The AI operator who says technology doesn't save bad culture

Hey.

Welcome to ATL Grind.

I’m Andrew(your host) who’ll be showing you the best events, news, jobs, and more in Atlanta’s business world. Let’s get started.

TiE Connect 2026 lands Monday, May 18, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center. TiE Atlanta is building the room around capital, media, accelerators, incubators, and catalysts, which is basically the ecosystem compressed into one evening. Read more here.

Square One Startup Showcase #10 runs Thursday, May 21, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at Atlanta Tech Village Buckhead. 11 early stage startups from the Square One Startup School cohort will pitch, demo, and work the room. Good fit for founders, investors, and operators who like seeing companies before the LinkedIn announcement. Read more here.

Anthony Tuggle is building TAG US Worldwide around a sentence most AI vendors skip: technology does not save bad culture.

Before launching the firm, Tuggle spent 30+ years in corporate America, most of it at AT&T, where he led sales, customer care, marketing, product management, and product development. His work included delivering billions in revenue and managing a billion dollar P&L.

Following, he spent four years as president of customer operations at an AI startup before starting his own practice at the end of last year.

His AI take is practical: do not start with the model. Start with the business problem.

The contact center example is the cleanest. A weak deployment throws bots in front of customers and calls lower call volume a win. A strong one improves the customer experience, retrains agents for harder calls, and plugs AI into the wider tech stack.

That is the operating lane for TAG US Worldwide: transformation, growth, impact, and leadership development for enterprises trying to make AI part of the business instead of another silo.

Tuggle was also named a 2026 Georgia Titan 100 honoree, joining a group of CEOs and C-level executives whose companies collectively generate more than $91.7 billion in annual revenue.

The quieter part of his story matters too. Tuggle is a 25-year kidney transplant recipient, a kidney cancer survivor, and a patient advocate who has worked with policymakers on kidney health and Medicaid. He received the transplant on his birthday, today.

Atlas

The Buckhead fine dining room sits inside The St. Regis Atlanta at 88 W Paces Ferry Rd NW and holds one Michelin star. Executive chef Freddy Money runs the tasting menu, with dishes that lean playful without making the room feel unserious.

Eater notes the spring menu includes poached salmon with many sauces, circles, and squares, while the wine program goes deep enough to include Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Louis XIII, and a Madeira cart.

Order the tasting menu if you are doing the full room, or use the tavern menu for cocktails and à la carte without turning dinner into a three-hour board meeting.

Atlanta Business Chronicle put a number on the South Downtown reset: 58 historic buildings and a $140 million first phase.

The project is SoDo Atlanta, the redevelopment push tied to David Cummings and Jon Birdsong after earlier investors pulled back from the portfolio. Central Atlanta Progress lists Phase 1 as under construction with 140 housing units, 65,000 square feet of office, 100,000 square feet of retail, and a 2026 completion target.

The World Cup gives the timeline teeth. More than 10 contractor crews are working through the district, with restaurants like El Tesoro, Glide Pizza, and Brewhouse Cafe moving into South Broad Street. A former half acre parking lot is becoming Founders Green, with a stage, seating, and room for outdoor movies, concerts, and watch parties.

Atlanta needs places where a founder can walk from work to dinner, run into someone useful, and feel like the city is dense enough to build in. That is the bet in South Downtown.

337 Atlantis Ave NE

Atlantis Avenue dead ends into Freedom Park and the PATH, with Inman Park Village steps away. The house has a bright living room, KitchenAid, Monogram, and Bosch appliances, a hammered copper sink, two screened porches, and a terrace level that works as office, guest space, gym, or kid containment zone. Check it out here.

3 other headlines to snack on:

Infor, a Koch subsidiary, is moving its headquarters back to the Atlanta area and leasing 82,000 square feet at Campus 244 in Dunwoody. Perimeter keeps stacking corporate software wins. Read more here.

Habitat for Humanity brings the 40th Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project back to Atlanta for the first time since 1988. 24 homes over five days in Langston Park, Sylvan Hills. Read more here.

Metro Atlanta needs 116,000 affordable units just to hold the line over the next decade. ARC summit math: 367,000 new homes by 2035 against 396,000 new jobs. Read more here.

What would make ATL Grind most useful beyond the Tuesday dispatch?

I.From the Lab

AI isn’t meant to be something flashy. There’s no point in touching it unless it’s connected to the actual workflow: the missed calls, messy CRM, buried follow-ups, half-used software, and admin work that keeps getting pushed to Friday.

That is the lane for Atlanta AI Lab, a local AI implementation shop I’m building for small and mid-sized businesses in Atlanta’s area.

For automation, nearly all businesses need custom workflow building: AI CRM setups, content automation, internal assistants, lead intake systems, follow-up automation, and operations tools built around how the business already works.

A contractor, real estate team, med spa, law firm, and local service business won’t need the same AI stack. They need the parts that remove bottlenecks, protect the customer experience, and help the team actually move faster (not just fancier).

I’m putting together a short guide for local business owners on where AI is actually worth implementing first, and where it is probably a distraction.