Cassius F. Butts

Cassius F. Butts is the current Director at Georgia Department of Economic Development. Prior to this, they served as the President & Chief Executive Officer at 1ST CHOICE CREDIT UNION from May 2020 to May 2021. Executively loaned to enhance a financial cooperative and and community development financial institution serving over 9,000 members with a variety of banking and economic development products including over 200 shared branch locations. www.1stchoicecu.org

Butts also has experience as an Executive In Residence at Georgia State University - J. Mack Robinson College of Business from December 2016 to November 2018. Cassius's core efforts were focused on the university’s entrepreneurship and innovation initiatives. Additionally, they fostered industry outreach to build mentoring, advisory boards, and connecting the college of business with the local and broader entrepreneurial community. Cassius also developed fundraising initiatives for student-led startups, which contributed to the recognition of the university as the nation's second most innovative university.