Insights into the executive mind - Julie Tepp, Atlanta Arts Festival

August 1, 2008

J ulie Tepp had a vision. As the former event manager of the Atlanta Dogwood Festival, Tepp saw first-hand the love affair Atlanta has with the arts.

During her tenure there, she helped raise the festival to national prominence, including a No. 16 ranking among arts shows in 2005 and 2006. With first-class museums, enriching puppetry arts centers and an array of contemporary art galleries, Atlanta's arts scene is a sight to behold. In 2007, Tepp created the Atlanta Arts Festival to help continue the rich cultural life of the community.

Working with what she calls an "incredibly supportive and broad board" of professionals and volunteers, Tepp and company are dedicated to bringing 200 of Georgia's and the nation's most illustrious and diverse painters, photographers and sculptors, among others, to the festival. Today, the Atlanta Dogwood Festival is one the events allowed to remain in Piedmont Park.


Business to Business : What business books have helped you become a better leader, businessperson and CEO?

Julie Tepp: To be honest, I was not exactly a business major. Going to a small college in the North Georgia mountains, my studies were in the liberal arts. What has driven me is the will to succeed. Because I don't have the business degree behind me, I have felt the need to prove myself, which has involved a lot of hard work.

BTB : What did you learn from the biggest mistake you've ever made?

Tepp: To listen a little more and speak a lot less.


BTB : Any mentors along the way?

Tepp: Without a doubt, it was my mother. Growing up with dyslexia, if it weren't for her, I'd still be at the kitchen table bawling over simple math. She always reassured me that life was not only about the lesson in the classroom but the way you treat every person you encounter. The minute you think you are better than anybody else is when you have lost your way. She has reminded me of that many times.

BTB : If there were one piece of advice you could give to a new CEO, what would it be?

Tepp: Be sure to involve yourself in something you love because if you don't, you will not succeed.

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