Venture capital is the lifeblood of many entrepreneurial endeavors and the attention that funding attracts can have an impact well beyond the individual startup, contributing to the economic development of the entire community. No one sees this more clearly than Alan Dabbiere, co-founder and board chair of AirWatch. Dabbiere will provide a keynote address at Venture Atlanta, Georgia’s annual two-day showcase event connecting technology innovation and investment capital. This year’s Venture Atlanta will be held October 22-23 at the Georgia Aquarium.

Prior to AirWatch, Dabbiere also founded Manhattan Associates (NASDAQ:MANH). An enthusiastic proponent of Atlanta, Dabbiere will discuss how a company’s success in gaining funding from prominent and geographically diverse venture capital firms can and should benefit the metro area and the companies seeking to grow here.

AirWatch, a global innovator in mobile security and the largest Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) provider, recently received a $200 million Series A round of initial investment funding led by New York-based Insight Venture Partners that is widely believed to be the largest ever for any U.S. company.

“AirWatch and Alan Dabbiere are a phenomenal story," said Larry Williams, vice president of Technology Industry Development for the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. "Alan knows the advantages of starting a company and successfully scaling it in Atlanta. He did it with Manhattan Associates and now AirWatch, and he tells a great story about why Atlanta is the best place to start and grow a business. The new investment dollars are enabling AirWatch to carry out strategic acquisitions, like the Motorola Solutions MSP deal, and that's continuing to put it in a position to dominate the mobile security sector globally."

As chairman of AirWatch, Dabbiere drives the company’s vision, direction and growth plans, which include an expanded presence in Atlanta and around the world. In the last two years, AirWatch has grown from 250 to 1,400 employees globally. In addition to providing the company with the means to create jobs, invest in new equipment and consider strategic acquisitions, the large round of initial investment capital received by AirWatch in February boosted Georgia to the top five for VC funding in the first quarter of 2013.

“We’re proud to have been AirWatch’s first institutional investors,” said Richard Wells, managing director, Insight Venture Partners. “It was a great opportunity to invest in a company that’s leading the way with compelling product technology – and doing it outside of Silicon Valley.”

Accel Partners of Silicon Valley led another infusion of $25 million for AirWatch in May. “This is our largest investment in mobile enterprise to date,” said Ryan Sweeney, general partner at Accel. “We believe enterprise mobility will continue to be a significant growth area, and AirWatch is clearly the dominant software player in the space.”

One company drawing significant venture capital from both Silicon Valley and New York intensifies the focus not only on AirWatch but also on Atlanta as a key player in EMM. As a member of the board of directors for the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG), Dabbiere says that he wants to see more of this kind of attention brought to Atlanta and its tech community.

Dabbiere’s keynote address will take place on Wednesday, Oct. 23 at 9:30 a.m. Venture Atlanta showcases Georgia companies in a variety of technology sectors, from communication technology to logistics, at both early and later stages, all looking to raise capital in the next 18 months.

For more information on Venture Atlanta 2013 or to register for the event, visit www.ventureatlanta.org.