2026 Speakers
Watch this space. More speakers coming soon!
Ronnie Chatterji
Chief Economist
Aaron “Ronnie” Chatterji, Ph.D. is the Mark Burgess & Lisa Benson-Burgess Distinguished Professor of Business and Public Policy at Duke University. He is currently the Chief Economist of OpenAI, where he leads a team of researchers exploring the economic and societal impacts of artificial intelligence.
Ronnie works at the intersection of academia, public policy and business, investigating the most important forces shaping our economy and society. His primary appointment is in the Fuqua School of Business, from where he has published over 30 peer-reviewed articles in the top journals in strategic management, economics, finance and organizational studies and two books, “Can Business Save the Earth?” (Stanford University Press) and “The Role of Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Economic Growth” (University of Chicago Press).
Chatterji is committed to public service, both at the national level and in his home state of North Carolina. He most recently held senior economic policy positions in the Biden Administration. Chatterji served as the White House CHIPS coordinator, overseeing the implementation of the $52 billion CHIPS and Science Act, one of the largest industrial policy initiatives in a generation. He was also the Acting Deputy Director of the White House National Economic Council, overseeing the Administration’s work on supporting American manufacturing, building more resilient supply chains, and driving technological innovation. Prior to his White House role, he served as the Chief Economist of the U.S. Department of Commerce, where he was the principal economic adviser to the Secretary of Commerce and responsible for policy development related to U.S. competitiveness, innovation, trade and economic growth.
Ronnie previously worked for President Obama as a Senior Economist at the White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA). Chatterji served on the North Carolina FIRST Commission and the Governor’s Entrepreneurial Council, two statewide bodies advising Governor Roy Cooper on economic policy. During his sabbatical leave in 2020, Ronnie ran for State Treasurer of North Carolina, winning the statewide primary election and earning more than 2 million votes in the general election.
He has received several awards for his research, including the Kauffman Prize Medal for Distinguished Research in entrepreneurship, the Rising Star award from the Aspen Institute, and the Strategic Management Society Emerging Scholar award. Chatterji has authored several op-ed pieces in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, including influential essays introducing the concept of CEO activism with co-author Michael Toffel. He writes widely for management and policy audiences with several recent pieces in Harvard Business Review and for the Brookings Institution.
Ronnie has won multiple teaching awards at Duke, both for his teaching in the core curriculum and electives. He created a new elective on business and politics that was profiled in national media and became one of the most popular courses at the Fuqua School of Business. He is a frequent keynote speaker and experienced facilitator who has worked with top companies in finance, healthcare, technology, energy, retail, real estate and sports.
Chatterji is a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research and was previously a visiting Associate Professor at The Harvard Business School. He also holds a secondary appointment at Duke’s Sanford School of Public Policy.
Ronnie was previously a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations and worked as a financial analyst at Goldman Sachs. He received his Ph.D. from the Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley and his B.A. in Economics from Cornell University.
Donnie Beamer Jr.
Senior Technology Advisor
Donnie Beamer, CFA was appointed by Mayor Andre Dickens as Atlanta’s first-ever Senior Technology Advisor. He serves as the Mayor’s chief liaison with the tech sector and assists with shaping policy and programs to grow the ecosystem. Beamer also works with Invest Atlanta to attract new companies to the city, grow existing ones and advises the Administration on fostering Atlanta’s technology workforce.
Prior to joining the City, Beamer was the General Manager of LotVision Automotive at Cox2M, Cox Communication’s commercial IoT business line and was responsible for the product roadmap and strategy for their flagship vehicle tracking and telematics platform.
Beamer was also an Atlanta tech entrepreneur, leading the Monsieur team that created an automated bartending system that was deployed in movie theaters, hotels, and sports & entertainment venues. Although his first job out of undergrad was in investment management at BlackRock in NYC where he served institutional clients and earned his CFA charter.
Beamer studied Economics as a Division I student-athlete at the Georgia Institute of Technology and earned an MBA from The Wharton School at UPenn.
Stuart Countess
CEO
Stuart Countess is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Kia Georgia’s manufacturing facility in West Point, Ga. Countess is responsible for all operational facets of the five-model assembly plant that employs more than 3,200 team members and produces a capacity of 350,000 vehicles annually. A graduate of the University of Alabama in Electrical Engineering, Countess began his 30-year manufacturing career with Hughes Aircraft Corporation before moving into automotive at the Mercedes Benz assembly plant in Vance, Ala.
Countess is highly active in community, civic, and educational organizations promoting individual development and providing leadership through service on multiple boards and committees in various capacities. Among them are the Georgia Chamber, LaGrange College, LaGrange Academy, Georgia State Workforce Development Board, The Ray, The Carter Center, and was the chair of a key committee in Georgia’s Electric Mobility and Innovation Alliance (EMIA).
Raghupathy "Siva" Sivakumar
Vice President, Commercialization
Raghupathy "Siva" Sivakumar is the Vice President of Commercialization and Chief Commercialization Officer at Georgia Tech, a Regents’ Entrepreneur, the Wayne J. Holman Chair, and a professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He is also the founding director of CREATE-X and co-founder of multiple startups, including StarMobile and Asankya. Through his work, he empowers innovators across Georgia Tech to launch startups, license technologies, and strengthen the region’s innovation pipeline, helping drive Atlanta’s emergence as a leading tech hub.
Rep. Brad Thomas
State Representative
State of Georgia
Rep. Todd Jones
State Representative
Representative Todd Jones represents the citizens of House District 25, which encompasses South Forsyth and North Fulton Counties. He was first elected to the Georgia House of Representatives on November 8, 2016, and sworn into office on January 9, 2017. Todd started his fourth term representing District 25 on January 9, 2021. Rep. Jones serves as the chairman of the Technology and Infrastructure Innovation Committee. Further, Todd serves as a member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Education, Education, Energy, Utilities & Telecommunications, Health, Judiciary and Ways & Means committees, as well as the Special Committee on Resource Management. Todd’s business experience has focused on triple-bottom line companies that focus on social, environmental and financial impacts. From changing K-12 education worldwide to launching energy projects in the developing world to deploying EHS software, each company created accretive, positive return on investment. During his time as a business executive, he has worked with companies like Johnson Controls, Goldman Sachs, Goodyear, Cardinal Health, John Deere, Walgreens, Morgan Stanley and Cargill. In 2010, Todd was named “Co-Volunteer of the Year” by the Forsyth County Board of Education. He has also served on a variety of community executive boards including the SPES Dads Club and SFHS Touchdown Club. Todd holds a Juris Doctor (1994) and Bachelor of Administration in Finance (1989) from the University of Florida (UF). Todd served as his fraternity’s president and treasurer, UF student senator and Greek Council student representative. He was named to the “University’s Who’s Who” at UF. As an alumnus, Todd has sat on his fraternity’s board of directors, delivered guest lectures at the UF business, law and political science schools and led a variety of alumni activities. Todd has been married to his high school sweetheart, Tracey Jones, for more than 30 years. Tracey and Todd have three sons and one daughter. The family has called South Forsyth County home for more than 16 years.