Michael Reilly

• August 17th, 2021

F. Michael Reilly is chairman emeritus of Randall-Reilly, formerly known as Randall Publishing Co.

He retired in 2015 after 40 years with the company. Under his leadership, the company transitioned from a 40-employee magazine publisher to a strategic data, media, and marketing services company with over $130 million in revenue. Randall-Reilly employs more than 600 associates at its offices in Tuscaloosa and nationwide. Over 4,000 clients in the trucking, construction and agriculture industries use its services, which include hosting trade shows, publishing monthly trade magazines, creating comprehensive digital marketing campaigns, and developing industry-specific data portals and tools designed to find and retain customers.

Reilly began his career at Randall Publishing in 1975 while still a student at The University of Alabama where he answered a call on a student bulletin board for a sales job. After graduating, he joined the company full-time, and, along the way, built a deep friendship with then-boss Pettus Randall III. Excluding two-and-a-half years at Gulf Publishing Company in Houston, Texas, Mike spent his entire career at the company, moving up the ranks to become president and chief executive officer in February of 2002.

Reilly served as chairman of the board of the Birmingham branch of the Federal Reserve Bank’s Sixth District, Atlanta, Ga., is a member of the board of directors for both the Association of Business Publishers and Smart Bank. He also served on The University of Alabama’s Culverhouse College of Business Board of Visitors and was a member of UA’s President’s Cabinet. Furthermore, he is on the board of directors of SmartBank.

Community involvement is a core value of Reilly. He is heavily involved in the Tuscaloosa-area chapters of organizations such as the Boys & Girls Club and United Way. He serves on the board of Arts ‘n Autism, is a member of the Rotary Club of Tuscaloosa, and chairs the board of the YMCA of Tuscaloosa. Reilly has been a member of Nick’s Kids Foundation Core Group since 2014 and received the Nick’s Kids Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016.

Furthermore, he has served on the boards of the West Alabama Chamber of Commerce, NorthRiver Yacht Club, and the Boy Scouts Executive Board of West Alabama. In 2009, the Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama named him an H. Pettus Randall Entrepreneur of the Year. In 2011, the Reilly family was named the United Way Alexis de Tocqueville Society Family of the Year. He is also an active member of St. Francis Catholic Church and has led a number of initiatives there.

His father’s military service also inspired Randall-Reilly’s participation in Wreaths Across America, an organization that commemorates fallen soldiers every year by placing 700,000 wreaths on graves at locations around the world.

He and his wife, of 43 years, Debbie, have three children, Brent Reilly (Jessica), Fran Powe (Thomas), and Katie Floyd (Matthew), and five grandchildren.

Lonnie S. McMillian

• August 17th, 2021

Lonnie S. McMillian was a visionary serial entrepreneur who led a series of companies aligned with telecommunications and biotech – and helped make Alabama a home for innovation.

His interest in tech was sparked while studying radar technology as a member of the United States Marine Corps during the Korean War. After the war, he attended Georgia Tech, where he earned a degree in electrical engineering in 1955. He then embarked on a wide-ranging career in electronics that included co-founding a computer manufacturer, Systems Engineering Labs, joining SCI in Huntsville as chief engineer, and working at Universal Data Systems as vice president of engineering.

In 1985, he co-founded ADTRAN, a telecommunications firm, which today is one of Huntsville’s largest non-public employers.

While the beginning and middle of McMillian’s career was in the tech and telecommunications sectors, the latter portion was in biotechnology, an area in which he had developed a passion for. In 1993, he was introduced by a mutual friend to Jim Hudson, who ran Huntsville-based Research Genetics. Following his retirement from ADTRAN in 2001, he and Hudson founded the non-profit HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology in 2005 to bring together experts in genetics, education, and entrepreneurship to accelerate innovation in the field. The Institute opened its doors in 2008 and quickly got to work.

By July 2017, its economic impact stood at $1.8 billion. The team of scientists in its genomic medicine division has discovered genes responsible for breast cancer and ALS, otherwise known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, and have given answers to those with undiagnosed or misdiagnosed diseases. Researchers in its genome sequencing center are busy analyzing the genetics of our food crops to discover insights that may make them more productive or resilient to drought.

Furthermore, HudsonAlpha has an extraordinary outreach and education arm that, among many different initiatives, brings genomics into the classroom to inspire future innovators or offering free genetic testing for cancer risk to North Alabama residents. All told, over 5.5 million people have been positively impacted by the Institute’s efforts.

McMillian was a generous philanthropist and lived out his commitment to improving the human condition through the support of educational, scientific, and other charitable causes.

