Board of Directors

Joel Babbit

Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Mother Nature Network. Prior to launching Mother Nature Network, Babbit spent over 20 years in the advertising and public relations industry – creating two of the largest and most awarded advertising agencies in the Southeast – Babbit and Reiman (acquired by London-based GGT) and 360 (acquired by Grey Global Group). He also served as President of GCI, which was one of the world’s 10 largest public relations firms with 40 offices in 22 countries.

His clients have included The Home Depot, Coca-Cola, Dell, USA Today, American Express, Holiday Inn, UPS, and Citigroup.

He is especially noted for his marketing work related to corporate transitions which have included the acquisition of RJR Nabisco by KKR, BellSouth by AT&T, Georgia –Pacific by Koch Industries, and numerous acquisitions during the formation of Coca-Cola Enterprises.

With Atlanta’s selection as host city for the 1996 Olympics, Babbit took a leave of absence from the private sector to serve as Chief Marketing & Communications Officer for the City – responsible for all corporate and media relations, as well as serving on the mayor’s cabinet and executive committee during this historic period.

A native of Atlanta, Joel was chosen Georgia Citizen of the Year in 1997 and was awarded the John Drewry Award for Outstanding Achievement from The University of Georgia where he received his ABJ degree from the Henry Grady School of Journalism.

He has been active in many civic and charitable organizations including Young Presidents Organization, the CDC Foundation, SafeAmerica, The Atlanta History Center, and the Anti-Defamation League and was an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist in 1997. (Read more about Joel Babbit).

Thomas D. Bell, Jr.

Chairman of SecurAmerica, a national commercial security company dedicated to providing premium contract security services. Bell is also chairman of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's board of directors and has held top positions with some of the world's leading companies, including President and Chief Executive Officer of Cousins Properties (NYSE:CUZ), one of the nation’s top diversified development companies; Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Young & Rubicam Inc. (NYSE:YNR); CEO of Burson-Marsteller and Young & Rubicam's Diversified Communications Group; and Vice Chairman of Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation. He serves on the boards of Emory Healthcare, Regal Entertainment Group, AGL Resources, Inc., and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and is the former Chairman of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. During the Reagan administration, he chaired the Committee on the Next Agenda, which focused on prioritizing issues for President Reagan's second term.

Gerald R. Benjamin

Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Atlanta Equity, a private equity firm focused on control investments in middle market companies throughout the Southeast. Prior to co-founding Atlanta Equity, he served as Managing Director of Navigant Capital Advisors, LLC, the Corporate Finance practice group of Navigant Consulting Inc., where he directed the activities of NCA’s national Investment Banking Practice, along with leading the group’s Private Equity advisory activities. He currently serves on the boards of NRI Construction, Inc., The Las Olas Company, American Pad & Paper, LLC, Office Images, Inc., National Dental Services, Inc., and The Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta.

A.D. "Pete" Correll

Co-Founder and Chairman of Atlanta Equity, a private equity firm focused on control investments in middle market companies throughout the Southeast. He previously served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Georgia-Pacific Corporation from 1991 until his retirement in 2006.

He is the Chairman of the GMHC’s Board of Directors as well as serving as an outside director on the boards of Mirant Corporation, Norfolk Southern Corporation, and SunTrust Banks, Inc. He also serves on the boards of Emory University School of Medicine, The Georgia Aquarium, The Carter Center, Robert W. Woodruff Arts Center, and the University of Georgia Foundation.

Alexandra Cousteau

A globally recognized advocate on water quality and policy, Alexandra Cousteau continues the work of her renowned grandfather Jaques-Yves and father Philippe Cousteau. Her global initiatives seek to inspire and empower individuals to protect not only the ocean and its inhabitants, but also the human communities that rely on the purity of our freshwater resources. In 2008, she founded Blue Legacy, a Washington, D.C.–based nonprofit dedicated to exploring how humans relate to our water-based planet. In her first book This Blue Planet, to be published in 2011 by Dutton Publishing (a division of the Penguin Group), Alexandra will share stories and findings from her 100-day Expedition: Blue Planet —which took her from the Ganges River in India to the Okavango Delta in Botswana, throughout the Middle East and across both Cambodia and Australia. Cousteau was selected as a National Geographic “Emerging Explorers” Class of 2008 and is a co-founder and board member of EarthEcho International, a board member of the Global Water Challenge, and was named United Nations Earth Trustee in 2007.

Doug Hertz

President and CEO of United Distributors, Inc., one of the leading beverage distribution companies in the U.S. and ranked as one of the 25 largest private companies in Atlanta. He also serves on the boards of The Marcus Foundation, Inc., SunTrust Bank of Atlanta, Mayer Electric Company and Tulane University. In 2007, he was named Chairman of the Board of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, the largest pediatric healthcare system in the country and is the Founder and Chairman of Camp Twin Lakes, a camping facility designed for chronically ill and disadvantaged children. He is also part owner of the Atlanta Falcons.

Chuck Leavell

Chuck Leavell has been the keyboardist for the Rolling Stones since 1982. He was previously a member of the Allman Brothers Band and he has played with Eric Clapton, The Black Crowes, George Harrison, The Allman Brothers Band, The Indigo Girls, Blues Traveler, Train, Montgomery Gentry, Lee Ann Womack and many, many more. In addition to being a well-known musical artist, Leavell is an avid environmentalist and the author of Forever Green and The Tree Farmer. He has been a featured guest on CNN, The Today Show, the Fox News Channel and has been profiled by The New York Times, Fortune, People magazine, Forbes, andThe Wall Street Journal. He and his wife Rose Lane were named National Outstanding Tree Farmers of the Year in 1999 for their management of Charlane Plantation in Macon, Ga. He is a board member of the U.S. Endowment for Forest Communities and he was the keynote speaker at The Presidential Seminar and Fortune Magazine’s Green Summit.

Advisor to the Board

James D. Robinson III

Mr. Robinson is a co-founder and General Partner of RRE Ventures, LLC, a private information technology venture investment firm. He also serves as President, J. D. Robinson, Inc.

Mr. Robinson served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of American Express Company from 1977 to 1993. Mr. Robinson held several executive positions within the Company. Prior to American Express he was a general partner with White Weld & Co., and Assistant to the Chairman and President of Morgan Guaranty Trust Company.

He was a director and Chairman of the Executive Committee of First Data Corporation until FDC was taken private by KKR in 2007. Mr. Robinson was Non Executive Chairman of Bristol-Myers Squibb from 2005 to 2008 and is a former director. A former director of Novell, Mr. Robinson is now an Advisor; he is also an Advisor to Mother Nature Network.

Mr. Robinson is Presiding Director of the Coca-Cola Company. He serves on the boards of PrimeRevenue, SkyGrid and On Deck Capital, private companies.

Mr. Robinson is an Honorary Trustee of the Brookings Institution, a member Council on Foreign Relations and Honorary Chairman of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center;. He is Chairman Emeritus of the Partnership of New York City and the World Travel and Tourism Council. He is a former member of the Business Council. Mr. Robinson served as Co-Chairman of the Business Roundtable and as Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Trade Policy and Negotiations.

Mr. Robinson has an M.B.A. from Harvard University (1961) and a B.S. from Georgia Tech (1957). He was an officer in the U.S. Navy from 1957-1960.

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