Adrian Cronje is one of Atlanta's Most Admired CEOs

Each year, Atlanta Business Chronicle recognizes the metro area's Most Admired CEOs.

The awards honor chief executives, managing directors, market leaders and principals with strong records of innovation, outstanding financial performance, a commitment to quality and diversity in the workplace, and meaningful contributions to the business community.

2023's list of leaders includes Adrian Cronje, the CEO of Balentine.

In his speech at the award ceremony, CEO Adrian Cronje discusses where he gets his best ideas. Watch the speech and read the transcript below.

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Thank you very much to The Atlanta Business Chronicle for this honor. To all the sponsors, I'm humbled by it. And congratulations to my fellow CEO Awardees.This is an impressive group. I definitely have imposter syndrome.

I decided to answer the question about where I get my best ideas from. So my best ideas come from our clients that we're so grateful and privileged to serve. I’ve found that if we listen to our clients generously, they will tell us how to run our business. They are our capital, and we are honored to help them define and power their legacies.

My best ideas also come from our talented employees. Thank you to my fellow entrepreneurs, my partners, and colleagues, sitting at Table 18, and to Alexa and Liz especially. Your curiosity, passion, and drive inspire me and absolutely exhaust me every day. Being curious and having a growth mindset are two Balentine fundamentals, behaviors that clarify the culture at our firm. There is no winning in the game of business and life. Just a long journey to continue to improve and keep building something that is bigger than any one of us for future generations.

My best ideas come from our chairman, Robert Balentine as well, one of my best friends and mentors. In the book First Generation Wealth, which we co-authored, we quote Lin-Manuel Miranda from Hamilton. “Legacy. What is a legacy? Legacy is planting seeds in a garden that you never get to see.”

Robert, you've created an amazing legacy in so many ways, as we discussed as a company this morning. As you well know, life as a leader can be very lonely, and I'm extremely grateful for your steady counsel and friendship.

But my very best ideas come from my spouse, Eve. Eve, thank you for all that you have sacrificed for my entrepreneurial journey as I strive to better the lives of our clients, our employees, and our community. You remain the glue of our family and are the real CEO to us. Many leaders from your alma mater, Agnes Scott, are out in force tonight. Thank you for all your support, Scotties.

Balentine is where we embrace everyone's diverse perspectives. We have already achieved more than we thought we were capable of. Yet, as the song said, we're still on the up and up. We're gonna stay humble and keep dreaming. Thank you very much.

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