Chris Lindenau Leadership is about trust and mutual respect, according to Christopher “Chris” Lindenau, Chief Executive Officer of Fusus. They are qualities he attributes to his five years as a military officer in the Navy. After graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy, Lindenau served as a military officer, navy diver and supply corps officer while serving on the USS George Washington, as well as various locations overseas. He later obtained his MBA at Georgia Tech. “The military taught me a lot about leadership,” Lindenau shared. “It taught me that the way to motivate people is not through rank; it really is building trust and mutual respect. I think when you’re young and a 22-yearold out of college, that some kid from the streets of Detroit is not going to listen to you just because you’re an officer, but you’ve got to earn that respect. The way you do that is lead from the front, so a lot of what I learned in the military has been kind of a corollary for what I do here in the business world.” As CEO of Fusus (Latin for fusion), Lindenau is helping chart a course for his company, which specializes in helping law enforcement agencies provide more effective public safety. “We take all these disparate license plate readers, video surveillance, 911 dispatch, gunshot detection systems, burglar alarm and fire alarm systems and unify their technologies to make them accessible,” he explained. When not working, Lindenau can be found coaching his son’s lacrosse team. He and his family like living in Peachtree Corners because of the fun lifestyle and tight knit friendships. He also finds it easier to attract young professionals to join the Fusus team of about 75 employees because of the city’s mission to become a major part of the area’s Silicon Orchard. Lindenau believes current and future employees can find the work/life balance they’re seeking in Peachtree Corners. ■
Lacy Gilbert Lacy Gilbert, Wesleyan School Athletic Director, has worked in Peachtree Corners for 25 years, lived in the area for 15 years and has played a significant role in shaping the city’s largest independent school, Wesleyan School. While her role as the school’s athletic director is not typically held by women, she coached the Wesleyan Varsity Girls Soccer Team to its first state championship in 2017. Originally from the metro Atlanta area, Gilbert first lived in Peachtree Corners back when it wasn’t a city and Neely Farm was still an actual farm. She began working at Wesleyan 25 years ago as a middle school physical education and high school health teacher. Gilbert has also worked in athletics administration, first serving for nine years as assistant athletic director and then taking the helm of the department in 2020 as the athletic director. In the early years of the school, Gilbert was part of the faculty team that launched one of the school’s flagship service programs — domestic and international mission trips. Since Wesleyan’s first mission trip to Honduras in 2000, she has led over 20 mission trips with Wesleyan chaperoning hundreds of students to destinations that include the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Peru, Honduras, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, South Africa, Jamaica, New Orleans, Bulgaria, Tanzania, France, Ukraine and Romania. “The missions program is an integral part of the Wesleyan high school experience,” said Chris Cleveland, head of Wesleyan School. “These trips are a foundational part of our students’ time at Wesleyan, and this program would not exist were it not for the investment of faculty members like Lacy Gilbert.” Wesleyan’s athletic program has experienced growth and success that make it another hallmark of the Wesleyan experience. Over 80% of Wesleyan high school students participate in at least one sport each school year and the program has won 65 state team championships and 134 individual state championships. It has also won the GHSA Director’s Cup, an honor is presented to the top overall athletic program in each classification, ten times. ■
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Peachtree Corners Magazine ■ April/May 2022 ■ LivingInPeachtreeCorners.com
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