FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Ten weeks have turned into 32 years.
Greg Beadles started his career with the Atlanta Falcons as an intern in 1995. Now, in the new year of 2026, Beadles is the club’s president and CEO. He slowly but surely climbed from the bottom of the ladder to the top.
"Couldn't imagine," Beadles told AtlantaFalcons.com. "Certainly not in the same place. Not even anywhere really at that point. I was very, very green when I started here. I didn't know a whole lot about business, certainly not the business of football."
That is obviously no longer the case.
Owner Arthur Blank announced Beadles' promotion to CEO and other organizational changes in a letter to fans released last Monday. Beadles already held the title of president from 2023.
Beadles succeeded Rich McKay, who had held the Falcons' CEO role since 2011. McKay will continue to serve as the CEO of AMB Sports and Entertainment.
While Beadles will still handle all Falcons business affairs off the field, he will now also collaborate with the new president of football, Matt Ryan, to put together a winning product on the field. That process has already begun with the Falcons' ongoing search for a head coach and general manager.
"The last three days, this guy's an ass-kicker," Ryan said Tuesday in his introductory press conference. "He is really, really good at what he does, and I have walked away very, very impressed with his level of organization, detail and just wisdom. I am extremely lucky to be partnered with him and to be sitting next to him because Greg is a fantastic human being but an excellent representation of this organization."
Considering how long Beadles has been with the organization, he has seen many, many different versions of the Falcons. He was around when Atlanta went 3-13 in 1996 and 14-2 in 1998 – the Falcons' worst and best records to date. He was a part of the 1998 run to the Super Bowl, then again in 2016. He has witnessed eight coaching regimes, with the ninth on tap in 2026.
Of course, Beadles was never a player nor a coach who had a direct hand in those performance outputs. But don't underestimate his indirect impact. He has assisted those with authority since his first year on the team.
"I was fortunate that the organization was very small, so I got to do a whole lot of different jobs," Beadles said. "The guy who was our CFO at the time negotiated all the contracts with the players. I was his data and analytics team — a one-man team — to help him prep on what was going on out in the league."
According to a feature published when he was originally named president, Beadles' history is vast. He ran the old Falcon Inn for players during training camp. He printed photos in the coaches' booth during games. He helped load up the postgame equipment truck. Beadles was even a member of the group that created this exact AtlantaFalcons.com.
His team bio notes that his day-to-day responsibilities as president include "the oversight of finance, operations, marketing, digital, communications, human resources and community relations, as well as shared functions related to game presentation, retail, sales and service."
Beadles boasts an array of concrete accomplishments, too. Literally and figuratively. He was the brain behind the expansion and renovation of the headquarters in 2024 and the design and construction of Mercedes-Benz Stadium in 2017. The former received top grades from players in the NFLPA annual report card after one season. The latter earned Sports Business Journal's "Sports Facility of the Year" after two seasons.
"He's always learning," Blank said Tuesday in the press conference. "He's always listening. He's always responding. He's heavily involved in our stadium. He's heavily involved in our involvement in the community. He's heavily involved in the atmosphere, the culture we have in the building."
Beadles does think of himself as a lifelong learner. Both of his parents were teachers, so it makes sense. His curiosity is innate.
Whenever Beadles sees a development in the electronics industry, he questions whether it can be implemented somewhere within the Falcons. If he visits another venue and something sparks interest, he'll set up a meeting with whoever's in charge for further insight and possible implementation in Atlanta. He's constantly seeking ways to innovate and improve.
That's how he has not only maintained but advanced his position with the Falcons for more than three decades.
"Somebody else pointed out to me that I have been around for more than half of the franchise's existence, which I don't know if that makes me feel good or not," Beadles said. "But in some ways, it does because I feel so connected to what we're all about here."
