Spotlight On: Matthew Taylor, Chairman & CEO, Duane Morris LLP

Spotlight On: Matthew Taylor, Chairman & CEO, Duane Morris LLP

By Yolanda Rivas

2 min read

OCTOBER 2019 — As the Philadelphia legal market grows and consolidates, Philadelphia-based firm Duane Morris LLP is focused on expanding and strengthening its performance through its strategic plan, launched earlier this year. Chairman and CEO Matthew Taylor spoke recently with the Invest: Philadelphia team about the firm’s growth efforts, most in-demand practices and the future of the legal sector in the region.

What are some recent highlights or significant accomplishments for Duane Morris?

We went through a full year of a strategic planning process, which was intensive. It’s also been galvanizing in terms of realizing how well-aligned our partners are in terms of who we are and what we want to be. We rolled out our strategic plan in the first quarter of 2019, and it has been met with great excitement. The plan is focused on what we want in terms of growth, higher performance and how we are going to accomplish those goals. We were also able to strengthen the firm by growing in key regions, such as Texas, New York, Philadelphia and on the West Coast with key additions in Northern California. 

Where are you seeing the most growth in terms of your practice areas in Philadelphia?

Our trial litigation group, generally, is very busy. Our private equity and emerging company practice is very strong, too. Our employment and labor practice is particularly busy and, along with our intellectual property group, is a preeminent practice for us globally. We’re doing well across all sectors. Things have been a bit flat over the last few years for our bankruptcy and reorg group, but this year there has been an increased amount of activity in that area. We have seen a nice broad base and good performance in all our practice groups so far this year. 

As part of our strategic plan, we want to focus on our Top 5 sectors in terms of revenue. About 85% of our revenue is in the following industries: financial institutions, health and life sciences, technology and telecommunications, infrastructure (including construction and energy) and finally retail and consumer products. Those areas are our focus across the firm and in Philadelphia, which is our largest office with over 200 lawyers. Clients are focused on what you know about their industry and how you can help them, instead of where you are located. Philadelphia has done a good job in attracting great industries and keeping great corporations in the area, which benefits our law firm.

What is your outlook for Duane Morris and Philly’s legal sector in 2020?

My outlook for Duane Morris is bullish. We have high expectations for ourselves as a firm. I am just as bullish about Philadelphia. This is a gem of a city, of a region. We have great educational institutions and industries. The infrastructure in this city and its great healthcare, restaurants, sports and cultural sectors are the main drivers of new residents and visitors to the city. Philadelphia is a great place to live and do business. 

To learn more about our interviewee, visit:

Duane Morris LLP: https://www.duanemorris.com/

How Philly Universities Are Getting Ready for Jobs of the Future

How Philly Universities Are Getting Ready for Jobs of the Future

Writer: Yolanda Rivas

2 min read OCTOBER 2019 — The higher education sector is one of Philadelphia’s main economic engines. As technology and innovation disrupt every industry, Philly’s higher education institutions are revamping their curriculums to prepare students for the jobs of tomorrow. The Invest: Philadelphia team recently met with college leaders to explore their efforts around workforce readiness. 

 

Many higher education institutions are focusing on emerging fields and professions to meet the needs of local and international businesses. “There’s no question that professions like technology, medical, and financial services lead to gainful employment in today’s society,” Aaron Walton, president of Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, told Invest:. 

“A lot of our strategic planning aims to reshape our academic focus toward the jobs of the future. We’re talking about becoming a 21st century model institution in which there’s significant emphasis on the quest for excellence in academics, character and social responsibility. We are placing particular emphasis on the medical services arena,” Walton said. 

According to Pew’s State of Education in Philadelphia 2019 report, 28% of Philadelphians 25 or older have at least a bachelor’s degree — a lower percentage than in many U.S. cities — and 16 percent of Philadelphians have completed some college credits but do not have a degree. 

Aside from including new, innovative programs many schools are also reimaging the learning environment. “Twenty-first century learning has evolved dramatically, and so, too, have our learning spaces. Starting with our Business and Public Management Center, which we opened two years ago, the Sciences & Engineering Center and The Commons, and renovations such as Anderson Hall, West Chester University’s buildings are now being built to reinvigorate the learning environment based on the technological tools that students need to be successful,” Christopher Fiorentino, president of West Chester University, told Invest:. 

Due to the major presence of biomedical and pharmaceutical companies in the Philadelphia region there is a need for graduates in the life sciences and biomedical engineering arena. Widener University is helping students to advance into high-paying jobs through its health sciences, engineering and sciences programs. 

