Winners in seven categories and five chosen for Lifetime Achievement were honored at a luncheon in Birmingham on Friday, Feb. 28, as part of the Business Alabama Awards.
Scott Carpenter and Brittany Decker were emcees for the event at the Harbert Center.
Winners and finalists in the seven competitive categories were:
- CEO of the Year – Dr. Ray Watts of the University of Alabama at Birmingham; Finalists: Jim Gorrie, Brasfield & Gorrie; Billy Harbert, BL Harbert International; Macke Mauldin, BancIndependent Inc.; and John Turner, Regions Bank.
- Large Company of the Year – Austal USA; Finalists: Honda, Huntsville Hospital, PCH Hotels & Resorts and Robins & Morton.
- Small Company of the Year – Y’all Sweet Tea; Finalists: Challenge Testing, ProxsysRX, Rolin Construction and WM Grocery.
- Alabama Expat of the Year – Vicki Hollub, president and CEO of Occidental Petroleum; Finalists: Karan Dyson, vice president for Global Grooming Process & Engineering at Procter & Gamble – Gillette; Janet Gurwitch, founder and former CEO of Laura Mercier Cosmetics & Skincare; Sara Rademaker, founder and CEO of American Unagi; and Michielle Sego-Johnson, vice president of Inflight Services and Catering Operations at United Airlines.
- Startup of the Year – NephSol; Finalists: Etch, Forsee, Wunderfan and Zone Protects.
- Project of the Year – MLB at Rickwood Field; Finalists: Alabama Community College System Workforce Development Centers, Bryce Hospital renovation, First Solar in Lawrence County, Hood-McPherson Building renovation, J.M. Smucker plant in McCalla, MartinFederal Consulting part of $8 billion FBI contract, Runergy opens, Samkee opens and Toyota builds 10 millionth engine.
- Philanthropic Project of the Year – Doc Rock, University of South Alabama; Finalists: Black Belt Community Foundation, Kinetic Cup at Kinetic, Baldwin Bone & Joint’s Many More Miles Shoe Drive and Thompson Burton’s work with Sleep in Heavenly Peace.
Lifetime Achievement recipients were:
- Charles Anderson, chairman emeritus of the companies founded by the Anderson family, including Anderson Media, TNT Fireworks, Books-A-Million and Anderson Press.
- George Barber Jr., former owner of Barber Dairies, chairman of the Barber Companies, and founder of the Barber Motorsports Park and Museum.
- Dr. Regina Benjamin, former U.S. surgeon general and founder and CEO of Bayou Clinic in Bayou La Batre.
- Jim Hudson, co-founder and chairman emeritus of the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, and founder and former CEO of Research Genetics.
- Dr. Jesse Lewis Sr., founder and publisher emeritus of The Birmingham Times, chairman of Agency 54 and author of “One Man’s Opinion: Together We Can Do This.”
“This is our chance to honor the best in Alabama business,” said Alec Harvey, executive editor of Business Alabama magazine. “Our winners and finalists showcase the range of talent and success in Alabama, from north Alabama to the Gulf Coast.”
Business Alabama took nominations for the Business Alabama Awards, and a selection committee named a winner and finalists in each category.
For more information on the Business Alabama Awards, the winners, finalists and honorees, see the March 2025 issue of Business Alabama magazine.
