David J. Cooper, Sr. served as President of Cooper/T. Smith Corporation, headquartered in Mobile, Alabama from 1983 to 2008. In 2008 he became Vice-Chair, the position he currently holds.
Mr. Cooper was born on August 21, 1945, in Mobile, Alabama. He graduated as a member of the Class of 1963 from University Military School, and the Class of 1967 from the University of Alabama in The School of Commerce and Business Administration with a B.S. in General Business.
After college, Mr. Cooper joined his family’s stevedoring company. The company operates in thirty-seven (37) ports on the East, West, and Gulf Coasts of the United States, plus operations in South America and Mexico. Cooper/T. Smith has also diversified its business interests, including thirty-one (31) subsidiaries and affiliated companies. The Company also owns Ruth’s Chris Steak House in Mobile, Ruth’s Chris Steak House in Jackson, Mississippi, Felix’s Fish Camp, and The Bluegill Restaurant on the Mobile Bay Causeway.
He serves as a Director on the Corporate Boards of Alabama Power Company, Regions Financial Corporation, International Transportation Service (Kawasaki) in Long Beach, California, and CSC Assurance in Hamilton, Bermuda. He is a current Director of AAA (Alabama Automobile Association), Economic Development Partnership of Alabama, and is a former Director of SouthTrust Bank (now Wells Fargo); and a former Director of AmSouth Bank (now Regions Financial).
Mr. Cooper also served as Chairman of Infirmary Health System; Mobile Carnival Association; Mobile Industrial Development Board and Vice-Chair of Alabama State Port Authority. He is a former Director of the Alabama State Chamber of Commerce, American Red Cross, University Military School, Old Dauphin Way School, Julius T. Wright School, and UMS-Wright Preparatory School where he served as Chairman of the Board. He is past President of the Country Club of Mobile, the Touchdown Club, and other civic and social organizations. ”
He is a former member of the Young Presidents’ Organization and the World Presidents’ Organization. In 1995 he received the Achievement in Transportation Award from the University Of Alabama Culverhouse College Of Commerce, the 1996 Outstanding Alumni Award from the UMS-Wright Preparatory School, and was inducted into the Alabama Academy of Honor in 2011.
Mr. Cooper is an active member of Christ Episcopal Cathedral and is married to the former Joanne Knowles. They have three grown children: Ashleigh, Margaret, and David, Jr., and six grandchildren.
