Business Alabama will honor four distinguished Alabama businesspeople as Lifetime Achievement recipients at the Business Alabama Awards on Jan. 30.
2026 honorees include Raymond J. Harbert, Dr. Marnix E. Heersink, E. Grace Pilot and Bill Roark.
The four will be honored as part of the Business Alabama Awards during a luncheon Jan. 30 at Birmingham’s Harbert Center. At the luncheon, awards will also be given for Large Company of the Year, Small Company of the Year, CEO of the Year, Startup of the Year, Project of the Year, Alabama Expat of the Year and Philanthropic Project of the Year. Finalists for these awards, as well as the first members of the Business Alabama Centennial Club, honoring businesses 100 years old or older, were announced in November.
Here’s a look at this year’s Lifetime Achievement recipients, who join those honored in 2023, 2024 and 2025:
RAYMOND J. HARBERT
Raymond J. Harbert is the founder, executive chairman and former chief executive officer of Harbert Management Corporation. After graduating from Auburn University, Harbert went to work for Harbert International Inc., the construction subsidiary of Harbert Corporation, the company founded and built by his father, John Harbert. In 1990, at the age of 31, Harbert was promoted to president and CEO of Harbert Corporation, which was a multi-billion-dollar diversified conglomerate. In 1993, Harbert launched Harbert Management Corporation, the first multi alternative asset investment management firm in Alabama. Today, HMC manages eight different investment strategies from eight U.S. and four European offices with over $8 billion of assets under management. Harbert serves on the boards and executive committees of the Robert Meyer Foundation, Children’s of Alabama and Birmingham Business Alliance. Harbert is a trustee emeritus at Auburn, where the College of Business is named for him. Harbert was inducted into the Alabama Academy of Honor in 2015, and in 2024, inducted into the Alabama Business Hall of Fame. Raymond and Kathryn Harbert are active philanthropists, having made significant gifts both in time and capital to numerous organizations, including Auburn University, Red Mountain Theatre, Children’s of Alabama, University of Alabama at Birmingham and United Way of Central Alabama. They have three children and nine grandchildren and live in Birmingham.
DR. MARNIX E. HEERSINK
Marnix E. Heersink, M.D., graduated Magna Cum Laude with a B.A. degree and an M.D. degree from the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario. In 1978, he and his wife, Mary Parks Heersink, moved to Dothan, where he founded Eye Center South. Dr. Heersink has served on numerous boards and institutions, including Wallace Community College, Troy University, Marion Military Institute, the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Wiregrass Museum of Art. Several buildings have been named for the Heersink family, and they have funded the Heersink Family Foundation, which has endowed scholarships and fellowships. In 2023, the Heersink family created and funded a Pathways to Optometry program with Wallace College, Troy University Dothan and University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Optometry. Dr. Heersink also founded The Eye Education Foundation, a nonprofit educational institute for eye care professionals. Two years ago, Dr. Heersink made major transformative gifts to two universities. The University of Alabama at Birmingham named its medical school the Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine as well as the UAB Marnix E. Heersink Institute for Biomedical Innovation. McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, named the Marnix E. Heersink School of Biomedical Innovation and Entrepreneurship after Dr. Heersink. In 2024, Dr. Heersink was inducted into the Alabama Business Hall of Fame and the Alabama Healthcare Hall of Fame. Dr. and Mrs. Heersink have six children and 12 grandchildren.
E. GRACE PILOT
E. Grace Pilot, co-founder of The Pilot Family of Companies, is a native of Silas in Choctaw County. She married her high-school sweetheart, Walter Davis Pilot Sr., and they moved to Mobile. In 1964, the Pilots formed Burch and Pilot and Pilot Adjustment Services in Mobile, as an independent adjusting firm. In 1983, at their kitchen table, they made the decision to go into business on a national level and founded Pilot & Associates Inc. which became Pilot Catastrophe Services Inc. Their children – Daphne, Davis, Curtis and Rodney – joined the family business, and after Walter Pilot’s death in 1991, Grace Pilot and her children continued to build the company. Today, Pilot is the largest catastrophe adjusting firm in the nation. Grace Pilot’s civic and philanthropic efforts are far-reaching, including serving on the board of the Alabama Baptist Children’s Home for 16 years, and, in 1997, helping to establish the Pilot House of Hope, a facility for unwed mothers that now serves homeless mothers and their children. She has an honorary doctorate from Howard Payne University in Brownwood, Texas, where the Grace Chapel on campus was named in her honor. In 2005, the Mobile City Council of Beta Sigma Phi honored her as the First Lady of Mobile. In 2012, she was inducted into the Alabama Business Hall of Fame. The E. Grace Pilot Foundation supports her efforts to create a positive change in the communities in which she serves, providing financial support primarily in the areas of education, economic community needs and Christian ministry. In addition to her children, Grace Pilot has 23 grandchildren and 22 great grandchildren.
BILL ROARK
Bill Roark is the founder and executive chairman of the board of Starfish Holdings, the parent company of Torch Technologies Inc. (Torch), one of the nation’s top defense contractors; Freedom Real Estate & Capital LLC, a commercial real-estate brokerage, development, construction, consulting and property management company; and SIMVANA, a company specializing in virtual reality training for medical applications. Roark also serves as CEO of Freedom Real Estate & Capital. While serving as CEO of Torch, Roark guided the company to national recognition as one of Entrepreneur Magazine’s Top 100 Fastest Growing Companies in America and 15 consecutive selections on the Inc. 5000 list, which recognizes the Fastest Growing Private Companies. Additionally, Torch was recognized as the No. 1 Fastest Growing Privately Held Defense Contractor in the Southeast Region. In May 2024, Roark released “Built With Purpose,” chronicling the first 10 years of Torch Technologies’ history. The book focuses on Torch’s formation and transition to a 100% employee-owned company. Roark’s philanthropic efforts include the American Heart Association Heart Walk, the Liz Hurley Ribbon Run and the Huntsville Hospital Foundation, among others. Roark has received numerous honors and awards for his philanthropic efforts, most recently being inducted into the Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership Hall of Fame. Additionally, his wife, Brenda, and daughters, Amy and Kaitlynn, were named Philanthropists of the Year by the North Alabama Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.
