Sherwood Forest resident rings NASDAQ bell

Brian McGowan, a Sherwood Forest neighborhood resident and president and CEO of Invest Atlanta, the economic development arm of the City of Atlanta, rang the NASDAQ Stock Market opening bell this past Friday in New York.

He was joined by representatives of more than 20 cutting-edge Atlanta-based technology companies, as they were in Times Square to promote Atlanta’s emerging tech industry cluster and hidden tech sector.

For the Friday, March 9 trading, the Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 1.2-percent and settled at 2,970.42.

“Atlanta is home to some of the country’s leading tech companies but it is also a hotbed of entrepreneurial activity,’’ McGowan said in a statement. “The city offers an eco-system that supports young and creative tech companies to emerge as the next generation leaders. Invest Atlanta’s new programs are designed to assist and encourage the growth of small businesses, start-ups, and entrepreneurship. We want to set the pace for the country, for this sector.”

Invest Atlanta’s purpose is to strengthen the city’s economy and global competitiveness in order to create increased opportunity and prosperity for the people of the city.

Atlanta is currently ranked third in the country for cities with the most Fortune 500 headquarters, ranked first in innovation in Zipcar’s Future Metropolis Index and is the home of technology leaders including First Data Corp.; AT&T Mobility; CNN; and Dell SecureWorks.