The inaugural Greater Perimeter Chamber Annual Meeting celebrated the launch of a new era in business leadership across Sandy Springs, Dunwoody, and the broader Perimeter region. This pivotal event unveiled their bold vision for the future and clarified what the Chamber stands FOR: business growth, innovation, and collaboration.
As a seasoned Workday HCM enterprise architect and retired U.S. Army Major, Joe Seconder brings over 28 years of leadership experience spanning private, public, and international markets. His career is defined by solving complex challenges and delivering impactful outcomes in both technology and governance.
Joe specializes in guiding organizations through complex Workday HCM deployments, leveraging my deep expertise in HR systems and enterprise architecture to align technology solutions with business goals.
In addition to his Workday focus, he serves as a part-time elected city councilor in Dunwoody, Georgia, representing 55,000 citizens and overseeing a $70M annual budget – demonstrating his leadership across both strategic and governance levels. 
Connect with Joe on LinkedIn.
This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix
TRANSCRIPT
Intro: Broadcasting live from the Greater Perimeter. It’s time for Greater Perimeter Chamber Spotlight. Now, here’s your host.
Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here. Broadcasting live from the Greater Perimeter Chamber inaugural annual meeting. So excited to be talking to my next guest, Joe Seconder, with the Dunwoody City Council. Welcome.
Joe Seconder: Hey, welcome. Thank you. Glad to be here.
Lee Kantor: Well, I’m asking everybody, why are you for the Greater Perimeter Chamber?
Joe Seconder: I think it’s a great synergy because when you have businesses relocating from outside of the region or outside of the state, they don’t look to see if you’re in Dunwoody or Sandy Springs or Brookhaven or which county you’re in. It’s all about the perimeter area, and we have to work together because a rising tide lifts all ships.
Lee Kantor: So now how are you finding the evolution of accepting that premise?
Joe Seconder: I think it’s some great synergies that can go on because instead of it’s cooptation. So you’re cooperating and you’re also in a in a little opposition there. But it’s a it’s a collaborative effort. We really have to say a rising tide lifts all ships.
Lee Kantor: So now are you finding the buy in from the community or are they begrudgingly coming along?
Joe Seconder: I’m seeing buy in, I really am, because there are pro look every every separate entity has pros and cons, pluses and minuses. They’re bringing their best to the table. They’re collaborating and it’s a synergy. It really is.
Lee Kantor: So now what are you looking at in terms of a roadmap of how greater perimeter is being defined. And like what’s going to be ultimately the greater perimeter?
Joe Seconder: I would say we have to engage on different levels of corporations. You’ve got the fortune 100, fortune 500 corporations relocation here. We have such a huge office impact here of the office space. We have to engage on that level, continue on that level, seek out and find those great community partners. So I’m from Dunwoody. We used to have just the Dunwoody chamber, but yet you have Cox Enterprises and Cox right across the street. Let’s work together. What great resources they can bring to the table on on that. So I appreciate digging deeper into those larger corporations. The for the public sector private sector publicly held. But also let’s reach out to more of that medium and small businesses as well, because we know small businesses really grows the economy. There’s a lot of opportunity to help foster and build small businesses with business incubators for training, for education, professional development and networking and helping get up these get get these startups moving as well.
Lee Kantor: So what would you like the small business owner to know? Like what would be your pitch for them to be part of the chamber?
Joe Seconder: I would say if you’re starting out, it can be quite overwhelming on what you need to do and where you need to start. And I would say, go out and reach out to those chamber folks who have been in your shoes before, who have gone there, who know best practices, who have lessons learned that know best ways of hooking in to potentially getting a capital venture capital, perhaps, um, or investors and understand the regulatory environment and how to navigate that. Even as low level of how to hire the best trained workforce, how to network, to find workers, to where do you hang your hat and set up your shop?
Lee Kantor: Now, what about the enterprise level? How do you think they should best leverage the chamber?
Joe Seconder: I think the enterprise level can, can, can leverage the chamber as far as workforce engagement, um, and having other other workers and people gather like minded folks. We have people that all, all, all intents and purposes, there may be people looking for a promotion and transfer. So if you look at the individual, uh, participation, hey, it’s all about networking, building your brand, getting people out there, letting people know who you are, what, what skills you have you can do and what you can bring to the table.
Lee Kantor: So if somebody wants to connect with you, what’s the best way to do that?
Joe Seconder: So, uh, so I’m on the Dunwoody City Council and you can just jump, go do a Google search. Actually go look look me up on LinkedIn Joe seconder. There you go. If you want to find me personally, um, I’ve worked for 30 years in the enterprise software. Uh, background. I worked at Accenture, Oracle, PeopleSoft. I spent six years living and working in Europe. Uh, I’ve been a senior manager, project management, uh, seven figure projects, doing back office ERP space. That’s my sweet spot. Uh, I do I still work in that field. And as well the part that’s a part time gig in city council. So it’s. I do this in my spare time just for fun.
Lee Kantor: So you’re you’re you have a day job as a consultant?
Joe Seconder: Absolutely. I’m a senior manager. I just transitioned from Accenture. Uh, now I’m independent. I’ve worked for myself prior to that. And I do project management roles and workday software as a service cloud, cloud ERP, back office solutions.
Lee Kantor: And do you have a website for that or is it just jump.
Joe Seconder: Jump on LinkedIn just Joe seconder.
Lee Kantor: Yeah good stuff. Well Joe, thank you so much for sharing your story today.
Joe Seconder: You betcha. Glad to be here. Thank you.
