OWEN BAILEY is CEO and senior associate vice president for medical affairs at USA Health in Mobile. A fellow with the American College of Healthcare Executives, he serves on the Business Council of Alabama, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama and LifeSouth Community Blood Centers boards; on Hancock Whitney Bank’s Alabama market advisory board; and is Alabama’s delegate to the American Hospital Association’s regional policy board. He is past chairman of the Alabama Hospital Association board. A graduate of Auburn University, where he was drum major for the marching band, he holds a master’s degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
JOSIAH “JO” ROBINS BONNER JR. is president of the University of South Alabama. For a decade, Bonner represented Alabama’s First District in the U.S. House of Representatives, followed by a term as chief of staff to Gov. Kay Ivey. He is a 2023 graduate and serves on the board of Leadership Alabama. He is an inductee of the Alabama Academy of Honor and recipient of the Distinguished Public Service Award, the highest honor the U.S. Navy bestows on a civilian, and has been named the 2023 Patriot of the Year by Mobile Bay Area Veterans Council.
PHILIP BURTON is the CEO of Burton Property Group (BPG), a commercial real estate investment, development and management firm with a focus on industrial real estate. Burton is a Mobile native and a graduate of the University of South Alabama. He is a founding board member of the Beverly Burton Scholarship Trust and serves on South’s Foundation for Research and Commercialization board.
BRADLEY BYRNE is president and CEO of the Mobile Chamber. Earlier, he spent four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, served on the Alabama State Board of Education, in the State Senate and as chancellor of the two-year college system. He also chaired Alabama’s Workforce Planning Council. He has more than 30 years’ experience as an attorney in private practice.
DAVID CLARK is president and CEO of Visit Mobile, collaborating with the city, the county, Mobile Chamber, Carnival Cruise, Mobile Airport Authority, Amtrak and cultural heritage organizations to promote business and leisure travel and events. He is an ex-officio board member for the state’s first Tourism Improvement District (TID), which was established in 2024 to tell Mobile’s story in new ways. Clark serves in leadership roles on numerous industry, civic and cultural boards. He is a graduate of Western Kentucky University and a lifetime member of the Professional Golfers Association of America.
JOHN C. DRISCOLL is director and CEO of the Alabama Port Authority, overseeing major capital improvements in the port’s coal, container intermodal and freight rail business lines — a 10-year program valued at $2 billion. Under Driscoll’s leadership, the Port is also developing inland intermodal rail depots. Driscoll is board chair of the New Orleans Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and a member of the Business Council of Alabama, among other community organizations. He is a University of Maryland graduate.
RANDALL DUEITT is a Mobile County commissioner. Dueitt is a 23-year veteran of the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office. As a commissioner, he works to encourage economic development and to support schools, community centers and local businesses.
SHOMARI C. FIGURES represents Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District. A Mobile native, he attended public schools before earning undergraduate and law degrees at the University of Alabama. Before being elected to Congress, he held several roles across the federal government — federal law clerk, White House staff member under President Barack Obama, counsel to the U.S. Senate and at the Department of Justice and deputy chief of staff to Attorney General Merrick Garland.
BRENT HARRISON is the superintendent of Saraland City Schools. Earlier, he was principal at Saraland High School, Enterprise High School and Charles Henderson High School. A Troy University graduate, he has a master’s from the University of Montevallo and a doctorate from the University of South Alabama. Under Harrison’s leadership, Saraland City Schools have consistently ranked among the highest-performing school districts in Alabama. In addition to an array of career-focused options, the schools also offer Alabama’s only Coast Guard JROTC unit.
CONNIE HUDSON is a Mobile County commissioner. Earlier, she served nine years on the Mobile City Council. She has participated in major economic development initiatives, including the Mobile area’s site selection for the ThyssenKrupp Steel Plant (now AM/NS Calvert), Austal USA, the Airbus U.S. Final Assembly Line and others. A Troy University graduate, she has served on the board of Ascension Providence, the Association of County Commissioners of Alabama, Mobile Arts Council and America’s Junior Miss (now Distinguished Young Women).
MICHELLE KRUGER is president of Austal USA, leading an organization of more than 3,000 shipbuilding professionals headquartered in Mobile, with operations in Washington, D.C., San Diego and Singapore. Before joining Austal USA, Kruger held a number of leadership positions at General Dynamics including in its Electric Boat and Bath Iron Works units. Kruger is a U.S. Merchant Marine Academy graduate with a master’s from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She commissioned into the U.S. Navy reserves in 1987.
