Ben F. Johnson III is the retired Managing Partner of Alston & Bird, serving as Managing Partner from 1997 to 2008, after a career as a commercial litigator that began in 1971. He serves as an outside Director of Invesco, Ltd., a Standard & Poor’s 500 company listed on the New York Stock Exchange which is a leading independent global investment management company with over $600 billion in assets under management and which operates in 20 countries. He also serves as an outside Director and Chair of the Board of Summit Industries, Inc., a privately held consumer product company. He is in his 11th year as Chair of the Board of Trustees of Emory University and in his 30th year as Chair of the Governing Board of Woodward Academy, one of America’s largest independent schools. He is the immediate past chair of the Board of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, serves on the Executive Committee of the Board of the Carter Center, is a Trustee of the Charles Loridans Foundation, an Emeritus member of the Midtown Alliance Board and an Honorary Director of the Commerce Club. In September 2010, The American Lawyer awarded him its second Law Firm Distinguished Leader Award in its Lifetime Achievers 2010 issue.