and light gauge products to the beverage can, automotive and specialties markets throughout North America, Europe, Asia and South America. The $10 billion company operates 24 facilities in 10 countries, employing approximately 12,000 people. Since joining the company in 2006, Fisher has served in a number of executive positions, most recently as chief financial officer. During his tenure as CFO, Novelis invested approximately $2 billion to transform and grow its business. Prior to that, Fisher served as vice president of strategic planning and corporate development where he spearheaded major strategic, corporate and financial transactions across the company, most notably the discussions that led to the acquisition of Novelis by Hindalco in 2007. Throughout his career, Fisher has held significant roles in finance and accounting, strategic planning and business development. Prior to joining Novelis, Fisher spent 13 years consulting with, or as part of, the management teams of various energy companies. He served as vice president and controller for TXU Energy, the non-regulated subsidiary of TXU Corp, at its headquarters in Dallas, Texas. Fisher is a member of the Business Roundtable, an association of leading U.S. companies working to promote sound public policy. In addition, he is a member of the board of directors for the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, where he chairs the Global Commerce Council. Fisher received a bachelor’s degree in finance and accounting from the University of Iowa and is a certified public accountant.

As CEO of Delta Air Lines, Ed Bastian’s primary responsibility is to champion the company’s employee-driven, customer-focused culture and inspire the spirit of innovation that is the foundation of Delta’s success. An 18-year Delta veteran, Ed was a central part of the team that led the airline from bankruptcy to its current position as the industry’s leader. Named Delta’s CEO in May 2016, Ed is committed to putting Delta’s shared values of honesty, integrity, respect, perseverance and servant leadership at the core of every decision. Under Ed’s leadership, Delta is focused on operating the nation’s most reliable and customer-centric airline; expanding its global footprint; and striving to become the airline of choice for the next generation of travelers. When asked to sum up his job in five words, Ed’s response is: “Taking care of our people.” The answer reflects his leadership philosophy, which is based on the “virtuous circle” – if you take care of your people, they take care of your customers, whose business and loyalty allows you to reward your investors. Ed grew up in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and graduated from St. Bonaventure University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration. He lives in Atlanta, and is deeply involved in the community. Ed joined Delta in 1998 as Vice President – Finance and Controller and was promoted to Senior Vice President in 2000. He left Delta in early 2004 and became Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Acuity Brands. He returned to Delta six months later to become Chief Financial Officer and lead Delta through its restructuring. In 2007 Ed was appointed to serve as Delta’s President, from where he oversaw Delta’s commercial and international functions and strengthened Delta’s financial foundation through innovation, debt reduction, revenue growth and bolstering the airline’s global network. Prior to joining Delta, Ed held senior finance positions at Frito-Lay International and Pepsi-Cola International. Ed started his career with Price Waterhouse where he became an audit partner in its New York practice.

Frank Blake Former Chairman & CEO, The Home Depot Francis “Frank” Blake served as chairman and CEO of The Home Depot from 2007?2014. Before that, he worked for the company as executive vice president of business development and corporate operations. Blake previously served as deputy secretary for the U.S. Department of Energy and worked in a variety of executive roles at General Electric. His public-sector experience also includes time within the Environmental Protection Agency, deputy counsel to Vice President George H.W. Bush and law clerk to Justice John Paul Stevens of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Clarence Gooden retired as president of CSX in February after 47 years with the company. Prior to that role, he had served as CEO and chief commercial officer as well as vice chairman and consultant to the board. While at CSX, Gooden was responsible for generating customer revenue, forecasting business trends and developing a model for future revenue growth. During his tenure, he also held the roles of president and CEO of CSX Intermodal Inc. and served as senior vice president of sales and marketing at CSX and its subsidiary, CSX Transportation.