Wayne Lord discusses his history with the Southern Center and his plans for deepening its partnership with Georgia State University in the future. CLICK FOR VIDEO PART 2 - A Russia expert, Dr. Lord pinpoints business opportunities in the country and the need for the U.S. to keep open communication with the important economic power. PART 3 - As a Georgia State professor, Dr. Lord recently traveled to Moscow to develope a joint degree program with a university there. He says that's just one of the many Robinson College initiatives to prepare business students for the global economy.

Wayne Lord admits that navigating through his resumé is a somewhat complex endeavor.

The newly appointed president of the Southern Center for International Studies has three decades of global experience that spans the corporate, philanthropic and educational spectrums. 

But crossing from one area of expertise to another hasn’t been a detriment to his success.  In fact, his ability to weave his experiences together is exactly what landed him both of his current positions. 

In March, Dr. Lord was hired as a professor of international executive education at Georgia State University’s J. Mack Robinson College of Business.

He recently returned from a trip to Russia, where he worked on ongoing Robinson College project to develop an executive MBA in partnership with the prestigious Lomonosov Moscow State University.

In a filmed interview with GlobalAtlanta, Dr. Lord said Fenwick Huss, the college’s dean, tapped him for his specialized slot because of his international experience. 

Before joining Georgia State, he worked as vice president of government affairs for Pilgrim’s Pride Corp., the world’s largest chicken production company.  The Texas company bought Atlanta-based Gold Kist Inc. in 2006 in a $1.1 billion transaction.

Dr. Lord was with Gold Kist before the acquisition.  Along with heading its charitable foundation and handling its state and federal government affairs, he worked extensively to build the company’s ties in Russia and former Soviet countries.

Having earned a Russian affairs Ph.D. from Georgetown University in the late 1970s, Dr. Lord is an expert on that region, and his business ventures since then have often intersected with Russia.

Until recently, he was on the board of directors of a Russian agribusiness company.  In the 1990s, he ran Southco Commodities, a commodities brokerage firm that traded agricultural goods, principally peanuts, to 15 countries including Russia.

Dr. Lord maintains his presence at Georgia State even as he assumes the helm at the Southern Center, an educational institution that produces scholarly materials and hosts briefings, seminars and conferences to inform decision makers about international issues.

Dr. Lord is not new to the center.  He began leading seminars there after he moved to Atlanta in 1979 and eventually was named the center’s senior fellow for Russia.

Since then, he’s had a strong relationship with Peter and Julia White, who founded the organization in 1962.   Mr. White ran the organization until recently, when he passed the torch to Dr. Lord.

“It does ease the transition, because not only do I admire the work that Peter and Julia White and (programs director) Dr. Cedric Suzman have done …, I also know the work and the importance of what the Southern Center does, not just the people, but the great value of what they do,” Dr. Lord said.

While he hopes to honor the Whites’ legacy and continue the center’s educational role, Dr. Lord’s future plans will leverage his unique position with one foot in two internationally focused Atlanta institutions.

As the Robinson College looks to internationalize its educational offerings and the Southern Center looks to strengthen its ties with Atlanta’s business community, Mr. Lord feels that he can bring the two together for their mutual benefit.

“I see a very important element of my job is to take the relationship with Georgia State’s Robinson College of business, combine that in a creative way with both my colleagues at Georgia State and the Southern Center to serve the interests of companies as they look at global strategies,” Dr. Lord said.

In the short term, Dr. Lord sees this “already strategic partnership” taking shape through increased dialogue and cooperation on international events. 

Eventually, he’d like for the organizations to co-sponsor “roundtables for senior executives on international issues that are important for international business and economic development for the state,” he said.

He also hopes to use his experience in philanthropic experience to build financial support for the Southern Center.

In addition to his work with Gold Kist’s charitable arm, he was development director for a multi-million dollar capital campaign for the new campus of the Howard School in Atlanta.

In those instances, he was helping direct money to the cause.  At the Southern Center, he’ll be promoting the cause, and it’ll help that he knows the business of philanthropy from each “side of the table.”

“You do have to show a number of things of why your project is the one that's meritorious, and I hope the combination of my experience … can help communicate and put our case before a variety of individuals and foundations in this region,” he said.

Mr. White will be president emeritus and remain on the center’s board of trustees.  He will retain a number of executive responsibilities, particularly in fundraising and business development.

He recently accepted an award on behalf of the center, which was named best international educational program at the World Trade Center Atlanta’s Governor’s International Awards gala on Aug. 23.