From Biomedical Engineering to Public Service: Clark Dean on Building Georgia'sFuture

A conversation with gubernatorial candidate Clark Dean on leadership, innovation, and solving complex problems through relational and analytical thinking

The Unlikely Path from Harvard to Real Estate to the Governor's Race

When Clark Dean arrived at Harvard University to study biomedical engineering, he never imagined his career would take him through commercial real estate innovation and ultimately to a gubernatorial campaign. But as he shared in our recent Hive Speaker Series conversation, the thread connecting it all has been a commitment to solving complex problems through both relationships and rigorous analysis.

"I grew up in Birmingham, Alabama," Clark began, describing a childhood rich with mentors and formative experiences. "I had a ninth grade football coach who taught us that everything starts with how we think—thoughts become actions, actions become habits, and habits form character. Those early lessons shaped everything that followed."

A Mission Trip That Changed Everything

One of Clark's most powerful early experiences came during a mission trip to Dayton, Ohio as an eighth-grader. Working with second-graders in a housing project, he encountered a challenging kid named Tink who seemed to get nothing out of the experience. Years later, at Harvard, Clark was helping take down equipment after a concert when a student approached him. It was Tink—the same kid from that mission trip.

"He told me, 'I was so alone that summer. I didn't know anybody. And I will never forget that this group of kids came up and made me feel like I belonged,'" Clark recalled. "It was one of these moments where you realize you never know what impact you're having on people. That servant leadership mindset has guided everything I've done since."

The Birth of Transaction Sciences

After graduating from Harvard, Clark entered the real estate industry, but he brought an unconventional approach. Working with insurance companies and banks through his father's management consulting firm, he developed expertise in stochastic simulations and advanced analytics—tools rarely applied to commercial real estate at the time.

"Around 2009-2010, computational capacity had expanded dramatically," Clark explained. "I got really interested in using stochastic simulations to help businesses understand their growth trajectories. You could actually help clients tune their real estate footprint to specific probability scenarios based on their risk tolerance."

This analytical approach led to the founding of Transwestern's Transaction Sciences Group in 2013. "I told them I wanted to build a team that didn't look like a normal broker team—one built on data, analytics, and financial models. And they said okay."

The result? Clark became Transwestern's #1 producer nationally in 2021, proving that combining deep analytical capabilities with strong relationships could transform how real estate deals get structured.

Bridging Two Worlds: Analytical and Relational Leadership

During our conversation, Clark emphasized a critical insight for modern leadership: "You have this beautiful world where you need to be both highly analytical and highly relational. Leaders are the ones who can do both. You can no longer live in just a relational world or just an analytical world."

This philosophy extends beyond business into how he thinks about governance. "Politicians often just focus on what people think about, instead of what is right," he noted. "But if you ask the right questions and listen, what people care about is the same: their families, their work, their communities, and the things that make those stronger."

From Covenant House to Running for Governor

Clark's commitment to service has been constant throughout his career. He's served in leadership roles at the Carter Center (Board of Councilors Chair), Shepherd Center (Chair-elect), Metro Atlanta YMCA (Past Chair), and founded Café Momentum Atlanta.

One particularly impactful initiative has been his work with Covenant House Georgia. Through the Rotary Club of Atlanta, Clark helped lead efforts to raise $4 million to acquire a 60,000-square-foot campus for homeless youth aged 18-22. The annual "Sleep Out" event brings executives to experience homelessness firsthand while raising over $1 million annually.

"The coolest thing isn't just the million dollars we raise," Clark said. "It's the stories you hear and the kids you meet. You build relationships with these kids, and they get their lives back."

The ASAP Framework for Georgia's Future

Clark's campaign for governor centers on what he calls the "ASAP framework"—and it's not just about urgency (though that matters too). ASAP stands for:

• Affordability: Making housing, healthcare, and cost of living accessible

• Strength: Including safety, security, and efficient government

• Accessibility: Particularly in education and healthcare

• Prosperity: Creating pathways for economic mobility and wealth building

"I didn't come up with this framework sitting in a room," Clark clarified. "I got it from listening to people across Georgia. When you ask the right questions and really listen, you discover what people actually care about."

