Power Families

As our economy evolves to a global market place and large multinationals corporations become the norm, how do family and closely held businesses stay competitive? Considering the global market place what are the concerns and considerations of founding family members as they pass the baton from one generation to the next?

Panel Speakers

• Harold Dawson Jr., President and CEO, The Dawson Company

Harold A. Dawson, Jr., a native Atlantan, is President and CEO of The Dawson Company.  The firm is a developer of mixed-used and transit-oriented development primarily located in urban infill communities. Mr. Dawson specializes in structured real estate finance, and has structured transactions with prominent national and international financial institutions and funds.  The Dawson Company utilizes Mr. Dawson’s broad transactional expertise to structure and finance its development projects.  Mr. Dawson consummated numerous sales and structured finance transactions between 1988 and 1992 while with Trammell Crow Ventures, the investment banking and investment management arm of Trammell Crow Company, after completing his formal education at Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration and Princeton University-Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.

Mr. Dawson led The Dawson Company in securing and structuring the following projects that are currently underway at the firm or have been recently completed:  

¨       Museum Tower:  Located adjacent to Centennial Olympic Park in downtown Atlanta, the $55 million Museum Tower is both: a 25-story, 167-unit luxury condominium high-rise, as well as the new 30,000 square foot home of The Children’s Museum of Atlanta. The structure is a defining symbol of Atlanta’s revitalization efforts and  has received  national-recognition for its state-of-the-art blend of unique function and design elements

¨       Lindbergh City-Center Apartments and Condominiums:  TDC is developing approximately 1,000 residential units as part of the $500 million mixed-use transit-oriented development (TOD) project at MARTA’s Lindbergh Transit Station.  This Smart Growth TOD includes 1.2 million square feet of office space for BellSouth Corporation, and will ultimately include another 1,000 housing units, approximately 200,000 square feet of retail space, approximately 300,000 square feet of multi-tenant office space, and a hotel.  Construction is on going.

¨       Lindmont: 25-acre land acquisition and TOD in Atlanta’s Buckhead community that will include the development of up to 1,500 condos, apartments and town homes.  Construction will commence third quarter 2006.  This is a joint venture with Lane Investment and Development Corporation and Teachers Insurance & Annuity Corporation (TIAA-CREF).

¨       Decatur Renaissance Centre:  A $50 million acquisition and redevelopment of the Wachovia Plaza in downtown Decatur, GA, a block from the Decatur MARTA station, consisting of 201,000 square feet of office space and a 1,100 car parking deck situated on 7.4 acres.  TDC has developed Decatur Renaissance Condominiums, a $25 million, 168-unit luxury condominium building with over 5,500 square feet of street-level retail space at the site in a joint development with Lane Investment and Development Corporation. 

¨       Centerpoint:  A $104 million development/redevelopment in downtown Baltimore, MD encompasses a city block that includes nine historical buildings, proximate to the University of Maryland.  Through both new construction and renovation, 394 residential units, 35,000 square feet of retail space, and a 410-space parking structure have been developed.  This 50/50 joint venture with Banc of America Community Development Corporation initiated a master plan to rejuvenate Baltimore’s historic Westside.

¨       The Banks: The development will include over an exciting 17.9 acre mixed-use partnership with Carter Real Estate will be developed in Cincinnati, Ohio. The landmark project is the first designed to maximize the development potential that lies in the area between Paul Brown Stadium and The Great American Ballpark along the banks of the Ohio River. At completion, The Banks project will include roughly 2.8 million square feet of new real estate construction, including 1 million square feet of office space, 1,800 housing units, up to 500 hotel rooms and 300,000 square feet of retail at a cost of approximately $1 billion.

Mr. Dawson has been profiled in numerous publications including National Real Estate Investor, Real Estate Forum, Business to Business Magazine, Black Enterprise Magazine, Atlanta Tribute the Magazine, Georgia Trend Magazine, Business Week SmalBiz, Southern Living Magazine, Catalyst, the Atlanta Business Chronicle, and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Past and present civic activities and board memberships include The Carter Center Board of Councilors, Security First Network Bank Board of Directors, RBC Bank (USA) Board of Directors, Emory University Board of Visitors, Atlanta Action Forum, The Westminster Schools Board of Trustees, SciTrek Board of Directors, Harvard Business School Alumni Board of Directors, Radcliffe Presbyterian Church Session Board, Metropolitan Atlanta Chamber of Commerce (MACOC) Board of Directors, MACOC Executive Committee, and Georgia World Congress Center Authority Board of Governors, and The Woodruff Arts Center.

