Originally founded in 1956, Executive Round Table (ERT) has long served as a platform for civil discourse between students, faculty, alumni and industry members. In open-forum monthly dinner discussions, ERT works to foster meaningful dialogue for students that closely mimics professional interactions.
Since its inception, ERT has featured an array of high-profile guest speakers including Alfred Hitchcock, Sam Nunn and Wayne Clough. Despite its history and prestige on campus, the organization’s presence slowly began to dwindle over time, and in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, it eventually disappeared altogether.
Recently, through the efforts of several Tech students — Neal Damani, fourth-year ISyE, Lucia Touma, fourth-year ISyE and Sadie McIntyre, third-year BA — ERT has seen a resurgence on campus. Back with a renewed purpose and vision, ERT aims to bring back its nuanced take on professional development and connection.
Damani is the current President of ERT. He has worked to lead the organization’s revival process. Like many students at Tech, Damani hadn’t heard of ERT until very recently, when last semester, he was introduced to the idea through Tech’s Alumni Association, where he first got in contact with Matt Mason, ISyE ‘01 and Chair of the ERT Alumni Board.
“Honestly, I hadn’t heard about it until last spring,” Damani said. “An alumni board member reached out looking for students to help lead ERT, and I decided to give it a shot.”
For Mason, a Tech ISyE alumni and former ERT member, the organization has always represented more than just dinner chats and guest speakers. Mason has always credited ERT’s uniqueness and success in its ability to create connections, leading him to want to bring back to the organization altogether.
“A student once described ERT as ‘old-fashioned networking,’ but I see it as relationship-building,” Mason said. “It’s about sitting down, having a conversation, and creating a bond, something that’s often missing in a digital world.”
With Mason’s support, Damani and his team began their process of reimagining ERT to better fit the current state on campus. Emphasizing ERT’s core values of open-forum discussion in classic dinner set fashion, Damani focused on improving upon the shortfalls that once led to its previous diminishment on campus.
Here, Damani and his team looked to transform their membership process, an issue that had previously restricted ERT’s success.
“In the past, ERT relied heavily on certain Greek organizations, which limited its reach,” Damani said. “We wanted to break that pattern and reach out to as many student groups as possible.”
Prefacing diversity in not only background but also thought, ERT began to reach out to students, where they would go on to amass over 140 applications.
“Lucia [Touma] and I kind of built out our interview process all over again,” Damani explained. “You’ve got a group discussion going on that’s facilitated by an exec member, and we pull individuals one at a time for a one-on-one interview to get to know them in a more personal setting. Then we send them back in, and they rejoin the discussion because the goal is for it to mimic being at a dinner; you see someone you know, you go introduce yourself, you talk to them for a bit, and then you rejoin your table.”
In ERT’s inaugural comeback semester, the organization’s return has been widely viewed as a success. Despite holding a rocky start with its opening dinner being canceled due to the external factors from Hurricane Helene, ERT has quickly gained its footing.
Recruiting over 76 members on campus and featuring distinguished speakers such as Jimmy Etheredge, former North American CEO of Accenture and ERT member in 1980, ERT is beginning to once again cement itself as a guiding presence for the professional development landscape on campus.
Looking forward, Damani and Mason hold ambitious goals for ERT’s continued growth on campus. Building up from past speakers and alumni, Mason wants to maintain the prestige of speakers while hosting a wide array of interesting speakers.
“ERT speakers cover a wide range of topics. One week, you might hear from the warden of the Atlanta jail; another week, you might hear from an executive of Bank of America talking about the future of banking. Another time we had the head of the Zoo Atlanta,” Mason said. “But I think my biggest takeaway to share with students is that it’s really a forum to kind of open your mind.”
Leading into the new year with a revamped membership process and refreshed partnerships, Damani hopes to once again restore ERT’s place as a leading organization on campus.
“In classes, you learn technical skills, but you don’t necessarily get trained on the soft skills. ERT gives members a chance to build confidence, communicate effectively, and understand social cues in professional settings,” Damani ended. “When our members graduate, I want them to be well-rounded and ready to excel, whether they’re in a boardroom or a networking event.”
ERT will be offering admission for the Spring 2025 semester, with applications set to open back up this November.