“Widener’s robotics engineering undergraduate program launched in fall 2018 and we opened a new state-of-the-art robotics laboratory with funding from a generous donor. We have also introduced a new occupational therapy doctoral program, which will be housed in a completely renovated building that will open in fall 2019,” said Widener’s President Julie E. Wollman in a recent interview with the Invest: Philadelphia team. 

Community colleges are also embracing innovative academic programs to provide qualified talent to the local pool. That is the case of Delaware County Community College, which is developing new methods to meet the needs of its students and integrating apprenticeship programs with regional business and industry partners.

“Technology has changed the way that we deliver education. We have an extensive Advanced Technology Center, which helps students navigate opportunities in areas such as manufacturing,  welding, transportation, logistics, automotive, advanced technology, skilled trades and others. Every program that we offer is infused with technology. That is what is changing the landscape; every career involves technology,” Joy Gates Black, president of Delaware County Community College, told Invest:. 

It is projected that 75 million to 375 million workers globally may need to switch occupational categories and learn new skills, according to a McKinsey & Company report. It is also expected that 8 to 9 percent of 2030 labor demand will be in new types of occupations that have not existed before.

 

To learn more about our interviewees, visit:

Cheyney University of Pennsylvania: https://cheyney.edu/ 

West Chester University: https://www.wcupa.edu/ 

Widener University: https://www.widener.edu/ 

Delaware County Community College: https://www.dccc.edu/ 

ATLNext Targets New Heights

By Sara Warden

 

2 min read SEPTEMBER 2019 For the 21st consecutive year, Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport was named the world’s busiest airport this month. With passenger traffic of over 107 million in 2018, the airport continues to serve as a major economic driver of the city. Capital Analytics took a closer look at the characteristics that make the airport the world’s transport hub.

ATL is the state of Georgia’s largest employer, generating 63,000 direct on-site jobs and creating an estimated $34.8 billion economic impact for Metro Atlanta – or almost 7% of total state GDP. The 47,000-acre Hartsfield-Jackson facility has 263 concessions, 193 gates, seven concourses, five runways and the tallest control tower in North America, coming in at 121m.

“It’s a complex operation,” Airport General Manager John Selden told How Stuff Works. “One little piece going astray can cause massive chain-reaction ramifications. To keep the complexity of this operation running smoothly, it takes a village.”

But to keep operations running smoothly, the airport must constantly keep up with growing passenger numbers through more and more expansions. “As you look at passenger flow over time, it’s always trying to eliminate the bottleneck,” Tom Nissalke, the airport’s assistant general manager of planning told How Stuff Works. “Sometimes, when you fix one bottleneck then it’s another bottleneck somewhere else.” 

In 2016, the Hartsfield-Jackson Airport unveiled ATLNext, a $6 billion capital investment in the continuous expansion of existing infrastructure. By 2022, a total of $1.9 billion is to be invested in the modernization of the central passenger terminal, which will include aesthetic renovations that involve landscaping and lighting, as well as the extension of Concourse T to add five new gates and the addition of 10 new gates to Concourse G.

To accommodate growing air traffic, $1.3 billion will be invested in airfield upgrades that include a sixth runway, slated to be completed by 2034. Investments in auxiliary services such as parking and a mixed-use hotel and office space development are also planned. Air cargo facility upgrades will come in at around $200 million.

“The infrastructure has to keep up with the growth,” Selden said to Reporter Newspapers. “We cannot turn into [New York’s secondary airport] LaGuardia. My goal and my team’s goal is to do everything we can to work with everybody that we need to [in order to] ensure that Hartsfield-Jackson is not a limiting factor on the growth of the Atlanta region.”

The investment is a joint venture between the public and private sector. A consortium of three companies – CH2M Hill (since acquired by Jacobs), RohadFox and Parsons Transportation Group – won the contract to carry out the ambitious expansion. Overall, PPPs are an innovative idea in airport projects, but could be the future, allowing the public sector to free up funds for other priorities. “I think we’ll see other examples where other companies get involved. And gradually, familiarity builds, and it won’t seem outlandish at some later date when the subject of the whole airport comes up,” said Robert Poole, director of transportation policy at Reason Foundation, in an interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

 

To learn more about our interviewees, visit:

http://next.atl.com/

https://reason.org/

http://www.rohadfox.com/

http://www.jacobs.com/ 

https://www.parsonsgroup.co.uk/

Atlanta’s Westside: Where Opportunity Meets Walkability

By Sara Warden

 

2 min read September 2019 — There are 26 qualified Opportunity Zones in the city of Atlanta, with the majority of them running down west of the I-75 in the city’s Westside. The qualified Opportunity Zones were born from a fiscal effort to drive private business into low-income communities. But it is more than just tax incentives that make Atlanta’s Westside one of the city’s fastest-gentrifying areas.

