Georgia, a state that ranks highly for corporate growth, education, and population expansion of nearly 10 million, reflects radical shifts in many fields of expertise.
A concentration of innovators in this group encourages a dedication to servant leadership in local communities. These pioneers, sometimes known as leaders, have an impact on numerous fields, including politics and education.
According to Henry David Thoreau, “Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.” His assessment is an apt description of the individuals included in our list of the Top 20 Most Influential people in Georgia.
In addition to being successful in their occupations, they also possess extraordinary power and influence and have improved Georgians’ quality of life.
CEOs, elected officials, college presidents, and economic development experts are just a few of the people who have pushed for, motivated, and steered efforts to bring about positive change in almost every region of the Peach State. While some are quite well-known, others operate quietly in the background.
Make sure you read this post to the end as it promises to be very informative and insightful.
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Characteristics Of A Good Influencer
1. They Are Intentional.
Someone who is purposeful might be identified by how prepared they are for action in both their job and personal lives. They use effective scheduling to prioritize the tasks that need to be completed throughout the day while keeping an eye on the big picture. Additionally, they carefully consider the words they choose because they have the power to influence.
2. They Are Tenacious.
The prominent person is aware that not everything goes according to plan. When the unexpected occurs, they are prepared to dive in and come up with fresh solutions. Additionally, they are open to introducing their employees to this new tactic.
3. They Connect.
You are welcomed when you enter the vicinity of a powerful person. To include you in the loop, or the circle of trust, questions are occasionally asked of you, and input at other times is given.
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Top 20 Most Influential People In Georgia
The top 20 most influential people in Georgia are:
1. Tyler Perry
2. Ivan Shammas
3. Kevin Blair
4. Christopher Bridges (Ludacris)
5. Allan C. Vella
6. Jack Sawyer
7. Chris Clark
8. Taifa Smith Butler
9. David Nahmias
10. Ed Martinez
11. Patrise Perkins-Hooker
12. Stephen Cannon
13. Raphael W. Bostic
14. Russell K. Paul
15. Sheikh Rahman
16. Susan V. Booth
17. Christopher C. Womack
18. Cynthia N. Day
19. David Ralston
20. Eloisa Klementich
1. Tyler Perry
Tyler Perry is an Actor, Director, and Producer. He owns the Tyler Perry Studios. Tyler Perry, one of the most financially successful African American directors in history and one of the most influential people in Georgia, developed his well-known character Madea on stage before introducing her to the big screen in 2005’s Diary of a Mad Black Woman, which brought in more than $50 million.
The first significant African-American-owned film studio in the nation, Tyler Perry Studios, was established by him in Atlanta in 2008. On the grounds of the former Fort McPherson, Perry established a new industrial plant in 2019, one of the biggest in the country.
Perry has also produced television shows like House of Payne, worked as an executive producer on the Lee Daniels movie Precious, and appeared in David Fincher’s Gone Girl.
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2. Ivan Shammas
The president and general manager of Univision, the nation’s fastest-rising primetime major television network, is Ivan Shammas. He is in charge of Raleigh, North Carolina, and Atlanta, Georgia. He is one of the most influential people in Georgia.
Shammas rejoins Univision after an 11-year absence. He was a founding member of the group that opened the WUVG Univision Atlanta station in 2002.
Throughout his time there, he served in a variety of capacities, including national account manager for Univision Atlanta and Univision Raleigh.
Shammas has over twenty years of expertise in station management and sales and is a veteran of the Spanish-language media. He most recently served as WKTB Telemundo Atlanta’s general manager, a position he had held since 2013.
3. Kevin Blair
In August 2016, Kevin Blair began working for Synovus as executive vice president and chief financial officer. In December 2018, he was named senior executive vice president and chief operating officer.
In December 2019, he was elected president. Blair was chosen for the board of directors in December 2020, and on April 22, 2021, he was appointed president and CEO.
His career in the financial sector began in 1995 with Signet Bank in Richmond, Virginia, where he had senior positions in corporate strategy, line management, strategic finance, and credit risk management, among other fields.
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4. Christopher Bridges (Ludacris)
Christopher Brian Bridges, a rapper, and actor, was born in Champaign, Illinois, and later moved to Atlanta as a teenager. With his 2000 major-label debut, Back for the First Time, Ludacris became one of the first Dirty South rappers to find success in the mainstream, propelling him to the number four spot on the American Billboard 200.
Forbes has put Ludacris in its annual Hip-Hop Cash Kings list more than once, citing his varied sources of income and his acting performances in the Fast and the Furious film series.
