vol. XX no. 2
|
|
|
|
|
Page
1
2 New
Board Chair Has International Focus
 | |
Pete Petit |
Pete Petit (MBA '73) has turned in one chairman’s hat. Now he’s about to
don another.
Petit, who recently retired as chairman of the board of Matria
Healthcare, will become the new chair of the Robinson College Board of
Advisors.
“The level of activity of the head of any public company makes it
difficult to find the time to do things you would like to do to support
your community. I’ve wanted to play a bigger role with the Robinson
College for a long time, and my retirement from Matria now makes that
possible.”
Petit’s desire to play a bigger role stems largely from his experience
as a student at Robinson and from the respect he has for the mission
and vision of the College.
Although he holds two degrees from Georgia Tech, Petit says that his
Georgia State MBA made the difference in his ability to run a
successful company. “Healthdyne (Petit’s first company and one he built
to revenues in excess of $600 million) started as a medical technology
business, and while I wasn’t an electrical
engineer– I was a mechanical engineer– I had a pretty good concept of
how to develop products. What I didn’t know was how to develop the
capital structure associated with running a prosperous business. My
education at the Robinson College, specializing
in Finance, was really important from that standpoint.” He is now
launching his own private equity firm, the Petit Group, to be housed in
Alpharetta.
Petit has kept a close eye on the College over the years. “Robinson has
been extremely important to the business community,” he said. “Our
business school, and the national rankings verify what I’m saying, has
had a wonderful impact on business careers associated with this area.”
While Petit thinks the College has accomplished much, he is not one to
let the school rest on its laurels. He says today “there’s an
international focus on academics. Many emerging countries now realize
the importance of education. I believe that the Board of Advisors can
have a big influence on extending the College’s outreach even further.”
He added, “The Robinson College and Georgia State University have
tremendous assets and a tremendous footprint in a very dynamic city.
With the members of our board, I plan to do everything possible to
build on these resources and help the College become not only a
tremendous asset to this region, but a premier institution that
influences business education around the world.”
 Previous Page
| Top
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
