Meade Sutterfield, Society of International Business Fellows (SIBF) facilitator; Wayne Lord, president, Southern Center for International Studies (SCIS); Lt. General David Poythress, former adjutant general of Georgia; and moderator Joel Cowan, SIBF, discuss the ramifications of the conflict between Russia and Georgia. This event is co-sponsored by [SIBF](http://www.sibf.org) and SCIS. It was hosted by the 103 West restaurant in Atlanta.
Wayne Lord is also a Georgia State University international business professor with extensive connections in Georgia’s corporate, educational and legislative communities.He has held a number of leadership roles at non-profit organizations and companies over three decades of international trade and business experience. Before joining Georgia State University, he worked as a corporate relations officer with Gold Kist, Inc. and Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation.
David Poythress is a Georgia politician. He has served terms as Secretary of State and Commissioner of Labor of the state of Georgia. Poythress also served as the Adjutant General of the Georgia National Guard from 1999 until 2007, initially appointed by Governor Roy Barnes and subsequently reappointed by Governor Sonny Perdue. He retired as a Lieutenant General. In 1998, Poythress made an unsuccessful bid for Governor of Georgia.
Joel Cowan holds Georgia Tech's William B. Turner Chair in Servant Leadership and is an adjunct professor for the College of Management and the Institute for Leadership and Entrepreneurship. Owner of the investment company Habersham & Cowan, Inc., he founded Georgia's Peachtree City, serving as the town's first mayor from 1959 to 1963. He served as CEO of Peachtree City's development company through 1976. Cowan also has developed such projects as Phipps Plaza, Snapfinger Woods, and Palmetto Dunes. A member of the Society of International Business Fellows and the Carter Center's Board of Councilors, Cowan has shifted his focus in recent years from real-estate development to international activities. He does trade, technology transfer and merchant banking in the Netherlands and the emerging economies of Central Asia, Eastern Europe, Russia and China. His nonprofit contributions in these same regions include education and leadership training. Cowan is currently a director of World Airways Holdings, Inc. He also directs the EastWest Institute in New York and the Center for International Leadership in Washington, DC. He has held leadership positions with the Atlanta and Georgia Chambers of Commerce, and was the founding chairman of the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority and the Metropolitan North Georgia Water Planning District.