He established the Disturbing Tha Peace record label in Atlanta and has received Grammy, Screen Actors Guild, and MTV Video Music awards. To interact with urban youngsters, Ludacris established the Ludacris Foundation in 2002.
5. Allan C. Vella
Allan C. Vella is the President and CEO of Fox Theatre and one of the most influential people in Georgia. Since 1986, he has managed theaters, arenas, amphitheaters, and exhibition spaces in the field of facility management.
His experience includes a variety of occasions, such as NCAA championships, MLB and NHL games, ballet performances, concerts, and presidential visits. Vella oversees all operations and programming for the Fox Theatre in her capacity as president and CEO.
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6. Jack Sawyer
Jack Sawyer is an investment advisory services partner and managing director for Cresset Capital in the Atlanta area. He is a fiduciary attorney. He specializes in family office services, philanthropic planning, private foundation administration, and trust and estate management. He manages the SPAC Operations Group for Navigation Capital as a managing director.
Along with Andee’s Army, the nsoro Foundation, the Atlanta Jewish Foundation, Open Hand, the Georgia Museum of Art, and the High Museum, he serves on the boards of numerous private foundations and nonprofit organizations.
7. Chris Clark
In the more than a century-long history of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, Chris Clark is the president and CEO with the longest tenure. He previously held the positions of deputy commissioner and commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development, respectively.
Clark, a Leadership Georgia alumni, has often been ranked among the 100 most important Georgians by Georgia Trend and among the most influential Atlantans by the Atlanta Business Chronicle.
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8. Taifa Smith Butler
Taifa Smith Butler is the president and chief executive officer of the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, where she oversees a team whose goal is to increase economic opportunities for all Georgians.
To analyze the situation and suggest fair solutions, the organization looks at the state’s finances, taxation, and public policy.
Butler, who joined GBPI in 2011, has over 25 years of experience working in the public, nonprofit, and commercial sectors in strategic communications, public policy research, and data analysis.
9. David Nahmias
Governor Sonny Perdue appointed Chief Justice David E. Nahmias to the Supreme Court of Georgia in 2009. He was then elected to a full six-year term in 2010 and unopposed in 2016.
Nahmias, a native of Atlanta and the child of Egyptian and German immigrants, began his legal career in Washington, D.C., before joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta in 1995.
He spent a lot of time working on the investigations into the bombing at Centennial Olympic Park and Eric Rudolph’s later crimes as a federal prosecutor.
President George W. Bush named Nahmias as U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Georgia in 2004 after he emerged as one of the Justice Department’s top terrorist prosecutors in the wake of the September 11 attacks.
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10. Ed Martinez
Eduardo Martinez, Esq. Is a Global Advocate for Women, Equality & Planet – Board Director – President, The UPS Foundation & UPS Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, Retired.
He supports open, honest communication and believes that cultural and environmental responsibility as well as human empowerment are essential for economic success.
He directed and impacted awareness, accountability, and participation by the practice of living values via corporate Purpose as both the chief diversity and inclusion officer and president of the UPS Foundation.
11. Patrise Perkins-Hooker
Patrice Perkins-Hooker, the county attorney for Fulton County, is in charge of handling the civil legal requirements of one of Georgia’s biggest counties. She oversees a team of over 40 employees and offers legal counsel to over 45 departments and seven commissioners.
Perkins-Hooker worked as the Atlanta BeltLine’s vice president and general counsel before joining the county attorney’s office in 2016. She was also a partner at the law firm Hollowell Foster & Gepp.
She was the third woman and first African American to serve as the State Bar of Georgia’s 52nd president in 2014. She now has a position on the John Marshall Law School board.
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12. Stephen Cannon
The for-profit division of Home Depot founders Arthur M. Blank’s family of companies, which includes the Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta United, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and PGA Tour Superstore, was led by Stephen Cannon when he was named CEO of AMB Group in 2016.
Before this, Cannon was president and CEO of Mercedes-Benz USA, which he led to record sales and $20 billion in yearly revenues. Additionally, Cannon was in charge of moving the MBUSA corporate offices from New Jersey to metro Atlanta.
13. Raphael W. Bostic
The Federal Reserve System’s monetary policy-making body, the Federal Open Market Committee, is chaired by Raphael W. Bostic, president,t and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
He was honored as a planning pioneer by the Los Angeles chapter of the American Planning Association in 2017 and was given an urban leadership award by the Penn Institute for Urban Research in 2011. He is the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce’s current chairman. Born and raised in Delran, New Jersey, is Bostic.