Technology, AI, and the Future of Governance

As someone who bridges engineering, data science, and public service, Clark has unique insights on how emerging technologies should inform governance.

"If you're not augmenting your decision-making with these research tools, you're not going to make as good a decision," he stated.

"Government has to embrace these technologies to be more effective. We should be building optimization models for tax policy, understanding trade-offs, making data-informed decisions."

But he's quick to add that technology must be guided by values. "When it comes to AI and new technologies, the value system that all of us have needs to be integrated into how we deploy those technologies. We need both the philosophy conversation and the analytical capabilities."

The Innovation Opportunity in Georgia

Georgia is uniquely positioned for the future, Clark argues. Georgia Tech has the #1 aerospace engineering program globally. The Port of Savannah is on track to become the largest in the United States. The state has some of the cheapest power in the country and a pro business environment that's attracting advanced manufacturing, battery production, and data centers.

"We legitimately could be the best state in the best country in the world, period," Clark said with conviction. "We have the manufacturing capacity, the port infrastructure, the research institutions, the talent pipeline. We just need leadership that can coordinate these assets systematically."

Beyond Red and Blue: Finding Common Ground

Having worked extensively with leaders across the political spectrum, Clark has observed something important about Georgia: "The traditional red and blue isn't as far apart as most people see from the outside looking in. I've met so many people around the entire state, and we agree on a lot more than the differences."

He pointed to relationships between Mayor Dickens and Governor Kemp as examples. "On 90% of the issues, they agree. They just don't need to talk about the 10% when they're working together on shared problems."

Government as the Ultimate Client Service Job

Perhaps Clark's most compelling framing is viewing the governor's role through the lens of his business experience.

"My whole life, I've built businesses, but you know what I'm more proud of? The businesses I've helped my clients build. It's a client service business," he explained. "When you're governor of the state of Georgia, it is the greatest client service job in the state. You've got 11 million clients. And you have to serve them all."

This perspective shapes his entire approach: "I want people to know that I care, that I have the capabilities—both relational and analytical— to solve complex problems, and that I'm willing to push the envelope to find solutions that work."

Ambitious Goals: #1 in Women's Health

One of Clark's most striking proposals is making Georgia #1 in women's health outcomes, not just avoiding the bottom of rankings.

"Let's not just be defensive about getting away from 37th in maternal mortality. Let's be number one in women's health," he challenged. "There's this whole sector of innovation designing therapeutics for women's biology, which by the way, medicine has always treated women like little men. They're not. It's totally different biology. Let's be smart about this."

This ambition reflects his broader philosophy: set compelling goals, mobilize the right resources, measure outcomes rigorously, and don't accept mediocrity.

The Path Forward

As our conversation wrapped up, Clark returned to a central theme: the power of bringing people together around a compelling vision.

"We need more politicians to think of this as public service," he urged. "When you're governor, you have to serve all 11 million clients. And you've got to find that future for the state of Georgia that is so compelling and collective that it inspires people to work together to solve the problems we face."

For Clark Dean, that future combines the analytical rigor of his engineering background, the relationship-building skills honed through decades of complex real estate transactions, and the servant leadership instilled by formative experiences from childhood through Harvard and beyond.

Whether discussing tax optimization models, public-private partnerships for affordable housing, or bringing back extinct species through genetic engineering (a childhood dream from watching Jurassic Park), Clark embodies a new generation of leadership—one that refuses to choose between data and humanity, between innovation and tradition, between business and service.

As Georgia stands at the intersection of massive technological change, economic opportunity, and social challenges, Clark's vision offers a framework for navigating complexity: listen deeply, analyze rigorously, build relationships authentically, and always remember that the goal is serving people and building communities where everyone can thrive.

The Hive Speaker Series brings together leaders, innovators, and change-makers for candid conversations about building the future. Clark Dean is a candidate for Governor of Georgia in the Republican primary (May 19, 2026).

JP James is the Founder and CEO of Hive Financial, a fintech company focused on providing financial services to middle-income Americans. Based in Atlanta, Hive is committed to supporting economic mobility and financial inclusion.

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If you’d like to explore this topic in greater depth, watch our Speaker Series on YouTube featuring Clark Dean. His conversation with JP James offers thoughtful insights and real-world perspectives beyond the article.