Less than a month ago, news surfaced that Metro Atlanta was in the country’s to-20 for tech job growth. Now, it’s an overall great place for doing business.

As reported by the Atlanta Business Chronicle:

Georgia is the best place in the country for doing business, according to Area Development Magazine’s fifth annual survey of site consultants. Georgia unseats Texas to take the title…

Top 10 List:

1. Georgia.

2. Texas

3. South Carolina

4. Alabama

5. Tennessee

6. Louisiana

7. Indiana

8. North Carolina

9. Ohio

10. Mississippi

The magazine said Georgia’s accomplishment was especially impressive because of the breadth of its strong performances over most of the 18 categories voted on by the consultants, including top-three finishes in 12 of them. The magazine also notes the state’s No. 1 finish in a CNBC study on the best places for business in America.

Area Development added, ‘Georgia’s success has come from dead reckoning in areas that are crucial to business locators. That includes the state’s welcoming and business-friendly government, to be sure. And employers are enthusiastic about one of the Georgia legislature’s most recent moves: passing significant workers’ compensation reform that cuts costs for business.’

Click here to read more about the survey and about why each state was selected.

(read the complete article)

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Scoring all 50 states on 51 measures of competitiveness developed with input from business groups such as the National Association of Manufacturers and the Council on Competitiveness, CNBC assigned states points based on their rankings in each metric. Those metrics fit into ten categories: cost of doing business, economy, infrastructure, workforce, quality of life, technology and innovation, business friendliness, education, cost of living, and access to capital.  By weighting the categories based on how frequently they are cited in state economic development marketing materials, the study  ranks the states based on the values they promote to brand themselves.

Georgia ranks within the top ten states for several categories, including education and access to capital.  Most notably, the ranking awarded Georgia  #1 in the workforce category for the second year in a row.  Counting for 300 points, this is among the most weighted.  CNBC notes, “Many states point with great pride to the quality and availability of their workers.” To calculate the workforce rankings, CNBC rated states based on the education level of their workforce, as well as the amount of available workers. They explain that while organized labor vies that a union workforce is a quality workforce, that argument, more often than not, does not resonate with business. Therefore, the ranking also considered union membership and the states’ right-to-work laws.

Click here to see CNBC’s full list of America’s Top States for Business 2013.

-Meredith Farahmand

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As an investment banker and executive, Lado Gurgenidze made a name for himself with savvy business decisions and worldwide success.

As a television host, he shared knowledge and built a brand with a recognizable and authoritative persona.

As Prime Minister of Georgia, he continued massive economic reforms and led a country facing occupation by its neighbor.

His career has taken many paths, but passion for country, opportunity and a free-market society guided the former Emory student with each step. For those continuing efforts, Gurgenidze received the Sheth Distinguished International Alumni Award from the university on Nov. 15. He also spoke to several campus groups, including students at Goizueta Business School, where he received a Masters in Business Administration in 1993.

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO

Gurgenidze once hosted the Georgian version of Donald Trump’s high-powered business reality show “The Apprentice” (“The Candidate”), and he showed the same calm, cool confidence in the face of many challenges – mostly political – in one year as his country’s prime minister.

He showed it again when discussing world economics with Emory students.

“It is through liberty that you unleash opportunity; equal opportunity, at least as equal as humanly possible, for the entire population,” Gurgenidze said, speaking to students about guiding principles that have made Georgia one of the top three places in the world to start a business. “Then you design a set of policies that help the poorest in the country, but helps them without taking their dignity away. That’s really what we’ve done…

“It’s through this course of economic liberty we’ve achieved opportunity for our people.”

His vision started at an early age.

Gurgenidze received his MBA at age 22 and began a successful career in investment banking in Europe but he returned to his native country in 2004 to lead Bank of Georgia and, in three years, grew the bank’s assets by 760 percent and its net income by 1,563 percent.

That made the bank a key player in the region.

Similar increases in return and status came with his time as prime minister.

In 2007 and 2008 the Georgian economy went through the final bits of major financial reform, making it more of a free-market state. Gurgenidze oversaw tax cuts, reform to the finance industry and other changes that took moved the country further from its past as part of the Soviet Union.

