We conducted this podcast in the conference room at the GACC South offices with a beautiful view of Atlanta, Georgia. Our guest is Pat Wilson, the Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development. Our host, Matthias Hoffman of the GACC South, is sitting in a Strandkorb. You may be able to take this beach cabana home from an upcoming fundraiser. Find out more by listening to the show!
Metro Atlanta–and North Fulton specifically–are home to a thriving esports industry, and all the necessary ingredients are in place for continued growth, according to panelists speaking at this GNFCC Wellstar Chamber Luncheon series. Todd Harris, founder of Skillshot Media, and Brennen Dicker of Creative Media Industries Institute, joined moderator Asante Bradford, Georgia Department of Economic Development, to discuss the dynamics of the region’s esports industry and why its future is bright.
The host of “The GNFCC 400 Insider” is GNFCC CEO Kali Boatright, and the show is presented by the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce and produced by the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX®. John Ray and North Fulton Business RadioX served as the media sponsor for this event.
Asante Bradford is Project Manager for Digital Entertainment and Emerging Media for the Georgia Department of Economic Development, the sales, and marketing arm for the State of Georgia.
The Global Commerce Division conducts extensive business development, sales, marketing, and promotional activities in order to attract entertainment projects and businesses to the state. The division’s team also assists the local, national and international entertainment industries with information, expertise, and resources.
Asante helps promote the growth of the digital media industry as well as identify initiatives that will help grow businesses for the state of Georgia in interactive entertainment and eSports. He also helps educate potential prospects and provides clients with information about the Georgia Entertainment Industry Incentives Act.
His area of concentration with the Global Commerce office is to increase the impact of interactive entertainment for the State of Georgia as well as being a dedicated liaison to assist with promotions, logistics, and business development for attracting digital media companies outside the state to relocate in Georgia.
Esports is becoming an economic driver for Atlanta with Fortune 500 companies, a thriving tech center, film, TV, and videogame tax incentives all play into the mix. Georgia esports is also a sanctioned activity at the local high school level with a focus on STEM exposure.
Company website
Todd Harris (@toddalanharris) is an accomplished entrepreneur who has been leading video game and esports businesses for 15 years and involved with technology product startups for 25 years. Todd co-founded Hi-Rez Studios, one of the largest video game studios in the Southeast and is currently Founder & CEO of Skillshot Media, a leading esports infrastructure and production company, President of the North American Scholastic Esports Federation (NASEF), and co-owner of esports professional team Ghost Gaming.
Skillshot connects leading brands to engaged esports fans. The company has hosted thousands of esports tournaments, paid out over $10M in prizing for competitive video games, and delivered over 1 billion views of esports content. Skillshot also powers the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) competition with member universities awarding over $16M in esports scholarships.
Ghost Gaming is an Atlanta-based professional esports team and gaming lifestyle brand that has won 13 tournament championships and cultivated a fan base of over 5 million.
NASEF is the leading scholastic esports solution for high school students, providing opportunities for all students to use esports as a platform to acquire critical communication, collaboration, and problem-solving skills.
Throughout his career, Todd has garnered industry recognition including “2019 Most Admired CEO” by the Atlanta Business Chronicle as he works with partners toward advancing the esports industry.
Company website
Brennen Dicker, a film and television professional with 25 years of experience, is Executive Director of the Creative Media Industries Institute at Georgia State University. Before joining Georgia State, Brennen was the General Manager for SIM International (Post) Atlanta. SIM provides production and post-production services for many episodic television series and feature film productions, including; “Stranger Things”, “Watchmen”, “The Gifted”, “Dynasty”, “Good Girls”, “True Detective” S3, as well as the blockbuster “Get Out”.
Brennen previously served as Director of Post Production Sales at Crawford Media Services, has broad experience in all aspects of film and television production, and deep ties to Atlanta’s production community. He worked with networks – National Geographic, HGTV, and Discovery and also with series “The Walking Dead” and “Vampire Diaries” while at Crawford. Earlier in his career, he was executive producer and principal of American Mongrel Productions (Chicago). He was the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Fellowship Recipient in 2001, and 2018 inaugural Women in Film and Television ( WIFTA – Atlanta) Gallantry Award winner.
Brennen is a current member of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce Screen Coalition Committee and is on the board for the Atlanta Esports Association (AEA). He chairs the CMII Working Group which is comprised of leaders in film, television, gaming, and music for the state of Georgia. He also serves on the Board of Directors for The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival.
He has served as Chair of the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) Atlanta Advisory Council, and as Chair of Gov. Relations with the Georgia Production Partnership (GPP) board, and was the Chair for the 2018 and 2019 Atlanta Jewish Film Festival. He has also served on the board as Vice Chair for The Frazer Center and served on the Executive Board for the DeKalb Chamber of Commerce.
