Members of the board of the Georgia China Alliance met with Sen. Judson Hill at the state Capitol. From left to right: Ken Jin, Scott Ellyson, Walt Geer, Penny Prime, Sen. Hill, John Ray, Rongrong Liu, Sam Zamarripa, Quanminng Fang and Jeff Breedlove. Photo by Phil Bolton

which was formed four years ago to promote business relations between China and the state.

He replaces Sam Zamarripa, who founded the organization while serving as a state senator from Atlanta. The alliance’s board elected Mr. Ray while meeting at the state Capitol Sept. 6.

Mr. Zamarripa said in a statement that he was confident the alliance would continue to build the long-term relationships and understanding critical for attracting Chinese investment to the state and encouraging investment by Georgia companies in China.

Mr. Zamarripa currently is with Darby Private Equity, an affiliate of Franklin Templeton Investments. He is to remain involved in the alliance as a member of the board of directors.

The new officers also include Guanming Fang, an attorney in the Atlanta office of Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice PLLC, chair elect; Craig Lesser, managing director, Atlanta, at McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP, secretary and Jeff Breedlove, policy analyst, Georgia State Senate, treasurer.

Rongrong Liu continues as the executive director.

Member of the board are
Kelly Bissell, Deloitte & Touche LLP; Phil Bolton, president, GlobalAtlanta News Services;
Charlice Byrd, state representative;
 Douglas J. Derito, principal, Ryan & Co.;
Art Dunning, vice president for public service and outreach, University of Georgia;
Scott Ellyson, president, East West Manufacturing Inc.;
Walt Geer, president and CEO, Phenix HomeSource LLC;
Andrew Harris, director, government relations, Georgia Institute of Technology;
H. Fenwick Huss, dean, Mack Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University;
Ken Jin, director, international training, Kennesaw State University;
Don Johnson, director, Dean Rusk Center, School of Law, University of Georgia;
Claire McLeveighn, director, external affairs and international relations, city of Atlanta;
Penelope Prime, director, China Research Center;
Thomas Williams, vice president, governmental relations and community affairs, Zoo Atlanta;
Henry Yu, managing director, SunTrust Bank.