Jimmy Collins / Creative Followership
Founder and Author

Born in an unpainted share-cropper house in the middle of cotton fields, Jimmy Collins dreamed of becoming an executive. His story of the pathway he discovered for the realization of that dream is told in his book, In the Shadow of Greatness. He named that pathway Creative Followership. Jimmy is certain that anyone can use his Creative Followership Principles for their own journey to success and satisfaction.

From his first job of delivering groceries on a bicycle at 12 years old, to establishing his own business as a commercial kitchen design consultant, to his 32 year career with Chick-fil-A, Inc., he learned and applied the principles that you also can learn.

Jimmy retired from Chick-fil-A, Inc. as president, Chief Operating Officer. He describes his role there as the chief follower of the founder, S. Truett Cathy. In year 2000, Jimmy received the prestigious Silver Plate Award as Chain Fast Service Operator of the Year.

He is the founder of Creative Followership L.L.C, and an author.

Mack Story / Top Story Leadership

Mack began his career in manufacturing on the front lines of a machine shop. He grew himself into upper management and found his niche in lean manufacturing and along with it, developed his passion for leadership.

With more than 20 years working with and on the front lines, he brings a powerful blend of practical experience and leadership knowledge to his clients. Mack is a published author of several leadership books including: Defining Influence, 10 Values of High Impact Leaders, and Blue-Collar Leadership: Leading from the Front Lines.

He understands that everything rises and falls on leadership.

For more detailed information on Mack and to learn about the leadership development services he provides, please click here to visit Mack’s website.

Ria Story / Top Story Leadership

Ria is a motivational leadership speaker, author, and a world class coach who has a unique ability to help people develop and achieve their life and career goals, and guide them in building the habits and discipline to achieve their personal view of greatness.  Ria brings a wealth of personal experience in working with clients to achieve their personal goals and aspirations in a way that few coaches have achieved.

Ria’s background includes more than ten years in administrative healthcare, including several years in management and later, Director of Compliance and Regulatory Affairs for a large healthcare organization.  Ria’s responsibilities included oversight of thousands of organizational policies, organizational compliance with all State and Federal regulations, and responsibility for several million dollars in Medicare appeals.

Like many, Ria faced adversity in life. Raised on an isolated farm in Alabama, she was sexually abused by her father from age 12 – 19. Desperate to escape, she left home at 19 without a job, a car, or even a high school diploma. Ria learned to be resilient, and not just survive, but thrive. She worked her way through school, an MBA, and eventually resigned from her career in the corporate world to pursue a passion for helping others achieve success.

Now a motivational speaker, coach, and author of 7 books, she co-founded Top Story Leadership, which offers leadership development, speaking, training, coaching, and consulting. Ria also coaches authors and speakers on writing, speaking, and more. 

Jimmy Etheredge / Accenture
Senior Managing Director, US Southeast Region

Jimmy Etheredge is a senior managing director at Accenture responsible for leading the company’s business in its US Southeast region, which covers 10 states—Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia—as well as the District of Columbia. In this role, Etheredge focuses on bringing innovation to clients, attracting top talent and strengthening the company’s impact in its local communities; he also serves as member of the North America Leadership Team and the Global Leadership Council.

Additionally, Etheredge is managing director for the company’s Atlanta office, where he provides oversight for developing local business relationships, expanding civic presence and fostering employee engagement.

Before being appointed to his current role in December 2016, Etheredge was senior managing director of Accenture’s Products operating unit in North America, where was responsible for Accenture’s business across a set of consumer-relevant industries: Retail; Consumer Goods & Services; Life Sciences; Automotive, Industrial Equipment, Infrastructure & Transportation Services; and Air, Freight & Logistics and Travel Services.

Among the other leadership roles that Etheredge has held during his 29 years with Accenture are global Customer Relationship Management lead for the Resources operating group and global lead for Accenture’s Retail Utilities practice. Etheredge spent six years based in London with global responsibilities before returning to Atlanta in 2007.

A graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology with a degree in industrial engineering, Etheredge is an ardent supporter of his alma mater and a member of the Alexander Thorpe board of directors, the Hill Society and the Georgia Tech Lacrosse Advisory Board. He was honored as an inaugural inductee into the Georgia Tech College of Engineering’s Council of Outstanding Young Engineering Alumni. An active member of the Boys Scouts of America, Etheredge sits on the Atlanta Area Council Board of Directors.

Etheredge lives in Atlanta with his wife and three children.

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Maurice Cherry / Lunch / Revision Path
Principal, Founder, Editor-in-Chief, Host

Maurice Cherry is the founder and principal at Lunch, a multidisciplinary studio in Atlanta, GA that helps creative brands craft messages and tell stories for their targeted audiences, including fostering relationships with underrepresented communities. Past clients and collaborators include Vox Media, NIKE, Mediabistro, Site5, SitePoint, and The City of Atlanta.