Institute website
“The GNFCC 400 Insider” is presented by the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce (GNFCC) and is hosted by Kali Boatright, President and CEO of GNFCC. The Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce is a private, non-profit, member-driven organization comprised of over 1400 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.
The GNFCC promotes the interests of our 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 such as this North Fulton Mayors Appreciation Lunch, follow this link.
For the complete show archive of “The GNFCC 400 Insider,” go to GNFCC400Insider.com. “The GNFCC 400 Insider” is produced by John Ray and the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX®.
Mary Ellen McClanahan is the Director of Small Business at the Georgia Department of Economic Development.
Shane Gottwals is the CEO of Gottwals Books.
Heather Abbott is the Sales and Marketing Director of SouthLife.
David Pope is the Chief of Innovation and Co-Founder of Strand RX.
The Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD), along with the Georgia Economic Developers Association (GEDA), announced Georgia’s 2018 Small Business Rock Stars. GDEcD and GEDA hosted a luncheon where four Georgia companies were honored for being an outstanding, unique and impactful small business. “What an honor it is to celebrate Georgia’s Small Business Rock Stars during the state’s annual Small Business Week,” said GDEcD Commissioner Pat Wilson. “Anytime we can put a spotlight on Georgia’s small businesses is a win-win for the state. This year’s Rock Stars come from all over Georgia and keep our economy thriving, helping us maintain our status as the No.1 state in the nation in which to do business.” The 2018 Small Business Rock Stars winners include: AKESOgen in Gwinnett County, Gottwals Books in Peach County, SouthLife Supply Company in Thomas County and STRAND Clinical Technologies in Colombia County. “With almost 98 percent of Georgia companies employing fewer than 100 people, small business has a tremendous impact on Georgia’s economy,” said GDEcD Director of Entrepreneur & Small Business Mary Ellen McClanahan. “The Rock Star recognition provides the perfect opportunity to showcase how important small businesses are to the state and of course, the local economy.” These companies have shown increases in revenue, sales, exporting, product lines, jobs and economic impact. Additionally, the Small Business Rock Stars have shown dedication to their entrepreneurial spirit, creativity and a unique approach to conducting business to take them to the next level. “GEDA supports all types of economic development where jobs and investment are created, and where the quality of life is improved for our citizens,” said GEDA President Kevin Shea. “We are proud to support small businesses of all sizes through our members and their organizations all over the State of Georgia. Congratulations to this year’s award-winning small businesses.” Governor Nathan Deal declared March 19-23, 2018 as Georgia Small Business Week to celebrate the achievements made my small businesses throughout the state. The Georgia Department of Economic Development’s small business efforts and outreach are directed by GDEcD Director of Entrepreneur & Small Business Mary Ellen McClanahan.
Jannine Miller / Georgia Department of Economic Development
Director of the Center of Innovation for Logistics
Jannine Miller is the Director of the Center of Innovation for Logistics, a division of the Georgia Department of Economic Development and the states leading resource for fueling logistics industry growth and global competitiveness. The Center provides technical industry expertise, collaborative research and partnerships to help the states logistics industry connect, compete and grow. The Center also hosts the annual Georgia Logistics Summit, which had over 1,000 attendees in 2016.
Previously, Ms. Miller served as the Senior Manager of Finance for The Home Depot; the Executive Director of the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority (GRTA), Transportation Policy Advisor to Governor Purdue, Policy and Programs Consultant for the Georgia State Road and Tollway Authority, and as Senior Transportation Planner with the Atlanta Regional Commission.
Also joining Jannine On The Air is;
David Nuckolls Global Account Manager, Marketing & Operations at Georgia Department of Economic Development
Mary Ellen McClanahan / Georgia Department of Economic Development
Director, Entrepreneur & Small Business
As Director of Entrepreneur & Small Business Development for the Georgia Department of Economic Development, Mary Ellen McClanahan helps find solutions and effective ways to build an entrepreneurial environment to support small business through mentoring, professional development, strategic planning and resource awareness. She also connects with Georgias business and community associations so that thousands of businesses, local leaders and practitioners are aware of resources and opportunities. She also directs any size businesses to the specific resources they need. Mary Ellen is also an Existing Industry Project Manager within the Metro Atlanta region. She calls on growing companies making them aware of state resources and incentives and provides assistance with their growth plans and decision-making process. She also works closely with the local economic developers with their existing industry support efforts.
During her 18 years with the department, she helped develop and grow its regional economic development program, the Entrepreneur Friendly Initiative and acted as legislative liaison. Prior to that, Mary Ellen was the economic developer and president of two rural South Georgia chambers of commerce in Dodge and Sumter Counties.
