(SmyrnaVinings.News) — The Board of Regents named longtime business leader and Georgia Tech alumnus Thomas A. Fanning as the 15th chancellor of the University System of Georgia.
Fanning, who was named the sole finalist for the position last month, succeeds Chancellor Sonny Perdue. Perdue is retiring Dec. 31 after more than four decades in public service, a career that includes two terms as Georgia governor and four years as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.
In his new role, starting Jan. 1, 2027, Fanning will lead one of the nation’s top public higher education systems, which includes 25 colleges and universities, more than 50,000 faculty and staff, and over 382,000 students across the state.
Fanning brings more than 40 years of leadership experience to USG.
He spent over four decades at Southern Company, including 13 years as chairman, president and CEO before retiring in 2023. As CEO, he led the second-largest utility company in the country, serving about 9 million electric and gas customers across nine states.
Fanning joined Southern Company in 1980 as a financial analyst and went on to hold 15 distinct leadership roles, including chief information officer, chief financial officer for Georgia Power, Alabama Power and Mississippi Power, and CEO of Gulf Power Company.
In addition to his corporate career, Fanning has held major national and regional leadership roles, serving as chair of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and chair of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Advisory Board.
Fanning earned both a bachelor’s degree and a Master of Industrial Management from the Georgia Institute of Technology, as well as an honorary Doctor of Philosophy degree from the institution.
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