Forty businesses, business people and projects have been selected as finalists for the 2025 Business Alabama Awards.
After taking nominations from the public, we chose finalists in seven categories. Five Lifetime Achievement winners will also be announced in January, and they will be honored, along with winners of the award categories, at a ceremony in Birmingham on Feb. 28, 2025.
The finalists for the Business Alabama Awards are:
CEO OF THE YEAR
- Jim Gorrie – Brasfield & Gorrie, Birmingham
- Billy Harbert – BL Harbert International, Birmingham
- Macke Mauldin – BancIndependent Inc., Sheffield
- John Turner – Regions Bank, Birmingham
- Ray Watts – University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham
LARGE COMPANY OF THE YEAR (300 employees or more)
- Sponsor -
- Austal USA, Mobile
- Honda, Lincoln
- Huntsville Hospital, Huntsville
- PCH Hotels & Resorts, Mobile
- Robins & Morton, Birmingham
SMALL COMPANY OF THE YEAR
- Challenge Testing, Mobile
- ProxsysRX, Birmingham
- Rolin Construction, Spanish Fort
- WM Grocery, Wedowee
- Y’all Sweet Tea, Hayden
ALABAMA EXPAT OF THE YEAR
- Karan Dyson, vice president, Global Grooming Process & Engineering, Procter and Gamble
- Janet Gurwitch, founder of Gurwitch Products
- Vicki Hollub, president and CEO of Occidental Petroleum
- Sara Rademaker, CEO and founder of American Unagi
- Michielle Sego-Johnson, vice president of Inflight Operations and Catering Services, United Airlines
PHILANTHROPIC PROJECT OF THE YEAR
- Black Belt Community Foundation, Selma
- USA Health’s Doc Rock, Mobile
- Kinetic’s Kinetic Cup, Birmingham
- Baldwin Bone & Joint’s Many More Miles Shoe Drive, Fairhope
- Thompson Burton’s Sleep in Heavenly Peace, Huntsville
STARTUP OF THE YEAR
- Etch, Huntsville
- Forsee, Prattville
- Nephsol, Tuscaloosa
- Wunderfan, Birmingham
- Zone Protects, Decatur
PROJECT OF THE YEAR
- Alabama Community College System Workforce Development Centers, Gadsden State, Snead State and Northeast Alabama Community College
- Bryce Hospital renovation from hospital to welcome center and museum, Tuscaloosa
- First Solar opens, Lawrence County
- Hood-McPherson building renovation, Birmingham
- JM Smucker plant opens, McCalla
- MartinFed’s $8 billion FBI contract, Huntsville
- Rickwood Field renovation and major league baseball game, Birmingham
- Runergy opens, Huntsville
- Samkee opens, Tuskegee
- Toyota builds 10 millionth engine, Huntsville