Honors and Awards include Outstanding Young Atlantan, 1995; Best in Atlanta Real Estate, 1997 Residential - City Plaza, 1997; Atlanta Business Chronicle - Who’s Who in Commercial Real Estate, 1997; Atlanta Business Chronicle - 100 Most Influential Atlantans, 1999; National Real Estate Magazine “40 Stars of Tomorrow”, 1999; Southern Christian Leadership Conference, 1999 - Drum Major for Justice Award for Business; Atlanta Tribune 20^th Century Black Business Owners Hall of Fame, 1999; Georgia Trend “40 under 40”, 2001.  Catalyst Magazine, “The Top 50 Entrepreneurs” 2002, Atlanta Business League – Corporation of the year 2003, Cox Family Enterprise Center at Kennesaw State University – Family Business of the Year 2003, 100 Black Men Remy Martin XO Excellence Award for Entrepreneurial Spirit 2004, Outstanding Minority Entrepreneurs, Catalyst Magazine 2004, 2005 Notable Georgians, Georgia Trend 2005, 2007 Father of the Year by the American Diabetes Association, a True Ally by Men Stopping Violence, and featured as Fan Male by Atlanta Woman Magazine in September 2007.

Mr. Dawson enjoys triathlon training and spending time with his three children, Brianna, H. Allen, and Katrina.

• Donna Gittens, Founder/CEO, Causemedia (Moderator)

Dubbed causemedia’s official “Rainmaker,” Donna Latson Gittens is recognized and respected by her peers and clients alike as an authority on social issues and cause marketing.  A visionary leader with intuitive business insight and foresight, Donna has succeeded in building an exceptional advertising agency offering cause-related marketing to companies and organizations who are doing well by doing good. causemedia, inc. – dedicated to serving socially-conscious corporations and non-profits.

Gittens launched causemedia in 1997, following a ground-breaking, twenty-year career as a corporate executive at WCVB-TV (Boston’s ABC affiliate) an innovator in community programming.  Gittens' television work won numerous local and national awards, including a Gabriel for "Success By 6", a United Way campaign promoting children's well-being which was syndicated to sixty television markets.

She is a regular contributor to WGBH’s Greater Boston with Emily Rooney, and, in 2010, launched causeFilms - a division of causemedia, inc. - with a mission to showcase the causes and organizations that fuel her passion. Personally, she has and continues to demonstrate a strong commitment to helping others as a member of the Board of Overseers for the Mother Caroline Academy and the Boston Public Library Foundation in addition to other activities.

Ms. Latson Gittens holds a BA from Park University, an MBA from Northeastern University and is the recipient of an honorary doctorate from Elms College in Springfield MA. She is married and the mother of two children.

• Frank A. Tucker, President CEO, Tucker Technology, Inc.

Frank Tucker founded Tucker Technology in 1993, and currently serves as the President and CEO.  Prior to starting Tucker Frank worked in various telecommunications companies in various sales and management roles. A native of New York City, he moved to the San Francisco-Bay Area with AT&T where he spent 10 years before moving on to Pacific Bell (now AT&T) and several other telecommunications service and equipment providers. In his role as President andCEP he oversees all company operations in addition to setting vision and strategy.   He serves on the board of directors of: Capital Commitment, a Washington DC –based non-profit organization; the City of Oakland Workforce-Investment-Board; the Bay-Area Chapter of 100-Blackmen,;the Oakland African-American Chamber of Commerce, the Advisory-Board of Alta-Alliance Bank. Mr. Tucker earned his undergraduate degree from York College of the City University of New York.

• Frank Q. Tucker, Program Manager, Tucker Technology, Inc.

Frank Q. worked in financial services and in green energy before rejoining Tucker Technology in 2010.  In his role of Program Manager at Tucker he is responsible for managing several projects from inception to close, including staffing, equipment and material procurement, project profitability, and ensuring his team meets all milestones and goals. Frank is also a blogger with subjects ranging from philosophy to financial market commentary. Frank is active in the community with various voter registration organizations and after school tutoring programs for youth. He attended Howard University.

• Monne Williams, MBA Candidate '12 (Panel Manager)