Joseph Bankoff, chair of the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at the Georgia Institute of Technology, has been named to the board of the Georgia Foreign-Trade Zone.
A foreign-trade zone is an area approved by U.S. Customs and Border Protection where companies can import goods or components with lower duties and quicker processing times through ports of entry. They can be company sites or industrial parks.
Georgia Foreign-Trade Zone administers Foreign-Trade Zone #26 in Atlanta, which starts at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport but also includes many major industrial sites around the metro area.
Mr. Bankoff joined Georgia Tech in 2012 after six years as president and CEO of the Woodruff Arts Center. He is a former senior partner of Atlanta-based law firm King & Spalding LLP.
“I’m honored to join this select group of directors focused on economic development and international trade interests in Georgia,” he said in a news release.
Julie Brown, president and CEO of Georgia Foreign-Trade Zone, said the organization is happy to have Mr. Bankoff on board.
““He will be a real asset as we continue our momentum in ensuring that the Foreign-Trade Zone program is utilized fully by businesses in our state,” she said in the release.
The board is chaired by Betty McIntosh, senior director, Location Incentives Group, capital markets, Cushman & Wakefield and also includes immediate past chair Jose Ignacio Gonzalez, CEO, Hemisphere Trade Services; vice chair Brian McGowan, president and CEO, Invest Atlanta; treasurer John S. “Trip” Martin, partner, Georgia Link Public Affairs Group; secretary Patrick Topping, senior vice president, Macon Economic Development Commission; Hans Gant, senior vice president, of economic development, Metro Atlanta Chamber; Charlie Gatlin, senior projects consultant, Georgia Department of Economic Development; David Luckie, executive director, Griffin-Spalding Development Authority; Cliff Pyron, chief commercial officer, Georgia Ports Authority and proxy Carmen Murphy, director of trade development, Georgia Ports Authority.
Visit www.georgiaftz.com for more information.