“There is demand,” Avison Young Principal Casey Keitchen told Bisnow. “There’s way more capital chasing qualified Opportunity Zone deals than there are qualified Opportunity Zone deals.”

This week, the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation awarded a $17.5 million grant to Atlanta BeltLine Partnership to support development of Westside Park. The 280-acre park is slated to be the largest greenspace in Atlanta when it opens, with the first phase set to be inaugurated in 2020. The donation will be combined with $26.5 million from the city.

“Westside Park is a transformational project that will set an exciting new precedent for greenspace development across Atlanta,” said John Dargle, Jr., Commissioner for the city’s Parks & Recreation department in an interview with Atlanta Daily World.

According to Arthur M. Blank, Chairman of The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, the aim of the project is to create a community in an area that did not have the facilities to do so. “We want these Westside communities to feel like this is their park where residents, neighbors, and visitors are connecting and gathering because that is when Atlanta is at its very best,” he told Atlanta Daily World.

In the last few years, private developers have flocked to the area to take advantage of the qualified Opportunity Zone, among other features. 

“Westside is all the rage creative office. That makes sense,” Banyan Street Capital Principal Taylor White told Bisnow. “It makes a lot of sense for Opportunity Zone investors to go to that market.”

The magic of the Westside is that it is the point of crossover between most qualified Opportunity Zones and the Atlanta BeltLine project, meaning this real estate is worth its weight in gold. It can offer easy mobility, green spaces, social spaces and entertainment. Added to this is the Westside’s easy access to educational facilities, in particular Georgia Tech, which means that for developers, the sky is the limit. 

One developer that saw opportunity in the area is CrossStone Management, a firm that purchased several land parcels and is now looking to build retail, residential and commercial space. “I was attracted to the areas before Opportunity Zones were even discussed,” said the firm’s founder, Greg Todey, to Bisnow.

 

To learn more about our interviewees, visit:

https://beltline.org/about/the-atlanta-beltline-project/atlanta-beltline-overview/

https://blankfoundation.org/

https://www.atlantaga.gov/residents/parks-recreation

http://www.banyanstreet.com/

Young Atlanta Forcing Real Estate Disruption

By Sara Warden

 

2 min read July 2019 — As demographics change, so does the way real estate is purchased. With a host of disruptive real estate companies entering Atlanta, such as Zillow, Redfin and Opendoor, all with their own added value, legacy real estate companies need to keep up.

 

Realogy, owner of Coldwell Banker, Century 21 Real Estate and Sotheby’s International Realty, has teamed up with none other than Amazon to tap into the younger generations and provide a new kind of real estate offering.

According to data from the 2017 American Community Survey carried out by the Census Bureau, Atlanta’s median age is 33.3 years. The largest demographic group is the 20-29 bracket, composing 21% of Atlanta’s residents, followed by the 30-39 group that makes up a further 17%. Only around 17% of the population of Atlanta is over 59 years old.

This is one reason why Amazon and Realogy chose Atlanta as one of the 15 cities to participate in the TurnKey service.

“Customers can be overwhelmed when moving, and we’re excited to be working with Realogy to offer homebuyers a simplified way to settle into a new home,” Pat Bigatel, director of Amazon Home Services, said in a statement. “The Amazon Move-In Benefit will enable homebuyers to adapt the offering to their needs — from help assembling furniture, to assisting with smart home device set up, to a deep clean, and more.”

The Amazon Move-In Benefit refers to up to $5,000 in Amazon products that come free with the purchase of a home through the platform, depending on the value of the purchase. For Realogy, the partnership adds value to its brand – its stock price jumped 20% the day the alliance was announced after having fallen from $48/share to $6/share over the prior four years.

For Amazon, the investment is practically risk-free. Realogy shoulders the cost for the program, allowing Amazon to drive traffic to its Home Services division in exchange for Realogy’s access to Amazon’s powerful platform. “For Amazon, this is a free way to experiment with attracting customers,” wrote Brad Berning, an analyst at research company Craig-Hallum.

