AJ Robinson

President of Central Atlanta Progress (CAP) and the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District (ADID)

A.J. Robinson is President of Central Atlanta Progress (CAP) and the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District (ADID). CAP is a private business association started in 1941, and remains one of the most effective advocacy and economic development organizations in the city. Robinson manages the overall strategic functions of CAP and ADID, two groups committed to making the “product” of the Atlanta community and specifically Downtown, more livable, vital and diverse. CAP has created and spun off a number of organizations such as Trees Atlanta, Research Atlanta, Centennial Olympic Park Area, Inc., the Midtown Alliance, the National Center for Civil and Human Rights and Georgia Forward. In 1995, CAP created the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District and its 60-member Ambassador Force to address public perceptions of Atlanta, enhance cleaning efforts and stimulate capital projects. Today, the organizations’ key initiatives focus on economic development, planning, public safety, alternative transportation and overall marketing of Downtown Atlanta. CAP is funded through membership dues and grants from many of Atlanta's major corporations, as well as civic organizations and foundations. ADID is funded by downtown property owners. In 2022, A.J. received the Distinguished Advocate Award from the American Jewish Committee Atlanta, and over the past fifteen years, Robinson has consistently been recognized as one of Georgia Trend’s 100 Most Influential Georgians, Georgia Trend’s Georgia 500 Most Influential Leaders, as well as one of the Atlanta Business Chronicle’s 100 Most Influential Atlantans. Before joining CAP, Robinson was President of the multi-dimensional real estate company Portman Holdings, where he managed all aspects of the firm’s real estate development and property management processes, including assets such as Truist Plaza, Americas Mart, Peachtree Center, Atlanta Decorative Arts Center, Westin Charlotte, Westin Warsaw and Shanghai Centre, to name just a few. Prior to his 22-year career at Portman Holdings, Robinson participated in the U.S. Department of Commerce's historic creation of China's first business school in 1980 under a protocol signed by then President Jimmy Carter and the Chinese Department of Education. During that time, Robinson researched, wrote and taught case studies in Dalian, China, and traveled extensively throughout China and Asia. A.J’s articles have been published in The Wall Street Journal, Asian Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Atlanta Business Chronicle and National Real Estate Investor. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of The University Financing Foundation, Atlanta Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, the West Side Future Fund, Georgia Forward, First Step Staffing and the Emory Center for Ethics Advisory Board (current Chairman). Over the past three decades in Atlanta, he has been a member of AIPAC, The American Jewish Committee, the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta Board, the Atlanta Jewish Academy Board and is a past Chairman of the College Football Hall of Fame and of the American Israel Chamber of Commerce, as well as a congregant of Congregation Beth T’fillah.