The Lowdown I Bet You Didn’t Know …
Ted Blum
Atlanta is chock full of interesting movers and shakers, some bent on creativity, empire building, activism, some on just plain having fun and living the good life. Lean in to hear some off the cuff remarks about what makes Ted Blum tick. Blum serves as managing shareholder of Greenberg Traurig’s Atlanta office and chair of the firm’s Atlanta Corporate and Securities practice. As managing shareholder, he is responsible for the growth and strategic direction of the Atlanta office, which has 100-plus attorneys. He leads and advises a team with the strategic business, legal and market experience needed to manage and close complex business transactions and to provide counsel on day-to-day operations. He has been widely recognized for his legal work, and last year received the Ivan Allen Club Service Award from the Rotary Club of Atlanta. Blum is committed to helping the community through his active involvement with several organizations. He is a member of the Rotary Club of Atlanta and serves as chair of the club’s task force to fight human trafficking and slavery. The task force works to collaborate with major companies to continue conversations on programs already in place and create an open forum for sharing ideas to fight human trafficking. A native of Champaign, Ill., Blum graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy. He earned a law degree from Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law in 1992 before moving to his wife Leah’s hometown of Atlanta. Ted and Leah have three children. Find out what Blum learned while bussing tables, and why he calls himself a nerdy reader.
My most exotic vacay … Not necessarily exotic, but a few years back I took my family on trips to Budapest and Lisbon to walk in the footsteps of my mom’s escape from the Holocaust in 1941. Most unusual job ... Working for my family’s restaurant, I learned the importance of customer service while washing dishes, cleaning tables, tossing salads and slicing pizzas. The experience there with my dad taught me the value of hard work. My work ethic today comes from that environment. I was star stuck meeting … I didn’t meet them, but I saw Queen in concert at Live Aid in London when I was backpacking through Europe during college. My children would say … That I can be stubborn about some things, but that I am the best person to go to a steakhouse with because I order everything on the menu. I’m reading … You can usually find a good mix of classics, World War II books, spy novels, and philosophy on my nightstand. I’m rereading Hemingway’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls.” You could say I’m a “nerdy” reader. You ballroom danced for charity? There are great rewards by pushing yourself into positions that are outside your comfort zone. Trust me, being on stage dancing in front of hundreds of people is definitely outside of mine! I did a foxtrot and got enough confidence to toss my hat. It was a great time for a great cause. Advice to a 21-year-old Ted … I was fairly hard-driving and impatient. My advice would be to relax a little and take a long view. What’s your guilty pleasure? A little High West whiskey from my home away from home, Park City, Utah! ì
Reported by Marcia Caller Jaffe
ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES JULY 31, 2020 | 47