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14. Russell K. Paul
Russell K. “Rusty” Paul, who was elected mayor of Sandy Springs in 2013 and has just been reelected for a third term, has more than 40 years of experience in the public sector. He was a former state senator who was elected to the city council when Sandy Springs was founded in 2005.
He has also served on the city’s development authority and charter review commission. Paul also served as the assistant secretary for legislative and intergovernmental affairs for the Department of Housing and Urban Development during the first Bush administration.
15. Sheikh Rahman
The first Asian American and immigrant to hold office in the Georgia State Senate is Democrat Senator Sheikh Rahman. He is Georgia’s first Muslim lawmaker. He was chosen to represent the 5th Senate District in the center of Gwinnett in 2018.
Rahman serves as both the secretary of the Urban Affairs Committee and the chairman of the Gwinnett Senate Delegation. He also participates in the Government Oversight, Special Judiciary, Economic Development and Tourism, and Agriculture and Consumer Affairs committees. Facebook
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16. Susan V. Booth
As artistic director of the Alliance Theatre since 2001, Susan Booth has drawn attention to Atlanta’s theater scene on a national level. At the Alliance Theatre, she has directed world premiere performances by Pearl Cleage, Natasha Trethewey, John Mellencamp, and Stephen King, as well as six productions that have gone on to Broadway.
She also started the Alliance/Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Competition, the Reiser Atlanta Artists Lab, the Palefsky Collision Project for Teens, local producing alliances, and regional collaborative works.
Booth has taught at universities like Northwestern, DePaul, and Emory and has directed plays at venues like the Goodman, the La Jolla Playhouse, and the Actors Theatre of Louisville.
17. Christopher C. Womack
Georgia Power, the largest subsidiary of Southern Company, appointed Chris Womack as its chairman, president, and CEO in 2021. He oversees Georgia Power’s 2.6 million consumers across the whole state.
He held the positions of executive vice president and president of external relations for Southern Company before his current position. The native of Greenville, Alabama, joined Southern Company in 1988 and has since held several executive positions both inside Southern Company and it’s subsidiary companies.
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18. Cynthia N. Day
Cynthia Day provides the vision and strategic direction for Citizens Trust Bank. The bank has continued to accomplish several goals throughout her leadership, including setting records for earnings since the institution’s founding.
As one of the top African-American-owned commercial banks in the nation, Citizens Trust Bank has continually been recognized for these accomplishments.
The company was listed by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution as one of Georgia’s top 100 publicly traded companies multiple times before becoming private in 2017.
19. David Ralston
David Ralston, a native of Ellijay, has held the positions of state representative since 2002 and speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives since 2010.
Speaker Ralston, a champion for economic growth and job creation, has been a key player in several legislative victories that have made Georgia the best state in the union for a business year after year, including the Georgia Transportation Funding Act of 2015 and the state’s first-ever income tax rate reduction in 2018.
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20. Eloisa Klementich
Eloisa Klementich serves as the president and chief executive officer of Invest Atlanta. As CEO, she is in charge of an economic mobility strategy that has led to the creation of 7,824 affordable housing units around the city, as well as more than 47,803 new employment and $8 billion in new capital investment.
She had previously worked for the United States as a special assistant for economic development. served as the associate deputy secretary for economic development and trade in California and the Economic Development Administration. She additionally served as a consultant for Vicente Fox, the president of Mexico.
Conclusion
Georgia state is one of the most thriving states in the US and it has a lot of very influential personalities. We hope you found this post on the Top 20 Most Influential People in Georgia very helpful.
Feel free to let us know what you think.
FAQs
Influential people live with intention, mindful of their behavior and how it may be seen by others. They concentrate on finding ways to have the influence they want to have and get the results they want. They offer helpful criticism and express gratitude for their effort.
They can influence others to share their opinions and command respect from those around them. Influence is a sort of power in any environment, notably in the workplace. Influential people at work are typically more respected and trustworthy. Influential people are frequently also better leaders.
People look up to, respect, and trust prominent leaders to lead them to the outcomes they want. An effective leader empowers their team and sets a good example rather than coercing or pressuring them.
Influence is part of leadership. An effective leader inspires others to take action by appealing to their desires and beliefs. That transfers into the leader’s stated vision and objectives. Influence can have a detrimental impact if used improperly.
Georgia is known for its peaches, its southern hospitality, and for being the birthplace of some of the most influential people in the world including Martin Luther King.
References
- atlantamagazine.com – Atlanta 500
- georgiatrend.com – 100 Most Influential Georgians of 2019: Propelling Positive Change
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