C. Jones Hooks, the innovative and globally-minded president and CEO of the Albany-Dougherty Chamber of Commerce, will be moving to a new position at KPMG Peat Marwick in Atlanta next week.
Mr. Hooks will be joining KPMG’s 10-person business incentive group for the Southeast as a senior manager.
From the time that he joined the chamber in 1988, he has promoted the efforts of Southwest Georgia’s companies to export and for foreign companies to invest in the Albany-Dougherty area.
He first tapped the international business expertise of the multinational companies in the area such as Merck & Co. and Procter & Gamble. Then he aggressively encouraged local companies to explore foreign markets. He established the annual “Fall on the Flint” celebration which was named after the Flint River and focused on a particular country. And he made a point of inviting Atlanta’s consular community to the fall event.
Mr. Hooks said that he made a special effort to “piggyback” on the resources of metro- Atlanta’s trade community to benefit Albany-Dougherty companies.
In 1994 he led a trade mission to Mexico so that companies belonging to the chamber could determine the advantages of Nafta, and worked closely with the Georgia Department of Industry Trade and Tourism to bring visiting trade delegations to the Albany area.
Mr. Jones may be reached this week at the Albany-Dougherty chamber by calling (912) 434-8700; fax, (912) 434-8716.