Hala Moddelmog is the president and CEO of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. Here, she discusses her role and benefits to membership in the Chamber. For added measure, she gives wisdom on business in general.
Please describe your role as CEO?
The Metro Atlanta Chamber is comprised of more than 3,000 member companies that employ nearly one million workers in the metro Atlanta region. Our members include small start-ups all the way up to Fortune 500 companies. My role is to oversee the implementation of our five-year strategic plan, which is focused on growing jobs and fueling economic growth in the 29-county metro Atlanta region. Additionally, we are committed to helping our members network and connect to help them grow their businesses.
What is the mission of your organization?
We are a membership organization that represents the 29-county metropolitan Atlanta region and we work on behalf of our members to grow jobs and improve quality of life. We launched our five-year strategic plan last year which focuses on the following areas: start, grow and recruit companies; drive higher education and business collaboration; elevate and promote quality of life issues — such as water, education and transportation — to attract and retain the best workforce; and tell our story by creating noteworthy buzz and get people talking about the great things in metro Atlanta. We passionately believe that business leaders share the responsibility for driving growth in our region, and that MAC’s sole mission is to bring the right people together to make that happen.
What are the top three benefits to being a member of your organization?
We offer more than 200 events and activities each year to help our members make connections to grow their business. There really is no better place to network than a Metro Atlanta Chamber event. We offer connections to customers and capital — we help connect our members with other members or business partners. Metro Atlanta businesses, both big and small, invest in MAC because they trust us to make a difference in growing jobs and improving quality of life for our region. Our board consists of metro Atlanta’s top companies: Delta Air Lines, Georgia Power, Cousins Properties Incorporated, The Home Depot, UPS, Coca-Cola, Turner Broadcasting and many more.
How do you approach business challenges?
I have a 90/10 philosophy: life is 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent how you react to it. Everyone has obstacles and challenges that come their way. Ninety percent of success is how you deal with the curve ball.
What are the two key factors for business successes?
Two themes I always live by are being authentic and giving back. First, I believe that in a leadership role, you have to be true to yourself. Before coming to the Metro Atlanta Chamber, I spent a long time as a CEO at two different national quick-service restaurant companies. The restaurant industry is mostly run by men, and I learned a lot about what it takes to be successful. Women can contribute to any enterprise, and we sometimes see the world differently than our male counterparts. It’s not a matter of who is right or wrong, but it’s about the diversity of thought that adds value and insights to improve the quality of decisions that executives make. It’s really your authenticity and assured point of view that earns credibility with your peers, whether they are male or female.
I also personally believe that stewardship is fundamental to whatever you do, and it is what giving back is all about. Being a good steward of resources — whether it is with people’s time or money — is critical to success and is the best way to give back. But it’s not just the traditional idea of philanthropy or volunteerism. You don’t have to work at a nonprofit to fulfill a purpose, and frankly today’s consumers insist that you do have purpose in your business, no matter what your business is. Our organization’s mission is really at the heart of this theme of giving back — the notion that we are rallied behind a cause and serving a noble purpose and doing great things and bringing value to our communities.