Maurice is a pioneering digital creator who is most well-known for the Black Weblog Awards, the Web’s longest running event celebrating Black bloggers, video bloggers, and podcasters. Other projects of Maurice’s include the award-winning podcast Revision Path, 28 Days of the Web, and The Year of Tea. His projects and overall design work and advocacy have been recognized by NPR, News One, CNN, AIGA, HOW, Print, The Atlanta-Journal Constitution, and The Los Angeles Times.

Maurice is also an educator, and has built curricula and taught courses on web design, web development, email marketing, WordPress, and podcasting for thousands of students over the past ten years.

Maurice was named one of Atlanta’s “Power 30 Under 30″ in the field of Science and Technology by the Apex Society, one of HP’s “50 Tech Tastemakers” in conjunction with Black Web 2.0, and was selected by Atlanta Tribune as one of 2014’s Young Professionals.

Maurice holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Morehouse College and a Masters degree in telecommunications management from Keller Graduate School of Management.

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Laura Flusche / Museum of Design Atlanta
Executive Director

Laura Flusche has been a member of the MODA staff since 2010. Prior to joining MODA, Laura lived in Rome, Italy for fifteen years, where she was assistant academic dean of an American academic program; taught art history, archaeology, mythology, and ancient history to undergraduates; and excavated on the east slope of the Palatine Hill, near the Colosseum and the Arch of Constantine.

In 2016, Laura received the Business Design and Arts Leadership Distinguished Alumni Award from the Savannah College of Art and Design where she earned a master’s degree in Arts Administration. She also holds a Ph.D. in Ancient Roman and Etruscan Art and Archaeology and an M.A. in Italian Renaissance Art. When asked about the transition from archaeology to design, she fiercely maintains that design is archaeology backwards.

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Lawrence Henderson / Business Operational Support Services, LLC
President

As a Certified Leadership Coach, Teacher and Speaker, Lawrence Henderson draws on over 20 combined years of progressive leadership and team building training in the broad areas of human capital development, conflict resolutions, organizational development, and the fundamentals of change management.

As an Officer in the US Army, Lawrence sharpened his knowledge, skills, and abilities through the practice and study of a variety of leadership teachings, most notably Dr. John C. Maxwell’s foundational 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, and The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth, to coach and teach hundreds of service men and women. This expertise extends to Federal (Civilian, DoD, and IC), State, and Local Government agencies support in the form of professional and management development training, educational support, administrative and general management consulting services that are supported in the form of workshops, seminars, keynote speaking, and coaching, aiding personal and professional growth through study, and practical application of proven leadership methods.

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David Rones / PromoMatting from Americo
President

A 24-year veteran of the matting industry, David M. Rones is the President of Americo’s Matting Division.  Mr. Rones is primarily responsible for managing the sales and marketing of all matting products to a variety of industries.  David’s background in finance, combined with a true talent for solving business problems in creative ways, often breaks new ground and has led the division to record sales in 9 of the last 10 years.  Prior to Americo, David spent 7 years as a Financial Analyst with Dun & Bradstreet, United Technologies (Carrier Division) and VeriFone.  He also started a successful computer data security sales and service company that he sold in 1992.  Later that year, David joined Americo as Director of National Accounts for the Matting Division.

A few years later, David helped to establish the company’s PromoMatting division, a company focused toward selling to Promotional Product distributors.  Over the past decade, David has been instrumental in facilitating the  purchase of several matting companies, including Hanover Textile Graphics, Pioneer Mat Co., Custom Textile Printing, J.H. Mats, and Shamrock Matting.

Mr. Rones holds a bachelors degree in Finance from the University of Georgia.  He lives in Atlanta with his wife and three sons.

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Thomas Harpointner (Co Host) / AIS Media

Thomas Harpointner is founder & CEO of AIS Media, Inc., an Atlanta-based, award-winning digital marketing firm. Thomas is a recognized subject matter expert on digital marketing strategy development and execution.

Thomas has served as a keynote speaker at trade organizations, conferences, and corporate events. He has appeared on Fox Business, Bloomberg Television, CNN Radio, CNBC, The Advertising Show, The Today Show and many other TV and radio programs. He’s been featured in publications such as Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Forbes, CFO, AJC, Fortune, and Wired.

At AIS Media, Thomas consults executives at leading companies on digital strategy. He’s led hundreds of digital marketing initiatives for clients ranging from start-ups to Fortune 500 corporations such as AT&T, Synovus Financial, Emory Healthcare, Wake Forest Innovations, Pfizer, and Maui Jim Sunglasses. Under his leadership, AIS Media has been recognized with dozens of prestigious industry awards.

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