Ben Rechter (TN, '91) receives Francis S. Guess Bridge to Equality Award

Civic leader Ben Rechter (TN, '91) received the Francis S. Guess Bridge to Equality Award Tuesday for his efforts to create equal opportunity in Nashville.

The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee presented the award at a luncheon at the Music City Center, noting Rechter "exemplifies Guess’s spirit of leadership and commitment to equal opportunity," according to a prepared news release.

Rechter is president of Rogers Group Investments Inc., a board of directors member for the National Museum of African American Music, an emeritus board member of Nashville Public Television and a trustee with The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.

He has demonstrated leadership in a number of local organizations, from Fisk University to the Metro Development and Housing Agency to the Leonard Bernstein Center for Education Through the Arts.

Francis S. Guess, who died last year, was a local civil rights champion and trailblazer in Nashville's business industry. He was appointed to the U.S. Civil Rights Commission by President Ronald Reagan and served 30 years on the Tennessee Commission on Human Rights.

Rechter is the first to receive this newly created award, which will be given annually to individuals who create equal opportunities for all persons.

Shelby Grubbs (GA, '05) to make Atlanta a global hub for arbitration

Like many metro areas, Atlanta historically has struggled with how best to maximize the impact of its airport beyond moving people and goods across its taxiways and terminals. Airport operations are an enormous economic engine, leading to $34.8 billion in direct business revenue and employing 63,000 workers, according to a 2013 report released by the airport. However, transferring the most international travelers to somewhere else does not take full advantage of broader economic potential.

So Atlanta’s leaders have been assessing how to align the region’s distinctive economic specializations with its international aviation connectivity, beyond their more conventional efforts to promote cargo flows and commercial real estate development. They combined airport access with the region’s sophisticated legal community, unusually intense concentration of multinational corporate headquarters, and the international presence of 78 consular and trade offices.

And they identified an emerging market opportunity in the growing number of complex disputes associated with global business activities. Arbitrating legal issues between foreign companies in a neutral country is an increasingly common remedy when firms are concerned that judgment in either native court would give a “home-court advantage” to one party. International arbitration is enforceable in the over 150 countries that are signatories to a 1950s agreement that established common practices.

As a result, the Atlanta Center for International Arbitration and Mediation at Georgia State University was opened last fall to help tap this potential for the region and compete with other emerging cities. Making Atlanta a global hub for arbitration proceedings between foreign firms will increase exports through delivering legal services and hosting litigant teams, and it will bring more global awareness and business links to the region. One study placed the 2013 economic impact of international arbitration in Toronto at nearly $275 million Canadian dollars.

ACIAM markets and pursues agreements to bring more cases to the region, offers meeting space and services to support arbitration, and offers continuing education classes for area lawyers, among other activities. “The practice of international law is less and less the exclusive purview of the international firms in New York or London or Paris and the Continent,” Shelby Grubbs (GA, '05), the ACIAM executive director, said in a phone interview.

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Benjamin Robinson (NC, '13) named to Bottomline Technologies Board

Bottomline Technologies (NASDAQ:EPAY), a leading provider of cloud-based payment, invoice and banking solutions, today announced the appointment of Mr. Peter Gibson and Mr. Benjamin E. Robinson III (NC, '13) to its Board of Directors.

Mr. Gibson is Co-CEO of Knowledgent Group, a data analytics and technology firm headquartered in Warren, NJ. Prior to this, he led global sales for the consulting arm of EMC Corporation, was a founder of BusinessEdge Solutions and was an early member of Trecom Business Systems. Mr. Gibson is a trustee of Long Island University, a member of Rutgers University Board of Overseers and a Board member of Qello Concerts, a media streaming company.

Mr. Robinson held a number of executive roles at Prudential Corporation, most recently including Senior Vice President and Chief Administration Officer for Prudential Annuities. Prior to joining Prudential, Mr. Robinson held executive positions at Bank of America and MasterCard International. Earlier in his career, he was Congressional Advisor to the US House of Representatives' Committee on Banking, Finance & Urban Affairs. He currently serves as a member of the Executive Leadership Council and the Society of International Business Fellows.

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