Ken Bernhardt, Regents’ Professor Emeritus of Marketing and expert on business in Atlanta, is available to discuss the legacy of the late Truett Cathy, founder of Chick-fil-A in the fast food industry and in business in general.

Contact information for Bernhardt is available above to logged-in Newswise reporters.

Bernhardt was a full-time faculty member at the J. Mack Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University from 1972 to 2013. His work experience includes Chick-fil-A, UPS, Primrose Schools, the Federal Trade Commission, AirTran Airways, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Coca-Cola, and numerous other enterprises.

He said:

“Truett Cathy was a giant in business, an inspiration to me and to many thousands of others. He often quoted Proverbs 22:1 - - A good name is to be more desired than great wealth - - and more importantly, he lived by it. He was a role model for young people and senior executives alike, making it clear that one should always do the right thing. He proved that you could run a company with Christian principles and still be incredibly successful. Treating everyone with dignity, honor, and respect was a huge part of Truett’s DNA. He educated the whole Chick-fil-A team that they should always do the right thing and demonstrated it himself every day of his life. He will be sorely missed.”

Bernhardt is a former chair of the U.S. Census Bureau Marketing Advisory Committee and is a past member of the Council of Better Business Bureau’s National Advertising Review Board. For the past 10 years Bernhardt has written a bi-monthly marketing column for the Atlanta Business Chronicle.

His awards include the Atlanta Chapter of American Marketing Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award, the Business to Business Magazine Marketing Impact Award, and the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau President’s Award. He received his MBA from the Harvard Business School and his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan.