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PERIMETER BUSINESS
Domestic Comfort
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High-tech businesses mean
billions of dollars in Georgia
Joe Earle
At the Perimeter Business Alliance’s March
meeting, held at Cox Enterprises headquarters,
(from left) Gerard White of Clearwave Corp.,
David A Spotts ofAutoTrader.com, Tino
Mantella of Technology Association of Georgia
and David Dabbiere of AirWatch discuss the
explosive growth in high-tech industries.
By Joe Earle
Technology busi
nesses have great
er economic impact
on the state of Geor
gia them does Atlan
ta's airport, the head
of the Technology
Association of Geor
gia told a group of
Perimeter business
and government
leaders on March 15.
"We're no lon
ger just peaches,
pecans, pine trees,
poultry and peanuts," TAG President
and Chief Executive Tino Mantella
told the 100-plus people attending a
luncheon sponsored by the Perimeter
Business Alliance.
Mantella said technology busi
nesses account for about 17 percent
of Georgia's gross domestic prod
uct, with an economic impact on the
state of about $113.1 billion a year.
Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Interna
tional Airport, considered a major
driver of the metro area's economy,
produces about $68 billion in eco
nomic impact, he said.
Mantella took part in a panel that
included representatives of sever
al high-tech companies with oper
ations in the Perimeter area. Oth
er panelists were: David Dabbiere,
chief operating officer of AirWatch,
a mobile device security and man
agement software company; David
A. Spotts, director of facilities and
corporate services for AutoTrader.
com; and Gerard White, chief exec
utive officer of Clearwave Corp., a
health care technology company.
Panelists said they found metro
Atlanta and the Perimeter area to be
attractive places for high-tech com
panies and their employees.
"We think there's no better place
than Atlanta right now to build a
technology company," Dabbiere
said.
High-tech companies bring to
Georgia employees who are young
and well paid, the panelists said.
According to Mantella, the aver
age salary is about $81,000, twice
the average for other jobs.
Some local high-tech companies
report explosive growth.
AirWatch recently announced it
was adding hundreds of jobs at its
Sandy Springs headquarters. Dab
biere said AirWatch has been add
ing about 80 employees a month.
White said his company wants to
attract "the best and brightest" em
ployees from across the country.
"We are recognized for being a
great city to live in," White said.
"And the other thing is, when they
get here, they rarely leave."
One problem high-tech firms face
in Georgia, Mantella said, is a lack of
venture capital companies with roots
in the state.
"There's a real need for venture
funding in this area," he said. "There
are only a handful of venture fund
ing [companies]."
Georgia companies, he said, col
lect only about 1 percent of the
venture capital invested in a typi
cal year, compared with California,
which collects about 52 percent.
"We're not getting our fair share of
the dollars," he said.
Prized car
Mercedes-Benz of
Buckhead owner
Gregory Baranco, center
left, received a 1959
Chevy Impala from
his wife, Juanita, co
owner of the dealership,
for his 65th birthday.
The model was nearly
identical to his first car.
12 | MARCH22—APRIL4,2013 | www.ReporterNewspapers.net