From Silicon Valley to downtown Atlanta, Dennis Lanham has built a career helping professionals hone their skills and maximize their impact.
This November, Lanham will bring his two decades of experience to the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business as the new Executive Director of Executive and Professional Education.
“Dennis’s experience building training programs to meet the needs of the business community gives him the ability to identify what skills the modern workforce needs to thrive,” said Terry College of Business Interim Dean Santanu Chatterjee. “His time working with the tech sector and training leaders with diverse backgrounds and skill sets makes him a great fit for a dynamic, responsive program like Terry Executive Education.”
Terry’s Executive Education program, housed at the Terry Executive Education Center (TEEC) in Atlanta, connects working professionals with popular classes and certificate programs offered on a rotating basis — such as Lean Six Sigma Certification and the Executive Certificate in Crisis and Risk Management. The Executive Education team also partners with corporate and community organizations to develop customized training programs tailored to their workforce needs.
Lanham replaces former Executive and Professional Education Director Linda Read, who retired in September 2025. Under her seven-year tenure, Terry College Executive Education increased its revenue to over $4 million a year, grew the number of corporate partnerships and maintained a stable of repeat clients by meeting their evolving needs. She led a growing professional staff at the TEEC that gained a reputation for producing quality, efficient and responsive programming.
Lanham holds an MBA from the J. Mack Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University, where he also started his career in professional development as assistant director for its Executive MBA and executive education program. Most recently, he served as senior assistant dean and executive director at the Leavey Executive Center at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, Calif.
Nestled among the mega-tech campuses and startup offices of Silicon Valley, under Lanham’s leadership the Leavey Executive Center has earned a reputation for providing quality leadership and corporate governance training to emerging tech executives. In his role, Lanham led outreach and partnership development and expanded the center’s non-degree programs — culminating in the most profitable year in the center’s history and establishing programs that have become nationally sought after.
“My time in Silicon Valley taught me that innovation doesn’t happen in isolation; it happens in communities of learners who share ideas, challenge assumptions and aren’t afraid to fail so that they can improve,” Lanham said. “The most successful organizations there aren’t just technologically advanced; they are human-centered, grounded in strong values, and committed to developing leaders who can navigate uncertainty with purpose and empathy. Those lessons deeply shape how I approach executive education.”
Lanham views coming to Atlanta as a homecoming of sorts, but also a chance to give something back to the business ecosystem that gave him his start.
“Atlanta has always been a dynamic hub for business, innovation and leadership, and returning to this market feels like coming home to opportunity,” he said. “The city’s diverse corporate landscape, entrepreneurial energy and growing presence in global industries make it an ideal environment for executive and professional education. I’m excited to re-engage with the business community here, strengthen partnerships with organizations that are shaping the future of the region.”