

Ryan Anderson, Verizon Business Group, LIVE from the 2025 GNFCC BOLD Women’s Leadership Summit (North Fulton Business Radio, Episode 894)
Ryan Anderson, Director of Business Sales for Verizon Business Group, joined host John Ray live from the 2025 GNFCC BOLD Women’s Leadership Summit to discuss Verizon’s ongoing support for the GNFCC BOLD Committee, the Chamber generally, and the company’s commitment to empowering small businesses.
Ryan explained that his team works closely with small business customers, from 11 to 350 employees, to help them stay connected and competitive. He highlighted Verizon’s fixed wireless access technology, which provides powerful, business-grade internet in a portable format, and emphasized that Verizon’s role is not to push products but to solve problems for their customers.
Ryan also reflected on the importance of mentorship and allyship, both within Verizon and in the community. He shared how female leaders at Verizon have shaped his career and how his mother’s perseverance still motivates his work. For him and his team, supporting women in leadership is about showing up as allies and paying forward the encouragement they have received.
This interview was originally broadcast live from the 2025 GNFCC BOLD Women’s Leadership Summit held on August 12, 2025, at The Commons at Phase in Alpharetta, Georgia. John Ray Co. and North Fulton Business Radio were the Media Sponsors for this year’s Summit.
Topics Discussed in this Episode
00:00 Introduction and Welcome
01:05 Verizon’s Community Involvement
02:42 Verizon’s Services and Innovations
04:38 Support for Small Businesses
06:10 Empowering Women in Business
08:45 Personal Stories and Team Acknowledgements
11:12 Conclusion and Gratitude
Ryan Anderson, Verizon Business Group
Ryan Anderson serves as Director of Business Sales at Verizon Business Group.
Verizon Business Group is a division of Verizon Communications that delivers advanced communication and technology solutions to organizations of all sizes worldwide. It focuses on providing reliable, secure, and innovative services such as 5G networking, cloud solutions, cybersecurity, and Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity to help businesses enhance productivity, agility, and digital transformation. The division supports a wide range of industries by offering tailored solutions designed to improve operational efficiency and customer experiences in a rapidly evolving digital economy. Verizon Business is committed to leveraging cutting-edge technology to enable business growth and resilience.
Connect with Ryan on LinkedIn | Connect with Verizon Business Group: Website | LinkedIn
2025 GNFCC BOLD Women’s Leadership Summit
The 2025 GNFCC BOLD Women’s Leadership Summit was held on Tuesday, August 12, 2025, at The Commons at Phase in Alpharetta, Georgia.
The mission of BOLD—Businesswomen Organizing for Leadership and Development—is to connect businesswomen to build outstanding networks and spheres of influence, to collaborate with each other and with partner organizations to develop their businesses, and to celebrate and recognize the women of North Fulton.
Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce (GNFCC)
The Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce is a private, non-profit, member-driven organization comprised of over 1,400 business enterprises, civic organizations, educational institutions, and individuals. Their service area includes Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Milton, Mountain Park, Roswell, and Sandy Springs. GNFCC is the leading voice on economic development, business growth, and quality of life issues in North Fulton County.
As a five-star accredited chamber, GNFCC’s vision is to be the premier organization driving member and community success across the region, and they are dedicated to pursuing this vision based on the guiding principles of advocacy, inclusivity, and operational excellence.
GNFCC promotes the interests of their members by assuming a leadership role in making North Fulton an excellent place to work, live, play, and stay. They provide one voice for all local businesses to influence decision-makers, recommend legislation, and protect the valuable resources that make North Fulton a popular place to live.
For more information on GNFCC and its North Fulton County service area, follow this link or call (770) 993-8806. For more information on other GNFCC events, follow this link.
Connect with GNFCC: Website | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram
About North Fulton Business Radio and host John Ray
With over 890 episodes and having featured over 1,300 guests, North Fulton Business Radio is the longest-running podcast in the North Fulton area, covering business in our community like no one else. We are the undisputed “Voice of Business” in North Fulton!
The show invites a diverse range of business, non-profit, and community leaders to share their significant contributions to their market, community, and profession. There’s no discrimination based on company size, and there’s never any “pay to play.” North Fulton Business Radio supports and celebrates businesses by sharing positive stories that traditional media ignore. Some media lean left. Some media lean right. We lean business.