MERCERIA LUDGOOD is a Mobile County commissioner. She is active with the executive committee of the National Association of Counties, where she worked on the Gulf Oil Spill Task Force, and is past president of the Association of County Commissioners of Alabama. She is also active with the state Workforce Development Board. A native of Mobile’s Crichton neighborhood, she graduated with honors in 1970 from Toulminville High School. She holds undergraduate and master’s degrees from the University of Alabama and a Master of Divinity degree from the Alabama Interdenominational Seminary.
PATRICK MURPHY is vice president with Alabama Power, overseeing community affairs in seven counties of southwest Alabama. He is chairman of the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce and has been recognized by Boy Scouts of America with the 2025 Golden Eagle Award. An Auburn University graduate, he is past president of the Economic Development Association of Alabama and a graduate of Leadership Alabama. He serves on the boards of the Auburn University Research and Technology Foundation, the Infirmary Foundation, the Mobile Industrial Development Board, the Coastal Alabama Partnership and the Dauphin Island Sea Lab Foundation.
JEREMIAH NEWELL is CEO of the non-profit Mobile Area Education Foundation (MAEF), which has raised more than $50 million to support schools in its 30 years. Newell is also the founder of MAEF Public Charter Schools. Earlier he taught middle and high school. He has been a Harvard Fellow and chief of staff for the Rhode Island Department of Education. Newell holds undergraduate and master’s degrees from the University of South Alabama and a doctorate in education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
MARK NIX is the president and CEO of Infirmary Health. He serves on several boards including the Alabama Department of Public Health Licensure Advisory Board, Leadership Alabama, Mobile Arts and Sports Association, Regions Bank-South Alabama Advisory Board, Ernest G. DeBakey Charitable Foundation and the Mobile Chamber of Commerce Board of Advisors.
HOWARD RUBENSTEIN is the mayor of Saraland. During his tenure, Saraland’s population has grown almost 30% to 16,100 residents, the city has developed its own school system and a $71 million sportsplex is nearing completion. Rubenstein earned undergraduate and medical degrees at the University of Illinois and completed his residency in family medicine in Pensacola. He is co-founder of the Saraland Medical Arts Clinic and Rubenstein Family Medical Associates. He earned the Emeritus Certified Municipal Official status from the Alabama League of Municipalities.
JEFFERY ST. CLAIR is president and CEO of Springhill Medical Center. St. Clair serves on the boards for the hospital, Gulf Coast Surgical Partners and Dauphin West Surgery Center. In the community, he serves the Alabama Kidney Foundation board and the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce board of advisors. He is also active with Business Council of Alabama, the Alabama Hospital Association and the American Heart Association. He is a University of Alabama graduate with a master’s from Kennedy-Western University.
TUERK SCHLESINGER is CEO of AltaPointe Health. He has led AltaPointe for nearly 30 years, growing it from 277 to 1,600 employees and increasing the annual budget from $17 million to $162 million. Today, the organization provides care for more than 45,000 individuals each year. In 2017, Schlesinger launched Accordia Health, AltaPointe’s primary care division, followed by Accordia Health & Wellness, a clinic for AltaPointe employees and their families. Schlesinger serves on the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce advisory board and is a Leadership Alabama alum. He is a graduate of Spring Hill College and Auburn University.
CHARLES SMITH has been president of the University of Mobile since March 2024. Earlier, Smith was senior vice president of institutional relations and assistant professor of Christian leadership at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Spurgeon College. A graduate of Mississippi College, he holds a Master of Divinity from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is a Montgomery native.
RICHARD M. STIMPSON is an investment counselor and chairman of Leavell Investments where he has worked since 2006. Earlier he worked for FTN Financial and for Sterne Agee. He is a University of Alabama graduate and served as an infantry officer in the U.S. Marine Corps. His community involvement includes membership in the Rotary Club of Mobile and the Downtown Mobile Alliance and serving on the board of the Alabama Policy Institute.
SANDY STIMPSON is the mayor of Mobile. Stimpson is a founding member of the Alabama Big 10 Mayors Association and has served as its chairman since 2014. He also is on the boards for the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce, the Business Council of Alabama, UMS-Wright Preparatory School and Prichard Preparatory School. He currently serves on the President’s Cabinet for both the University of South Alabama and the University of Alabama. As mayor, he has worked to improve zoning and infrastructure and reduce blight and crime. He is a graduate of the University of Alabama.
MARY H. VAN BRUNT is president of Spring Hill College. In her first two years on The Hill, she has raised more than $13 million and has overseen planning and design for the new Health and Science Innovation Center, expected to open during the 2026-2027 academic year. This facility is designed to elevate Spring Hill’s nursing, pre-med, health sciences and natural science programs. Van Brunt holds a bachelor’s degree from Ursinus College, an MBA from St. Joseph’s University and a Ph.D. from Lehigh University.
This article appears in the June 2025 issue of Business Alabama.
