Groundbreakers

You could argue that no leaders are as critical as the ones working to save our planet. For this year's Groundbreakers, celebrate a few of these innovators who have found novel ways to champion our environment.

When new tech companies emerge, they often join incubators to learn from others, develop business strategies, and hone their ideas into viable products. Georgia Tech’s Advanced Technology Development Center is one of Atlanta’s oldest and consistently ranks among the nation’s top launchpads.

Paul Judge has spent nearly 20 years developing, leading, and launching new tech companies in Atlanta. A graduate of Morehouse College and Georgia Tech, Judge holds a doctorate in network security, helping found and cofound companies like Luma, TechSquare Labs, and Pindrop Security.

Jeff Sprecher, CEO of Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), has been at the apex of fintech, where technology and finance intersect, for nearly 20 years. Time after time, his company has consolidated, organized, and demystified the trading of financial assets.

Engage Ventures is a hybrid venture-capital fund and business accelerator founded last year to bring together growth-stage startups with the money, experience, resources, and leadership of 11 Fortune 500 businesses.

The annual Venture Atlanta conference is basically our city’s version of ABC’s Shark Tank, where fledgling entrepreneurs pitch their concepts to investors from across the nation. In fact, “Shark” Mark Cuban delivered last year’s closing keynote address.

Founded in 2009 by Rob Frohwein, Marc Gorlin, and Kathryn Petralia, Kabbage provides small businesses with a convenient funding source. Once approved, small businesses can draw on their credit lines, immediately accessing a six- or 12-month installment loan issued by Celtic Bank.

This year's Atlanta Magazine Groundbreaker Awards will recognize “Environmental Leadership.” We will be focusing on imaginative and effective approaches to preserving Georgia’s environment. If you have a nominee, submit them here!

Mike Cote is the president and CEO of Secureworks, an information security services company and Dell Technologies subsidiary, and has been leading the defense of highly sensitive data for nearly 20 years.

Before selling his company, marketing automation platform Pardot, for roughly $95 million in 2012, David Cummings says he used to play a game he called Real Estate Roulette. Cummings’s experience, coupled with his desire to kickstart a tech community, led him to found Atlanta Tech Village.