John Ray is the host of North Fulton Business Radio. John and the team at North Fulton Business Radio, LLC, an affiliate of Business RadioX®, produce the show, and it is recorded inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta.
The studio address is 275 South Main Street, Alpharetta, GA 30009.
You can find the full archive of shows by following this link. The show is available on all the major podcast apps, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, Amazon, iHeart Radio, and many others.
John Ray also operates his own business advisory practice. John’s services include advising solopreneurs and small professional services firms on their value, their positioning and business development, and their pricing. His clients are professionals who are selling their expertise, such as consultants, coaches, attorneys, CPAs, accountants, bookkeepers, marketing professionals, and other professional services practitioners.
John is the national bestselling author of The Generosity Mindset: A Journey to Business Success by Raising Your Confidence, Value, and Prices.
Renasant Bank supports North Fulton Business Radio
Renasant Bank has humble roots, starting in 1904 as a $100,000 bank in a Lee County, Mississippi, bakery. Since then, Renasant has become one of the Southeast’s strongest financial institutions, with over $17 billion in assets and more than 180 banking, lending, wealth management, and financial services offices throughout the region. All of Renasant’s success stems from each banker’s commitment to investing in their communities as a way to better understand the people they serve. At Renasant Bank, they understand you because they work and live alongside you every day.
Website | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | X (Twitter) | YouTube
Beyond Computer Solutions supports North Fulton Business Radio
If you’re a law firm, medical practice, or manufacturer, there’s one headline you would rather not make: “Local Business Pays Thousands in Ransom After Cyberattack.” That’s where Beyond Computer Solutions comes in. They help organizations like yours stay out of the news and in business with managed IT and cybersecurity services designed for industries where compliance and reputation matter most.
Whether they serve as your complete IT department or simply support your internal team, these professionals are well-versed in HIPAA, secure document access, written security policies, and other essential aspects that ensure your safety and well-being. Best of all, it starts with a complimentary security assessment.



Ed Smith is a former two sport professional athlete. His journey through a nine- year minor league baseball career and the transition to the NFL, culminating in Super Bowl XXXIII (1998 NFC Champion Atlanta Falcons) exemplifies the definitions of perseverance and determination.
In 1963, Jacob Fann’s grandfather Floyd and his brother Don owned Fann Toyota, and in their commercial they would state, ” My Toyota is FANNtastic.” The Fann legacy holds tradition for respected ethical practice, trust, and valued work. As a 22 year old college graduate, Jacob founded Fanntastic Media based on those same principles.


Kristen Call, for the love of technology, has over 20 years’ experience in the retail and payments technologies and has served in a variety of capacities. Achievement highlights include several patents and has been recognized by the Wall Street Journal and Nightline for entrepreneurial endeavors. Out of the ashes of her years of entrepreneurship she took her lessons achieved to continue to build a successful career in software implementations at corporations including NCR, American Express, Pier One and PetSmart. She is also the current residing president for IIBA’s local Phoenix chapter. She is honored to have the privileged of working with so many brilliant people.
Carrie Van Sickle is a Sr. Program Manager with GE Digital. As a member of the Strategic Accounts Delivery team, Carrie is responsible for helping customers worldwide achieve desired outcomes through development and deployment of digital transformation strategies. Carrie received her PMP credential in 2007.
Joe Pusz started THE PMO SQUAD to bring real world PMO Leadership experience to the consulting space and to advocate for Project Management through his blog PMOJOE.com. The old saying is “Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.” Following this mindset Joe left Corporate America in 2013 to start THE PMO SQUAD and work with fellow Natural Born Project Managers to advance Project Management Best Practices.

Jill Smith is a seasoned entrepreneur and consultant. Collaborative and outgoing, Jill is always looking for ways to improve efficiencies and effectiveness, both in her business and with those that she consults with. She’s a big fan of processes that improve output and making things happen. Oftentimes the best results come through communication and leadership training.