As a result, in many ways, Georgia continues to thrive in the face of world economic turmoil.

Gurgenidze was awarded the St. George’s Victory Order in 2008 – the highest civilian honor in his country – and he continues to speak on topics of economic reform in developing countries. He also co-chairs the Emory Center for Alternative Investments at Goizueta. He is currently Executive Chairman and CEO at Liberty Bank in Georgia, CEO of Liberty Capital and Chairman of the Supervisory Board at Bank of Kigali (Rwanda).

“Lado deserves a lot of the credit,” said Jeff Rosensweig, a Goizueta finance professor and director of the school’s global perspectives program. “Georgia is one of the few countries that has continued fast economic growth through this downturn.”

Gurgenidze points to simplicity in the Georgian tax and labor code as a reason for boisterous economic growth and hiring.

“The essentials are not that many: low, flat tax… One very simple tax structure,” he said.  “We have no social insurance, payroll tax or anything so when an employer in Georgia hires and employee and they agree to a salary, that’s pretty much it; there’s no additional cost of employing an employee.”

For every year since 2005 more than 50,000 new businesses were created annually in Georgia, according to Gurgenidze. The former prime minister also points out policies that do not “dis-incentivize” savings. There is no capital gains tax or other taxes on wealth and interest income.

Reform also focused on limiting the proverbial red tape in the country. During his visit to Emory Gurgenidze talked about the decrease of corruption and permit requirements. The nation used to have more than 1,000 permits and regulations thta he called “senseless.” That number is now “around 120.” Border and import restrictions have also been eased, dropping the time it takes to ship a product into Georgia from 42 days to 16 hours.

“Corruption had been a national pastime in Georgia,” he said. “Had you asked me 10 years ago I’d say we’ll never get rid of it… Yet, we’ve cleaned up so much in seven years.”

By instituting a flat tax and changing contract laws, the nation was able to drastically cut down on cases of corrupt behavior and become a hot spot for foreign investment with, according to Gurgenidze, $2 billion of international investing annually for a country with a gross domestic product of $12 billion.

When asked if the same financial reforms in place in Georgia could work for a larger economy like the United States, Gurgenidze summarized the aspects that led to sweeping success and cautioned against easy, widespread adoption.

“Clarity of vision or clarity of purpose and enough discipline to overcome the vested interests, of which there are many,” he said. “The richer the country, the more vested interests there are.”

Talking with a crowed specifically looking to increase their education, Gurgenidze reviewed what made him successful in every effort.

And what is required to continue personal and economic growth, regardless of career.

“I think what you should try to take away from the school is really a better comprehension of how people in business and life think, how they act. What are those categories of thought and resulting patterns of behavior that drive the complexities of business?”

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Fierce Finance: Hedge funds fare poorly in dollar-weighted returns
“So, a recent study by professors at Emory’s Goizueta Business School and Harvard Business School is very interesting for its attempt to measure dollar-weighted returns for hedge funds, which is seen by many as a better measure for end investors, as these returns account for the amount of money and time actually invested.”

AJC: During a recession, some jobs survive — and thrive
“Meanwhile, state and local government, which started the recession with job growth, started shipping out jobs in the past year. Those losses, including once-safe teacher positions, were forced by an unusual quirk of the recession: the fall of real estate values…”

Market Watch: Outcomes Health Information Solutions Announces New Chief Financial Officer
“Mr. Duskin holds a Masters of Business Administration from Goizueta Business School at Emory University and a bachelor’s in Business Administration and Accounting from Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia.”

Poets&Quants: Emory’s Goizueta School of Business
“Goizueta’s general management curriculum offers core business principles, but also the freedom to customize the experience.”

Global Atlanta: Irish Consul Allays Bailout Fears
“It will be tough for Ireland to enact such severe spending cuts without raising corporate taxes, but the plan could work if it continues to draw foreign investment the country desperately needs, said Jeffrey Rosensweig, an associate professor of finance at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School who focuses on the global economy.”

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