Originally from Erie, PA and in Georgia since 1973, Mary Ellen serves on the boards of GEDA (Georgia Economic Developers Association), GACCE (GA Association of Chambers of Commerce Executives), Georgia Mentor Protégé Connection, Adv
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Zaheer Faruqi / Aventure Aviation
Founder and President
Zaheer Faruqi has been president of Aventure Aviation since he co-founded the company in 2001. He has more than 35 years of aviation experience, having worked in the engineering and maintenance departments of several major international airlines for more than 20 years before co-founding Aventure. Zaheer is responsible for the success and strategic direction of the company. He oversees the company’s operations, taking great interest in ensuring that the right staff are hired, and that they are provided with the proper training and facilities needed to make their jobs challenging and fun. His favorite part about working at Aventure is forming relationships with customers, to ensure that he understands their specific parts requirements. He also takes great satisfaction in training the Aventure staff to better serve their customers. Zaheer was first attracted to the aviation field by his childhood love of airplanes.
When not working, he enjoys reading business books, volunteering in the community, and helping those in need improve their daily lives. Zaheer holds a Masters in Administrative Management, and a Bachelor of Science in Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Technology. He has FAA airframe and power plant licenses, and has completed multiple courses from Airbus and Boeing.
Spencer Nix / Reformation Brewery
Founder
Reformation Brewery out of Woodstock, Ga. employs 10 people and is redefining what local beer should be. “We built our entire business model on this concept of enjoying well made beer as a gift and sharing that gift with others,” said Spencer Nix, CEO of Reformation Brewery. And Nix wanted to enjoy the process. Many breweries obtain a lot of capital and skip to the largest equipment they can afford, but Reformation did the opposite and started with a few investors and opened a production brewery on a 1-Barrel Brewhouse. They’ve since scaled that equipment to a 3-Barrel Brewhouse, a 7-Barrel Brewhouse, and recently installed the first High Efficiency Brewing System (HEBS) in the State of Georgia.
Since starting in 2014, the company has gone from zero paid employees to ten and saw $700,000 in sales in 2015. But its impact on people and the community is what fuels their business and has launched them into the new phenomenon of “beer tourism.” The brewery has drawn visitors from as far away as Michigan, and theKeeping Room welcomed 12,000 visitors to its downtown Woodstock location in its first year.
So why start a brewery in Georgia? “Because it’s home,” Nix says. “Home to a growing population relocating from other parts of the country. Home to great small communities where small business thrives. Home to world-class resources the city of Atlanta attracts. And home to where I’m from, and all meaningful adventures start at home.”
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This week I had the special treat of sitting down with a long-time acquaintance of mine, Samir Saini, Atlanta’s recently-appointed CIO (2014). He shared the story of his professional journey, beginning as an IT program manager with General Electric and his experience of successful completion of their 2 yr leadership training program.
He spent 10 years with this well-respected organization before accepting the opportunity to step into the role of VP, Corporate Strategy in IT for the MGM International Resorts in Las Vegas. They were in the middle of tackling the IT challenges that come with acquiring several established companies into an existing enterprise, in this case, several well-known hotels.
He was able to successfully lead them through the process of moving the hotels onto a common platform, allowing the company to begin to leverage their company’s size through its expanded buying power and maximize efficiencies in numerous other areas.
Samir returned to Atlanta several years ago, this time bringing his leadership and IT expertise to bear in the public sector, taking a role with Atlanta’s Housing Authority. Four years later he was appointed to be the new CIO for the City of Atlanta by Mayor Kasim Reed.
We talked about the challenges a municipality the size of Atlanta faces, balancing budgetary constraints against a myriad of government agencies, the world’s busiest airport, large population and infrastructure necessary to support them, along with a fast-growing business sector.
Samir discussed several of the tech solutions he and his team are working on and several that are already implemented to the benefit of Atlanta residents. Until we spoke I wasn’t aware that the city provides free Wi-Fi access in Piedmont Park, Grant Park, and numerous other hotspots (with more coming).
He shared the city’s plans to update the fiber optic network to allow for numerous tech upgrades such as synchronized traffic lights to alleviate gridlock, applications that allow drivers to easily locate available parking, and more. I also had the chance to ask him about the priorities he has laid out for the city going forward to address the enormous tech needs of our city to prepare us for the years to come that will make the city a better place to live as a resident and a solid choice for businesses looking for a place to plant their flag.
Special Guest:
Samir Saini, CIO, Commissioner, City of Atlanta 
This week I sat down with Jannine Miller, Director, Center of Innovation for Logistics at the Georgia Department of Economic Development. We talked about how the state of Georgia places a great deal of priority on maintaining and expanding our transportation infrastructure. Jannine shared how effective logistics management can foster significant economic development.
She also discussed how the entities that comprise our logistics capabilities across the various modes gives rise to growth opportunities for small businesses around the area. This comes from the need for “last mile” carriers who can move the freight to its final destination from larger distribution centers, as well as countless other ways to provide vendor/supplier services to larger companies that need to extend their capacity.
