Georgia Tech's third annual Thomas R. Williams Distinguished Lecture on February 16 will feature "A Conversation with Frank Blake."

Blake, chairman and CEO of The Home Depot, will talk about 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. in LeCraw Auditorium of the Management building (800 West Peachtree Street NW).

Prior to his appointment to this position in 2007, Blake served as vice chairman of the board of directors and executive vice president of the company. He joined The Home Depot in 2002 as executive vice president (business development and corporate operations) and was responsible for real estate, store construction, credit services, strategic business development, growth initiatives, call centers, and the Home Services business.

Blake previously served as deputy secretary for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), a role similar to that of chief operating officer in the private sector. There, he was a leader in departmental policy decisions and managed DOE’s annual $19 billion budget.

About Thomas R. Williams

The Williams lecture is named in honor of Thomas R. Williams, a 1950 graduate of Georgia Tech who died in 2002.

After graduation, Williams worked as an industrial engineer and then a management consultant before joining National City Bank of Cleveland in 1965. He became chairman of that bank in 1969, three years before being named president of First National Bank of Atlanta.

He guided First National from third place to first in metro Atlanta deposits, eventually helping arrange that bank’s merger with Wachovia in 1985. He became chairman of the board of Wachovia, and then retired in 1987.

More than a talented executive, Williams was an important civic leader, volunteering for many cultural and educational organizations. He served as president of the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce and chairman of the United Negro College Fund, among many other activities.

The Williams Lecture is a special event of the IMPACT Speaker Series, organized by Georgia Tech's Institute for Leadership and Entrepreneurship.