People, Companies & Deals

July 1, 2008

Remembering Chuck Fruit 1947-2008

By Bob Hope, president, Hope-Beckham

There was something very poetic about Chuck Fruit. When Kipling praised men for keeping their heads when others were losing theirs in his poem "If", he must have known someone like Chuck. If you can do this, "You'll be a man, my son."

There was a gentleness and sincerity about him seldom found in today's corporate world. Coca-Cola patriarch Robert Woodruff said most problems would not exist if workers weren't concerned about who got the credit. It was fortuitous Chuck worked at Coke and embodied that philosophy.

Chuck died on May 27 following his regular morning swim. He was only 61. He had recently retired as Coke's top marketing executive. His tenure spanned nearly two decades. Prior to that, he was top marketing guru at Budweiser. It is well known that a moneyless entrepreneur visited him many years ago and asked for Budweiser's help creating an all-sports television network, a far-fetched dream at the time. Chuck took a chance, and ESPN was born. 


There are legends in business and he was one of them.  When lists of the most powerful people in sports, entertainment, advertising and marketing were published, he was not only on them but near the top.

Personality traits seldom associated with the iconic leaders of corporate America include angelic, kind, soft-spoken, friendly, respectful and approachable.  They fly in the face of the common vision of egotistical, arrogant and self-absorption so commonly associated with corporate leaders. There was no arrogance, and nothing bad that could be said about Chuck Fruit.  When kindness leads thousands of people and controls tens of millions of dollars in a huge corporation, the result is a very special type of real power and leadership.  That power and leadership has left us, but it has moved on to a higher place.

Personnel Moves ...

AirTran Airways President and CEO Bob Fornaro has been elected chairman of the board, taking over for the retiring Joe Leonard … Peter Aman, a partner with Bain and Co., has been named interim chairman of Brand Atlanta, following the death of Ron Brown, president and CEO of Atlanta Life Financial Group … Reinaldo Padua of the Zyman Group has been named VP of Hispanic marketing for Coca-Cola North America … Gov. Sonny Perdue’s executive counsel Jud Turner has left to start a firm with Chuck Bachman and Heath Garrett – Turner Bachman & Garrett.

Deals ...

UPS is finalizing a deal that would enable it to provide air transportation for all Deautsche Post’s DHL’s express, deferred and international package volume within the United States and provide airlift for DHL packages between the United States, Canada and Mexico. The deal, expected to close by the end of the year, would likely be for 10 years and could generate up to $1 billion in revenue. The agreement only involves the transport of packages, primarily between airports, in North America … Media Power Inc. has pledged $5 million over the next five years to Georgia Tech’s GVU Center, funds that will help boost research and education in Augmented Reality (AR) and mobile computing. Media Power also will donate hardware and development tools, and help find realistic settings to deploy and evaluate game ideas. Georgia Tech will partner with Media Power’s AR division, Magitech, to envision, prototype and evaluate the next generation of mobile AR games and entertainment applications.

We Are Education

While Georgia has its share of educational challenges, a new report shows metro Atlanta is rich in college students.

The area ranked seventh in enrolled college students among the top 50 largest American metros, according to a report by the Atlanta Regional Council for Higher Education.

The report – Higher Education in America’s Metropolitan Areas – shows metro Atlanta has 176,171 full-time students; is seventh in degrees earned with 35,802 at the bachelor’s level or higher; and is fifth in research with $1.01 billion in higher education spending. The area also is third in black students with 47,548.
 
Higher education is responsible for $6 billion in direct spending, comparable to a Fortune 500 company.