BellSouth's Phil Jacobs To Chair CDC Foundation Board

The CDC Foundation recently named Phil S. Jacobs, BellSouth's president of Community Technologies, as the new chair of the Foundations board of directors. Jacobs joined the board in 2002 and was named president-elect in 2004.

"Phil has an excellent understanding of our mission and vision, and his energy and exceptional leadership skills are tremendous assets for our board," said Charles Stokes, president and CEO of the CDC Foundation.

Jacobs's career with BellSouth spans 32 years. He became president of BellSouth's Georgia Operations in 1998, and was named president of the newly created Community Technologies group in 2005. In his current role, he leads BellSouth's competitive sales and distribution strategy for multi-dwelling units, such as apartments, condominiums and large-scale housing developments. A native of Washington, D.C., Jacobs earned his undergraduate degree from Denison University in Granville, Ohio.

Named "the most respected CEO in Georgia for 2005" by Georgia Trend magazine, Jacobs is also board chair for the Georgia Department of Economic Development and the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education. Additionally, he serves on boards of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, the United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta, the Georgia Aquarium and the Woodruff Arts Center. In addition to his involvement with the CDC Foundation, Jacobs helped organize the Friends of CDC, a group of corporate leaders dedicated to building congressional support for resources to improve CDCs out-dated facilities. To date, the Friends of CDC have helped secure approximately $1.2 billion in federal funding for CDC facilities.

Jacobs is passionate about the work of CDC and about the CDC Foundation's role in helping CDC do more, faster, to fight threats to public health and safety.

"For a long time, people viewed public health as the governments responsibility. Ultimately, though, the best way to address public health is through partnerships between the private sector, the public sector and individuals," says Jacobs. "The CDC Foundation makes that possible ... and makes it work. As we look toward the future, we'll continue to seek ways to align with CDC's mission, and to adapt quickly to CDC's changing needs."

Jacobs succeeds Kent C. Oz Nelson, former chairman and CEO of UPS, who will remain on the board as an active member.