Douglas Ray

Doug Ray is a certified public accountant with over 35 years experience and has been in charge of overseeing all financial and accounting aspects for several industry leading real estate companies.

In September 2014, Mr. Ray joined the Metro Atlanta Chamber. In his current capacity, he is responsible for overseeing the Finance, Information Technology and Building Operations groups for the Chamber, which for over 150 years has been the key organization for attracting new companies to the Atlanta Region and stimulating business growth for the area.

In October 2011, Mr. Ray joined Invest Atlanta as Chief Financial Officer where he was responsible for managing all financial and administrative matters for the City of Atlanta’s economic development agency.

Prior to joining Invest Atlanta, Mr. Ray was Chief Financial Officer for Elias Brothers Group for 5 years, a well respected Southwest Florida developer, homebuilder and painting/restoration contractor where he was responsible for all financial and accounting functions including bank relations, financial reporting, economic analyses, cash flow management and loan negotiations.

For the 9 years prior to joining Elias Brothers Group, Mr. Ray was Chief Financial Officer of John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods in Atlanta, GA, one of the largest privately owned homebuilders in the United States and winner of numerous awards including National Builder of the Year and America’s Best Builder, both presented by the National Association of Homebuilders. He was responsible for providing financial and accounting oversight to the entire organization. Some of his initiatives included implementing a formal economic analysis process for potential land acquisitions, establishing a detailed system of accounting and financial policies and procedures, an annual budget process, an internal audit function and a property tax administration department.

From 1992 until he joined John Wieland Homes, Mr. Ray served as Vice President, Director of Accounting, Administration, Property Management and Construction for Codina Group’s Deering Bay community in Coral Gables, FL during the development of this luxury community which features 286 luxury homes, an 18 home Arnold Palmer golf course, 600 member country club and 2 marinas.

Starting in early 1981, Mr. Ray served as Vice President, Retail Property Accounting for Carter & Associates in Atlanta. At Carter & Associates, he managed the economic analysis, financial development, construction and operational accounting for up to 20 regional malls, power strip and strip shopping centers with an aggregate value ranging from $500 million to $1 billion. Mr. Ray worked closely with major lenders on loan packaging and administration of the projects as well as representing Carter & Associates in the negotiation and completion of property closings.

Mr. Ray is a summa cum laude graduate of the University of Alabama. After graduation, he began his professional career with PWC, where he completed the requirements for his CPA certificate and gained valuable experience auditing a variety of clients.