Other platforms also see the value in Atlanta. This month, Zillow ranked it fourth-best as a location for first-time homebuyers to invest in real estate and earlier this year announced it was looking to establish its regional headquarters for Zillow Offers in the city.

“The area checks a lot of our boxes in terms that it is a well-connected part of the region, easily-accessible, and the talent pool is strong for both real estate professionals and tech talent,” said Zillow spokesperson Viet Shelton in an interview with Hypepotamus. “It just makes a lot of sense for a venture like Zillow Offers, which is trying to redefine and make (the experience) incredibly seamless for the consumer.”

Zillow Offers, a similar concept to Atlanta-based startup Knock, aims to tap into the hassle-free aspect of moving house and simultaneously find a new home for those selling on the platform. Since it was established in 2017, Knock has raised $400 million in equity and debt funding as it aims to expand nationally based on its Atlanta success.

As the Atlanta seller’s market transitions to a buyer’s market, it seems Amazon, Zillow and the others have found the sweet spot in between that favors all kinds of investment. “Some real estate experts say that if you’re going to enter this market, 2019 is the year to get it done,” said digital media strategist Brandon Barker in a blogpost for Roofstock.

Atlanta Takes Novel Approach to Walkability

By Sara Warden

July 2019

2 min read July 2019 — Atlanta has not been known for its walkability. According to the Walk Score – a score that determines how pedestrian-friendly a city is – Atlanta ranks 21st among large US cities with a score of 49 out of 100. That is well below No. 1 New York City, which scored 89. But as the host of the 2019 Super Bowl earlier this year, the Georgia city took ownership of its connectivity issues and now has ambitious new plans.

 

Although most sports arenas are located a fair way outside a city’s core due to obvious space constraints, the 62,350-square-foot Mercedes-Benz Stadium is located just a 20-minute walk from downtown Atlanta. The stadium is within walking distance of 10,000-plus hotel rooms and 10 major attractions, which was a huge added value for the NFL when selecting its host city.

“One of the things that has made this Super Bowl special is just how walkable and compact this town is,” Peter O’Reilly, NFL senior vice president of events, told Saporta Report. “People are able to move so easily throughout the campus. It is as compact a Super Bowl campus as we have seen in recent years.”

But while the Super Bowl was a resounding success, Atlanta’s walkability is still a controversial topic. Problems plagued the Northside Drive pedestrian bridge, built specifically to safely connect the city’s downtown with the stadium. The bridge’s costs spiralled and ultimately, its usefulness was limited because it had to be closed to the general public during the Super Bowl due to safety concerns.

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms says she knows there is more opportunity. “We are getting better by the day,” she told Saporta Report. “While we haven’t always been considered a pedestrian-friendly city, whenever you have an event downtown, we have a walkable area.”

In April, the Atlanta City Council adopted a resolution to become a participating jurisdiction in the Atlanta Regional Commission’s Livable Centers Initiative feasibility study for the AeroATL Greenway Development Plan. The Atlanta mayor’s office pledged $20,000 to support the 1-mile pilot project, an amount that will be matched by each participating jurisdiction. The developers Aerotropolis Atlanta Community Improvement Districts (AACID) and Aerotropolis Atlanta Alliance pledged $80,000. 

If all goes to plan, this will pave the way for a 48,000-acre greenway, which will cost anywhere between $100,000 to $5 million per mile, funded 70% by the government and 30% by the private sector.

“This initiative will begin the process of connecting the City of Atlanta to surrounding cities and the world’s busiest airport by way of greenway,” District 11 Councilwoman Marci Collier Overstreet said in a press release.

The plan will be interlinked with Atlanta’s Transportation Plan, adopted by the City Council in 2018, which prioritizes the construction of high-quality sidewalks and bike infrastructure to facilitate access to transportation, retail, and the community.

At the moment, the initiatives are in their infancy, but Atlanta increasingly is recognizing a need to connect in a more innovative way. Hartsfield-Jackson is the busiest airport in the world, with more than 107 million passengers in 2018, and with the Greenway Development Plan, it will soon be one of the most accessible by bike.

“The AeroATL Greenway Plan supports the ability to bike to schools or jobs, walk to downtown restaurants and shops, and – most uniquely – bike directly to the airport for a trip,” says the plan’s executive summary.

To find out more, visit the below:

City of Atlanta: https://www.atlantaga.gov/

Atlanta Regional Commission: https://atlantaregional.org/

Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport: https://www.atl.com/

Atlanta’s health doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg

By staff writer

July 2019

As home to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta has healthcare written into its DNA. But until now, the city has focused more on control than prevention. After years of lackluster patient outcomes, Atlanta is beginning to recognize that prevention is healthier approach.

