Team

Kirk Atkinson grew up in Birmingham, Alabama. He attended John Carroll High Catholic School, and received his bachelor’s degree in Communications from the University of Alabama in 2004.

Kirk’s grandfather, a machinist and mechanic, instilled a love of working with his hands at an early age. Kirk put himself through college working as a certified automotive mechanic during the summer and winter breaks.

His father, a professional technical writer, instilled a love of history and literature, which led to an affinity for adventurist authors such as Mark Twain, Ernest Hemmingway and Rudyard Kipling, and eventually the travel bug that would lead him to Europe.

After college, he began working as a contractor for World Business Advisors in Birmingham, where he assisted with site selection and economic development duties for international projects.

Kirk became interested in European cultures and business while working for the Tuscaloosa County Industrial Development Authority. As senior project manager, he managed the location and expansion of several European companies in Tuscaloosa County, including BLG Logistics, Inc.

Kirk then followed BLG’s project team back to Germany to begin an international education and career path. In Dusseldorf he received German language and international relations training from the Heinrich Heine University and moved to Bremen to begin working directly for the BLG Logistics Group. At the BLG, Kirk was on a projects team assisting with new logistics operations in England, France and Germany.

While in Bremen, he was introduced to Bremeninvest, the lead agency for economic development and international trade in the State of Bremen and was charged with establishing their new offices in the southeastern United States.

Kirk moved back to The States in 2010 and for five years directed U.S. development and trade efforts for Bremeninvest while also managing business development and project management for BLG, Inc. Since then, BLG, Inc. has grown from around 100 employees to over 1,000 and Bremeninvest has welcomed several new American investments in the State of Bremen.

In February 2015, Kirk decided to concentrate fully on his own company, Adah International, Inc. Adah’s services are focused on what Kirk came to find as the biggest needs for international industrial projects: engineering, project management and training. Adah International has grown from two employees and an initial $20,000 investment to over $2 million in revenue in only it’s first three years.

In October of 2018, Adah International merged with their longtime customer and project-partner abatUS, LLC, a German provider of SAP development and consulting services in the United States. Both companies maintain their brands while being owned by a new holding company. The new holding company is called abatAdah Group, Inc. and Kirk is the minority owner and as well as President & CEO.

Kirk currently resides in the City of Birmingham, Alabama with his wife Inés Packmohr, who also works for Adah International, and their daughter Adah Atkinson.

Ellen, Administrative Assistant, is the axle around which the Adah International wheel spins. She keeps the office and the people who staff it running. She anticipates company needs and obtains solutions; she schedules; serves as the communications center; and is indispensable.

She says her life revolves around the office and her family and enjoys working with so many talented people. A native of Birmingham, Alabama, she attended private schools there, as well as Jefferson State Junior College and Samford University. Interestingly enough, she is a certified forklift driver and a nationally certified pharmacy technician.

Ellen’s past experience includes retail management and hospitals and laboratory environments. She is an avid reader in her time away from the office and is currently involved with vegetable gardening.

Jon grew up in Birmingham, Alabama where he attended Hoover High School and received his bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management from Auburn University.

Jon began his career with KBR (through acquisition of BE&K) working in Materials Management and Supply Chain on large Industrial EPC projects. From there he spent six years as a consultant with Loop Supply Systems implementing Supply Chain visibility and Pull based ordering systems.

Jon and his beautiful wife, Ann Yates, live in Homewood, Alabama with their two children, Mims and Bennie. He spends his free time playing and watching soccer (football to the rest of the world), running around with Mims and Bennie, and working on their historic home.