PAT WILSON
Pat Wilson was appointed Deputy Commissioner for Global Commerce of the Georgia Department of Economic Development on August 2, 2010.  Mr. Wilson will lead Georgia’s global efforts to attract jobs and investments through new, existing, relocating and expanding businesses in the nation and abroad.  Mr. Wilson previously served on the staff of Governor Sonny Perdue, and assumes the role formerly held by current GDEcD commissioner Heidi Green.
 
Prior to joining GDEcD, Mr. Wilson served on the staff of Governor Perdue as the director of government affairs.  In that position, he led efforts to promote Governor Perdue’s legislative agenda at the State Capitol as well as managed federal affairs for the state of Georgia. He previously served as director of federal affairs for the state, opening the Washington, D.C. office in 2005. There he worked to promote the state’s agenda with the U.S. Congress and federal agencies as the Governor’s representative to the Georgia congressional delegation.
 
Mr. Wilson also worked previously for the late U.S. Senator Paul D. Coverdell, then Chairman of the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee of the Foreign Relations Committee.
 
He is a Franklin Springs, Georgia native, and holds an undergraduate degree in political science with a focus on international relations and a minor in German from the University of Georgia.