Charles McCrary has spent the entirety of his career, which has spanned 40 years, at the Southern Company and its Alabama Power Company subsidiary, which he led as president and CEO. At Southern Company, he served as Vice President for Southern Nuclear Operating Company and was President of Southern Company Generation, among other executive-level roles.
While at Alabama Power Company, he established a mutually beneficial partnership with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. This partnership, known as the AP model, is recognized throughout the public utilities industry and has received awards from the industry and federal agencies. Variations of it have been adopted by the utility industry across the United States. McCrary is a current member of the Auburn University Board of Trustees and the boards of Regions Financial Corporation, Great Southern Wood Holdings, and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. His business expertise is highly valued, demonstrated by his previous service as chairman of the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama and service on the boards of Mercedes-Benz U.S. International and Protective Life Corporation. He was inducted into the State of Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame in 2003.
In 2015, the Alabama Power Foundation honored McCrary by founding The McCrary Institute at Auburn University. The Institute advances the research and development of new energy system technologies to improve the reliability and security of the power grid and related civil and industrial infrastructure critical to our nation’s operations.
McCrary attended Auburn University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. He also earned his Juris Doctor from the Birmingham School of Law. He and his wife Phyllis reside in Birmingham and have two sons, Douglas and Alex, and five grandchildren.
