At the Birmingham Business Alliance (BBA) 2018 Chairman’s Meeting, presented by Spire, last week, 2018 Chairman Lee Smith passed the gavel of leadership to 2019 Chairwoman Nancy C. Goedecke, who introduced the BBA’s 2019 officers:
Jim Gorrie, Chairman of the Board-Elect
Greg Curran, Vice Chairman of Public Policy
Nelson Bean, Vice Chairman of Finance
Mark Tarr, Vice Chairman of Economic Development
Art Tipton, Vice Chairman of Communications
Sanjay Singh, Vice Chairman of Workforce Development
Devon Laney, Vice Chairman of Innovation and Technology
Lee Smith, Immediate Past Chairman of the Board
Brian Hilson, President and CEO of the BBA
Bing Edwards, Corporate Secretary
Brian Hilson, BBA’s president and CEO, reported that 3,908 jobs were announced for the Birmingham region by 24 new and expanding companies. That number is about 1,050 more jobs than were announced at this time last year. Those companies also announced plans for $958 million in capital investment, an increase of almost $400 million over what was announced at this time a year ago. Net employment in Birmingham increased by 6,100 over the past year, and Birmingham’s workforce size increased by 13,125.
The meeting’s keynote speaker was Andy Levine, chairman of Development Counsellors International (DCI), and his DCI colleague, Patience Fairbrother, who discussed five ways Birmingham can attract millennials and Gen Z, the next wave of talent. Click here to watch their presentation.
The meeting was presented by Spire. The BBA would like to thank the following sponsors, without whom this meeting would not have been possible:
Reception sponsor, BBVA Compass
Gold sponsors: Alabama Power, America's First Federal Credit Union, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama, the City of Birmingham, Encompass Health, Jefferson County, O'Neal Industries, Protective Life Corp., Regions Bank, the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Wells Fargo
Silver sponsors: Altec Industries Inc., AT&T Alabama, Brasfield & Gorrie LLC, Drummond Company Inc., Harbert Management Corp., Hoar Construction LLC, Honda Manufacturing of Alabama LLC, KAMTEK, Lyft, McWane Inc., Mercedes-Benz U.S. International Inc., Robins & Morton and Vulcan Materials Co.
Click here to watch a video highlighting some of Birmingham’s 2018 accomplishments.