We also were pleased to have VP of Business Development for NOWaccount, Kim Humphreys on the show. We talked about how their merchant services solution provides B2B companies experiencing some delayed payment of invoices access to aging AR funds in 3-5 days for only a 2.5% fee.
With this already-earned capital can fund new growth and/or allow a company to be able to afford to take on larger orders that could otherwise not be possible.
Special Guests:
Jannine Miller, Director, Center of Innovation for Logistics, Georgia Department of Economic Development
Kim Humphreys, VP, Business Development/Co-founder, NOWaccount
Georgia declares its first official Small Business Week! Our February 10th, 2015 show featured Ms. Mary McClanahan, Georgia’s Director of Entrepreneur & Small Business Development for the Georgia Department of Economic Development. The kick-off event at Georgia Tech for Small Business Week on Monday will highlight some of Georgia’s most innovative businesses in their “Rock Star” award series luncheon, so come prepared to get inspired by some of Georgia’s true path-blazers in some of the hottest sectors. As a precursor, however, tune in to find out what changes we can expect in 2015 for small enterprises, and mine the wealth of priceless information and resources Ms. McClanahan reveals will be the key to success in 2015 for small businesses. To find out more about Georgia’s first official Small Business Week kick-off at Georgia Tech, the amazing programs for 2015, and to get up to speed on some of the best resources for entrepreneurs and small businesses, please visit: http://www.georgia.org/
Mary Ellen McClanahan / Georgia Department of Economic Development 
As Director of Entrepreneur & Small Business Development for the Georgia Department of Economic Development, Mary Ellen helps find solutions and effective ways to build an enabling environment and support small business through mentoring, professional development, strategic planning, processes and resource awareness. She also connects with Georgia’s business and community associations so that thousands of businesses, local leaders and practitioners are aware of resources and opportunities. She also directs any sized businesses to the specific resources they need.
Mary Ellen is also an Existing Industry Project Manager within the Metro Atlanta region. She calls on growing companies making them aware of state resources and incentives and provides assistance with their growth plans and decision-making process. Mary Ellen also works closely with the local economic developers with their economic development efforts.
During her 16 years with the department, she helped develop and grow its regional economic development program, the “Entrepreneur Friendly” Initiative and acted as legislative liaison. Prior to that, Mary Ellen was the economic developer and president of two rural South Georgia chambers of commerce in Dodge and Sumter Counties.
Originally from Erie, PA and in Georgia since 1973, Mary Ellen serves on the boards of GEDA (Georgia Economic Developers Association), GACCE (GA Association of Chambers of Commerce Executives), Georgia Mentor Protégé Connection, Advisory Council for the Edge Connection and the DeKalb Workforce Investment Board.
She is a 1997 graduate of Institute for Organization Management, Leadership Georgia and a 2000 graduate of EDI (Economic Development Institute).
There has never been a better time to be a small business owner in Georgia. Just ask Georgia Department of Economic Development’s Mary Ellen McClanahan, the director of entrepreneur and small business, who shed light on the vast opportunities and resources available to Georgia small businesses. So if you want to know more about Georgia’s technical and financial assistance programs, its many tax incentives as well as the high growth industries that are steadily placing Georgia in the lead for entrepreneurship throughout the nation – you have come to right place. Listen in…Georgia is open for business!
Mary Ellen McClanahan / Georgia Department of Economic Development 
As Director of Entrepreneur & Small Business Development for the Georgia Department of Economic Development, Mary Ellen helps find solutions and effective ways to build an enabling environment and support small business through mentoring, professional development, strategic planning, processes and resource awareness. She also connects with Georgia’s business and community associations so that thousands of businesses, local leaders and practitioners are aware of resources and opportunities. She also directs any sized businesses to the specific resources they need.
Mary Ellen is also an Existing Industry Project Manager within the Metro Atlanta region. She calls on growing companies making them aware of state resources and incentives and provides assistance with their growth plans and decision-making process. Mary Ellen also works closely with the local economic developers with their economic development efforts.
During her 16 years with the department, she helped develop and grow its regional economic development program, the “Entrepreneur Friendly” Initiative and acted as legislative liaison. Prior to that, Mary Ellen was the economic developer and president of two rural South Georgia chambers of commerce in Dodge and Sumter Counties.
Originally from Erie, PA and in Georgia since 1973, Mary Ellen serves on the boards of GEDA (Georgia Economic Developers Association), GACCE (GA Association of Chambers of Commerce Executives), Georgia Mentor Protégé Connection, Advisory Council for the Edge Connection and the DeKalb Workforce Investment Board.
She is a 1997 graduate of Institute for Organization Management, Leadership Georgia and a 2000 graduate of EDI (Economic Development Institute).