In 1990, Georgia ranked 43 among all 50 states in the America’s Health Rankings annual report. Over the years, the state has slowly climbed and in 2018 it held 39th place.

Although there is a way to go for Georgia as a whole, Atlanta is somewhat ahead of the curve. When compared to the rest of the state, metro Atlanta has some of the lowest Years of Potential Life Lost (YPLL) rates – the measure of premature death – even though the metro area has the fifth-largest population in the U.S. with 5.9 million residents.

In the same rankings, although metro Atlanta ranks moderately for “Outcomes” (how healthy people feel), it is has one of the lowest rankings for “Factors” (behaviors such as smoking, drinking alcohol and sedentary lifestyles). Although major cardiovascular diseases are the main cause of death in the state and region, Atlanta’s rates have been on the decline over the last 10 years.

“We have to get back to prevention,” said Dr. Otis Brawley, who previously served as chief medical and scientific officer for the American Cancer Society, at the Health Journalism 2019 conference in Baltimore.

According to the Integrated Benefits Institute, a health research group that works with U.S. employers, poor worker-health costs amount to “60 cents for every dollar employers spend on healthcare benefits.”

Earlier this month, CVS announced an ambitious plan to open 1,500 HealthHUB stores by the end of 2021, with Atlanta named as one of its strategic locations. HealthHUBs combine a traditional CVS store layout with health services; in particular, focusing on preventive care, wellness activities and education and management of chronic conditions like asthma and diabetes.

And employers are starting to see wellness costs as another business essential. The global wellness industry is now valued at $4.2 trillion – more than half of total health expenditure[CN1] , which comes in at $7.3 trillion.

The Atlanta Business Chronicle has even launched an award recognizing the Healthiest Employer. Atlanta-based Catalyst Fitness won the award in 2017 and says the key to improving a balance sheet lies in guaranteeing that staff are healthy, and that doesn’t always just mean providing an insurance plan.

“Regular exercise can significantly improve workplace health. Instances of absenteeism and staff turnover, low staff morale and reduced productivity can be alleviated with a corporate wellness program in Atlanta that energizes and motivates tired employees,” says the company on its website. “Boredom, repetitive motion injuries and workplace fatigue can only be combated with physical and mental stimulation.”

Another company founded in Atlanta is AMP Recover, which provides data that allows better outpatient care. “We have been pleasantly surprised by the burgeoning injury prevention and wellness market and love seeing providers and patients take a more proactive and preventative stance,” said CEO David Nichols in an interview with Hit Consultant magazine.

Ann Mond Johnson, CEO of the American Telemedicine Association, told the Value-Based Care Summit hosted in Atlanta that the next step is tracking results. “We (now) have an opportunity to start documenting and cataloguing these cost savings,” Johnson said. “There are plenty of instances where we are saving a lot of money.”

The Healthcare Research Capital

February 2018 — Known as a healthcare hub, Atlanta is nationally recognized not only for its patient care but also for its research in the healthcare industry. As the home of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and leading research institutions like Emory University and Georgia Tech, Atlanta paves the way in innovation within the industry. In fact, former Mayor Kasim Reed said that Atlanta would become the health technology capital of the Southeast after seeing the impact that the recently opened Atlanta Center for Medical Research has had on its surrounding community.

Focus: Atlanta spoke with a number of city leaders in the healthcare sector to get their insights on this. Here’s what they said:

Dr. Jonathan Lewin, President and CEO and Chairman of the Board, Emory Healthcare

“At Emory’s Woodruff Health Sciences Center, we are conducting more than $540 million of externally funded research in 2017. The Emory Vaccine Center is performing clinical trials for Zika virus vaccines,  we have made groundbreaking progress on HIV vaccines and antibiotic resistance. The Winship Cancer Institute, recently designated a comprehensive cancer center by the National Cancer Institute, has participated in clinical trials for all the newest immunotherapy drugs. Our Brain Health Center is conducting research on Alzheimer’s, PTSD, stroke, and depression. We are leading the largest clinical trial ever in Atlanta, the Emory Health Aging Study, which will be enrolling healthy aging people across the city, looking at brain health development and dementia. It’s going to be one of the biggest trials ever conducted in the U.S. for brain health.”

