Georgia Department of Economic Development
Gov. Herman Talmadge appointed the first five-member board for the new agency. George C. Gaines served as the first commissioner. An agricultural graduate of the University of Georgia, he had worked for both the U.S. and Georgia Departments of Agriculture.
Twelve commissioners have headed the department since 1949. Mr. Gaines' successor was Nelson M. Shipp, a former newspaper editor and public relations specialist. He was succeeded by Attorney Scott Candler who had recruited many new industries to DeKalb County while serving as a county commissioner. In 1959, attorney Abit Massey was appointed commissioner but later resigned to become executive director of the Georgia Poultry Federation. Jack J. Minter, a University of Georgia graduate in sales and advertising, then served as commissioner until 1965 when James H. Nutter, formerly commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Commerce, was name to head the department under Gov. Carl Sanders. Louis W. Truman, Lt. General, U.S. Army (retired), served as commissioner for eight years under Governors Lester Maddox and Jimmy Carter, and one year under Gov. George Busbee. In 1972, Industry and Trade was renamed the Department of Community Development and operated with two bureaus: Industry and Trade, and Community Affairs. In 1976, after Gov. Busbee's election, W. Milton Folds was appointed commissioner, and the department was again renamed the Department of Industry and Trade. The Bureau of Community Affairs became a separate state department in 1977. Following Gov. Joe Frank Harris’ election, the 15-member board, newly organized by the General Assembly, appointed George Berry as commissioner on July 1, 1983. Commissioner Berry, a graduate of Young Harris College and Georgia State University, had previously served as aviation commissioner for the City of Atlanta. On April 19, 1989, the department was renamed the Georgia Department of Industry, Trade & Tourism. Mr. Berry resigned in 1990 to become a candidate for Lt. Governor. Randolph B. Cardoza, a graduate of East Tennessee State University and former deputy commissioner of Economic Development with ITT, was appointed and sworn in as commissioner on April 23, 1990. Mr. Cardoza resigned as commissioner in April 2000 to join private industry. R.K.Sehgal was named by former Gov. Roy Barnes as commissioner of GDEcD in April 2000. Sehgal worked with the U.S. for Law Engineering and internationally in London, Saudi Arabia, Spain and Southeast Asia for Law International. In 1984, the board of Law named him chairman and then CEO in 1985. Mr. Sehgal left Law Companies Group in 1995 and served as vice chairman of H.J. Russell & Company,until 2000 when he become Commissioner of GDEcD. Mr. Sehgal resigned as commissioner in January 2003. Glenn Cornell was selected by Governor Sonny Perdue to head GDEcD in January 2003. He was a graduate of Berry College, the Economic Development Institute at the University of Oklahoma, and the Emory University Advanced Management Program, he brings more than 41 years of Georgia business and economic development experience to GDEcD. Cornell joined Norfolk Southern in 1962, working in the Sales and Industrial Development Departments. In 1968 he joined GDEcD and served as a manager in the Research Division and Industry Divisions. Cornell later spent two years with a major Atlanta real estate developer. He went to Bank America (then C&S National Bank) in 1976 to manage the Institution's economic development efforts in Georgia. In 1995, he was appointed Senior Vice President and Manager of Economic Development and Government Relations for Bank of America Mid-South. Mr. Cornell announced his retirement in June 2004.
Governor Sonny Perdue selected Craig S. Lesser to head up GDEcD in July 2004. Mr. Lesser was a partner in the firm of Griswold Lesser, LLC, which provided strategic advice and counsel on public affairs issues. As a corporate governmental affairs and communications strategist for 20 years, he has long experience in building relationships at the state and federal level. Mr. Lesser was senior vice president for external affairs for Mirant Americas, Inc., a power generation and marketing and trading entity spun off from Southern Co., where he created and directed a 30 person team representing the company at the local, state, regional and national levels, focusing on the relationships among policy planners, politics and the news media. Mr. Lesser has also worked in the regulatory arena and as a corporate lobbyist. He served seven years as vice president- governmental and regulatory affairs for the utility, directing its efforts at the Georgia legislature, the Public Service Commission and Congress. He was president and CEO of Mirant’s $500 million acquisition in New York. He began his career at Georgia Power in the corporate communications department as a public relations specialist after a stint in radio as an announcer and talk show host at WSB in Atlanta.
GDEcD is divided into the following units: Business Recruitement & Retention; Policy, Research, Entrepreneur & Small Business Development; Tourism; International Trade; Film, Video & Music Office; Information Technology; and Administration with offices and representation in major regions in Georgia and the world.
Georgia's lead sale and market arm, GDEcD recruits businesses, trade partners, and tourists to Georgia. Led by a 20-member board of experienced business people including executive from corporations such as Southern Company, Mindspring, and Synovus Financial. DEcD's continuing goal is to extend the prosperity of Georgia.
Print this