Reopening Gwinnett County

As President of Ackerman Retail, the retail division of Ackerman & Co., Leo Wiener directs the growth of the group’s national services platform, spearheading developments, acquisitions, leasing and property management. With industry leadership experience spanning more than 25 years, Leo has made numerous strategic staff additions to strengthen Ackerman Retail’s comprehensive services and deliver solid results to its growing roster of local and multi- market clients. To date, the Ackerman’s Retail division has completed nearly 10 million square feet of transactions valued at more than $1 billion. Prior to joining Ackerman, Leo was a Principal and Partner of Glenwood Development Company, concentrating on retail development and redevelopment in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic; and Managing Director at an Atlanta-based boutique real estate firm. Deeply involved in the community, Leo is Chairman of the Board of the Gwinnett Place Community Improvement District, a board member of the High Point Civic Association and the lead Advisor to Sweetwater Growers.

Andrew Carnes serves as the Vice President of Economic Development for Partnership Gwinnett. He joined Partnership Gwinnett in 2015 as the Director of Economic Development and was promoted to Senior Director of Economic Development in 2017. As the VP of Economic Development, Carnes oversees the countywide economic development strategy which includes business recruitment and retention efforts, redevelopment, entrepreneurship, workforce development, as well as industry programs and events. In this role Carnes also oversees the international marketing efforts for Gwinnett County and has been invited to participate in international delegations to the headquarters of many Gwinnett companies, including those in Belgium, the Czech Republic, China, France, Germany, South Korea, and Switzerland. Prior to Partnership Gwinnett, Carnes served as the Executive Director for the Dalton-Whitfield County Joint Development Authority where he managed and directed the countywide economic development strategy, including existing industry expansion services and recruitment of new business. During his time in Dalton-Whitfield Carnes helped to land the Engineered Floors project which created 2,400 jobs and $450 million in investment. This project was selected as GEDA’s Deal of the Year Award, Area Development’s Golden Shovel Award, Trade & Industry Development’s CiCi Award for Community Impact, and a Top Project of the Year by Site Selection Magazine. Over the course of his career, Carnes has assisted in creating over $2.1 billion in capital investment and over 12,000 jobs. He is currently a member of the Georgia Economic Developer’s Association (GEDA), the International Economic Development Council and the Southern Economic Development Council (SEDC). He serves on the GEDA Young Professionals committee and is the past Co-Chairman of SEDC’s Young Professionals committee for 2015 and 2016. Carnes earned a bachelor’s degree in business economics from Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah, GA and graduated from the University of Oklahoma’s Economic Development Institute in 2015.