Ken Stewart

Senior Advisor for Industry Strategy, Georgia Institute of Technology

Mr. Stewart was named the Senior Advisor of Industry Strategy at Georgia Tech in July, 2010. Previously, he was appointed the Commissioner, Georgia Department of Economic Development, by Governor Sonny Perdue in January 2007. As chief marketing officer for the state of Georgia, he led Georgia’s efforts to recruit new businesses and expand existing ones; grow the state’s tourism, international trade and entertainment industries; and support the growth of small businesses and entrepreneurs. He joined state government in September 2004, when he was appointed director of the Georgia Forestry Commission (GFC).

Mr. Stewart spent the majority of his career in private industry. He served as vice president of Unisource Worldwide, Inc., where he led the company's south-central sales and distribution division in addition to its retail stores and specialty manufacturing businesses. He also held several management positions at Georgia-Pacific, including director of enterprise development, senior director of strategic planning and analysis of G-P's distribution division, and director of state and local taxes. Mr. Stewart also worked for Weyerhaeuser Company and Mississippi Power & Light.

Mr. Stewart is a member of the State Bar of Georgia, holding a Juris Doctorate from the Woodrow Wilson College of Law in Atlanta. He earned a B.S. in Business and a B.S. in Forestry from Mississippi State University. Mr. Stewart also served as a company commander in the Army National Guard.

Present affiliations include the American Forest Foundation (Treasurer), Georgia Historical Society Board of Trustees, CDC Foundation’s Atlanta Advisory Council, Georgia Council of International Visitors Board, Georgia Regional Transit Authority Board and the Board of Directors of the Langdale Company. Previously he was the Board of Directors Chair for the Georgia Centers of Innovation, the Georgia Tourism Foundation, the Georgia Justice Project and Governor Perdue’s Growing Georgia Cluster group of state agency heads. He was also on the boards of the OneGeorgia Authority, the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority, the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, the Georgia Development Authority, Georgia Tech’s Advisory Board, the Governor's Energy Policy Council, State Water Council, Land Conservation Council and the Employee Benefit Plan Council.

Stewart is the senior advisor for industry strategy at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is treasurer of the American Forest Foundation, serves on the Board of Trustees of the Georgia Historical Society and the board of directors for the Langdale Company. He is past commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development. Stewart earned a bachelor’s degree from Mississippi State University and a law degree from Woodrow Wilson College of Law. He and his wife, Linda, have one son.