Thu, Aug. 19, 2010
Terry College Ken Stewart, strategic planner at Georgia Tech, and Robert Sumichrast, dean of the Terry College of Business

When Ken Stewart was asked to speak at a breakfast on the Atlanta campus of the University of Georgia, he still was commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development.

By the time he attended the Terry College of Business event in Buckhead on Thursday morning, Aug. 19, however, he had switched jobs and now was working for UGA’s archrival, the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Before arriving at the event, he had asked if the Bulldog hosts would prefer to hear from Heidi Green, the new commissioner, but was told to come despite his new status as a Yellow Jacket.

Graciously introduced to the 80 to 90 attendees by Terry dean Robert Sumichrast, Mr. Stewart provided a detailed overview of the department’s activities on behalf of the state and drew on the book, “The Post-American World,” by Indian-American journalist Fareed Zakaria.

Mr. Steward asked for a raise of hands of whom may have heard of Mr. Zakaria who hosts a CNN news show on foreign affairs and is the newly hired editor-at-large for Time magazine. Only a few hands went up, but Mr. Stewart pressed on with examples of how the U.S., while still a dominant global economy, is being challenged on all sides.

He did confess that at one point when he was concerned about his department’s success under his leadership, he called Michael Adams, UGA’s president who had a previous career in economic development.

Dr. Adams’ advice was pretty basic. “Knock on more doors,” he told Mr. Stewart. “It ‘s just about shoe leather on the street.”

Mr. Stewart said he took his advice. On a trip to Hong Kong on behalf the state, he was surprised to have to make a presentation next to a map of the U.S. with a large red arrow pointed at the state of Nebraska. “I guess they didn’t know the difference between Nebraska and Georgia,” he said.

Georgia is known for the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., “Gone With the Wind,” Coca-Cola, CNN, and “yes, Georgia Tech,” he added, if not on its own merits. Nevertheless, he took some pride that Forbes magazine has ranked Georgia as the sixth best state in the nation for business.

When asked what his new responsibilities at Georgia Tech entailed, he spoke of having to assure that the university remained competitive globally as well as on the gridiron.

Related Countries: Hong Kong, India
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