Bob Cowell was appointed as the fifth Manager of the Unified Government of Athens-Clarke County on July 15, 2025.

Cowell has over three decades of leadership positions with cities and counties, most recently serving as the City Manager for the City of Roanoke, VA. Previous positions include Deputy City Manager and Interim City Manager for the City of Amarillo, TX; Executive Director, Planning and Development Services for College Station, TX; and Planning Director for the Monroe County Plan Commission in Bloomington, IN. 

Cowell has a master’s degree in urban planning from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville and a bachelor's degree in aeronautics with a specialization in administration from St. Louis University in Missouri. He’s a Credentialed Manager with the International City/County Management Association (ICMA-CM) and a Certified Urban Planner with the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP), in addition to being an Accredited Member with the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU-A)