4 Columbus leaders among ’100 Most Influential Georgians’ in 2022. Here are the names
Four of Georgia Trend magazine’s “100 Most Influential Georgians” this year are from Columbus, encompassing fields like education, finance and infrastructure.
The four winners are:
- Aflac chairman and CEO Dan Amos
- Columbus State University president Christopher Markwood
- Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Jerald Mitchell
- Peak Wooten McDaniel & Colwell law firm partner Joel Wooten.
Amos was recognized for his philanthropy. Last fall, he and his wife, Kathelen, announced a $5 million pledge to establish a medical student loan forgiveness program at Emory University.
Markwood was recognized for continuing CSU’s expansion. Last spring, the university opened a robotics engineering lab, where it offers the state’s only bachelor’s and master’s degree programs in robotics engineering. CSU also added a welcome center on its RiverPark campus in downtown Columbus.
Mitchell was recognized for backing up his emphasis on improving infrastructure last summer, when American Airlines flights started arriving and departing again at the Columbus Airport after an eight-year hiatus.
Wooten was recognized for becoming the new chairman of the Georgia Ports Authority and addressing logjams at the Savannah port by winning approval for a $34 million plan to speed expansion of container storage capacity.
This story was originally published January 5, 2022 at 4:52 PM.