Dr. Walter Curran, Executive Director, Winship Cancer Institute

“The National Cancer Institute considers several features of an institution when it designates CCCs. It looks at the quality of laboratory cancer research, the quality of clinical trials, the efforts to understand cancer in the community, including cancer prevention or early detection methods, educational training programs and the positive impacts of research on the local community. Our mission is to lessen the burden of cancer in Georgia. We do that by aligning our research and educational programs with our cancer care and prevention.”

Anne Meisner, CEO, Cancer Treatment Centers of America

“We have a presence of large academic institutions, and that is a driver of medical education as well as research.”

John Haupert, President and CEO, Grady Health System

“The Marcus Stroke and Neuroscience Center came online in 2010 and has become one of the leading stroke centers in the country. It is the largest in Georgia and a leading research facility. The Marcus Trauma Center has given us the capacity to manage larger numbers of trauma patients. Additional investments have been made in cardiology that allow Grady to be a 24-7 cardiac center and allow a 24-7 catheterization lab available to respond to ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction, a serious type of heart attack. Most recently, we have undergone a significant expansion and renovation of our emergency department. Because of the population we serve, we have created the state’s first psychiatric ER as we see a significant number of psychiatric patients.”

To find out more about our interviewees above, visit their websites at:

Emory Healthcare: https://www.emoryhealthcare.org
Winship Cancer Institute: https://winshipcancer.emory.edu
Cancer Treatment Centers of America: https://www.cancercenter.com
Grady Health System: https://www.gradyhealth.org

Conventional Attraction

 

 

January 2018 — In 2017, Atlanta was host to a total of 700 conventions, meetings and events according to the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau. Over the next five years, 107 additional conventions will be held in the Greater Atlanta area, 47 of which have never been held in the city. There are a number of factors that contribute to this.

Besides Atlanta’s favorable climate, variety of attractions and centralized metropolitan area, the Georgia World Congress Center Authority in downtown Atlanta is ranked the number 1 convention, sports and entertainment destination in the world. The GWCC’s “2020 Vision” consists of adding a new 100,000-square-foot exhibit hall, 48,000 square feet of new meeting space, a 20,000-square-foot lobby and a new 800- to 1,000-room hotel in order to continue to expand the tourism industry by attracting more meetings and conventions.

Another significant factor for the increasing number of conventions and meetings taking place in Atlanta is the easy connectivity promoted by the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Situated about a 2-hour flight from every major U.S. destination, Atlanta serves as the ideal place to facilitate centrally located meetings.

The city continues to promote itself in order to continue to attract more conventions and events to the area. However, despite all of Atlanta’s positive factors, there is still one problem: not enough space.

Focus: Atlanta spoke with a number of leaders in the city’s tourism industry to gain insights on how Atlanta plans to successfully attract and house more conventions. Here’s what they said:

William Pate, President and CEO, Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau

“Over the next four to five years, we are going to see numerous conventions that haven’t been held here in almost a decade – some of which have never held their meeting here. A lot of conventions are now looking at Atlanta. We have a unique opportunity to show off our great city to these new meetings. If we can add some of these conventions to our current business rotation, we can see additional lift in our run rate. These are very exciting times for our destination and our hospitality industry.”

Brad Koeneman, General Manager, Hilton Atlanta

“Atlanta is currently addressing the need for larger expo space. The Georgia World Congress Center is the third-largest convention center in the U.S. Currently, the halls are 400,000 to 700,000 square feet; however, clients still want more space. We need to and soon will provide 1.2 million square feet under one roof.”

Frank Poe, Executive Director, Georgia World Congress Center Authority

“We are just finishing a $25-million project to make the Convention Center energy efficient. A lot of our central plant systems have been modified to reduce our energy consumption. We are also updating our flooring systems throughout the complex. That represents an investment of $6 million. Third, we have the support from the governor’s office to receive $55 million for a project to connect our two major halls to give us the capability to have more than 1 million square feet in one building. Our last project in the pipeline is to develop our campus and connect it to our building and a new hotel.”

Joseph Handy, President and COO, Georgia Aquarium

“We have participated in a number of promotional ventures focusing on economic development for the city. The aquarium also has a large ballroom that can accommodate 1,200 people, so we host city and state banquets as well as nonprofit banquets for the local community.”

To find out more about our interviewees above, visit their websites at:

Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau: http://www.atlanta.net
Georgia Aquarium: https://www.georgiaaquarium.org
Georgia World Congress Center Authority: https://www.gwcca.org/gwcc/
Hilton Atlanta: http://www3.hilton.com/en/hotels/georgia/hilton-atlanta-ATLAHHH/index.html

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