Terry “Tetris” Francis

Terry “Tetris” Francis is the power behind the power. As Senior Vice President of Business Control Systems, Inc., the Francis family technology company founded by his father in January 1977, he is carrying a legacy that began with cash register systems into technology, commercial real estate, angel investing, and philanthropy. As CEO of Ahead of the Future, its operating technology arm, he is leading its move into personal electronic devices, software, augmented reality, and projection mapping. Through Ahead of the Future, he launched AI Squad Up™, a free AI course built from the culture.

His leadership was forged over 17 years in the U.S. Army. A senior noncommissioned officer who retired as a sergeant first class, he served combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and an overseas tour in Korea, led a platoon in combat, and served as the senior logistics NCO for four organizations, accountable for government property and contracts valued in the billions. His decorations include six Army Commendation Medals and campaign medals for Iraq and Afghanistan, and he proudly carries the Buffalo Soldier lineage of the 9th Cavalry. He went on to more than a decade at Apple as a Senior Software Support Advisor with AppleCare, now on assignment to Apple Deployment Programs Support, bringing the same standard of excellence to one of the world’s most valuable companies.

Through CAN I KICK IT, Tetris has produced experiential and cultural work for Visa, adidas and The Athlete’s Foot, PUMA, Red Bull, and Lifetime. He conceived and produced Atlanta’s first public mural dedicated to TLC, which led Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins to hand-select him to lead the nonprofit You Got A Friend In Me. He co-founded Hip Hop Congress Atlanta and is building T.A.G., a You Got A Friend In Me youth technology program with Ahead of the Future as technology partner.

Known as the Many Hat Magnate, Tetris speaks the language of the boardroom, the barracks, and the block, and he knows how to make all three work together. He mentors artists, creatives, and entrepreneurs, serves on the boards of multiple Atlanta-area nonprofits, and is a father, a grandfather of seven, and the author of the forthcoming book I Know Where the Socks Geaux.