In 2014, he was recognized by the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama with its lifetime achievement award for his career-long commitment to innovation and work to advance the state of Alabama.

Along with his degree from Georgia Tech, he graduated from Presbyterian College with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.

McMillian passed away in December 2018. He is survived by Helen, his wife of 64 years, daughters Barbara, Emily, and Sue, five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Joe W. Forehand, Jr.

• August 17th, 2021

He retired in 2006 after a tenure highlighted by significant growth and strategic changes for the consulting firm. In 2000, he finalized Accenture’s split from Andersen Worldwide and successfully led its IPO and international rebranding campaign. As a result of the latter, within four years, Accenture was ranked among the top-50 global brands and #1 in its category.

While Forehand served as CEO at Accenture, the firm’s revenue grew from $9.6 billion to $13.7 billion, and added nearly 40,000 employees to its workforce. After retiring, Forehand served as a senior advisor on technology buyouts with the global private equity firm Kohlberg, Kravis and Roberts, also known as KKR.

During his time at KKR, he served as a board member of First Data Corporation, one of KKR’s largest sponsored transactions, for eight years, and had tenures as the Chairman of the Board and Interim CEO in that period. Furthermore, while at KKR, he served on the board of Aricent, a global design and engineering technology company, and was board chairman for a three-year period.

Forehand is devoted to Auburn University, his alma mater. He served on the Auburn University Foundation’s board of directors and investment committee and was co-chair of its successful – and record breaking – $1.2 billion capital campaign. Moreover, he established three professorships and 11 endowed scholarships at the school. He is a member of the university’s 1856 Society on the Founders’ Circle level and was inducted to Auburn’s Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame in 2018.

In 2001, he was inducted into the Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame, among many other honors and distinctions related to his leadership and contributions to the business world and community.

Raised in Alabama, Forehand graduated from Auburn University in 1971 with a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial engineering and was named an outstanding alumnus of the program in 1995. He received a Master of Science degree in industrial administration from the Krannert School of Management at Purdue University in 1972 and named an honorary doctor of management in 2005. He was in the U.S. Army Reserves from 1971 to 1979 and was honorably discharged at the rank of captain.

He and his wife, Gayle, have two sons, Christopher and Kevin.

Gary P. Fayard

• August 17th, 2021

Over his tenure as chief financial officer and executive vice president, he helped the company double its revenues to more than $47 billion. In those roles, he oversaw mergers and acquisitions, investor relations, and risk management.

Retiring in 2014 after 20 years of service, with 15 years in the CFO role, one of Fayard’s greatest accomplishments was leading the acquisition of Coca-Cola’s North American bottling and distribution business in 2010 for $12 billion. As part of his oversight over the company’s global finance operations, he established shared service centers in Ireland, the Philippines, and other locations around the world.

Through his tenure, he earned a reputation as a leader that could talk long-term strategy as well as the operational details. He prioritized the personal and professional growth of those reporting to him. Industry publications have recognized Fayard for his leadership capabilities: for three years running Institutional Investor named him the top CFO in the beverage industry and was a member of its “All-America Executive Team” for 2012. Furthermore, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Atlanta Business Chronicle in 2015.

Prior to joining Coca-Cola, Fayard served 19 years with Ernst & Young, concluding his service there as a partner, area director of audit services, and area director of manufacturing services.

Upon retirement, he started Stonewall Ridge Farm, a registered black Angus seedstock operation in Tennessee.

He serves on the board of directors of Genuine Parts Co. and Monster Energy Corp. He is the past president of the Atlanta-area Council of the Boy Scouts of America and chaired its successful $15 million fundraising campaign.

Through his involvement with The Coca-Cola Foundation, The University of Alabama was the first public institution to receive Coca-Cola First Generation Scholarships. He is a member of The University of Alabama President’s Cabinet and is on the board of visitors for UA’s Culverhouse College of Business.

Fayard attended The University of Alabama where he earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting –– the department that now houses the Fayard Endowed Chair of Accounting.

He was born in Atmore, Alabama and has been married to Nancy Shell Fayard for 46 years. They have two sons, John and Chris, and three grandchildren.

Charles A. Collat, Sr.

• August 17th, 2021

With over $1 billion in annual sales and 1,500 associates distributed across 79 locations in 14 states, Mayer has grown to be one of the largest electrical product distributors in the nation.

Collat joined Mayer as an associate in 1953 in its corporate offices in Birmingham, Alabama, soon after serving his country in the U.S. Air Force in Japan during the Korean War. Mayer was – and remains today – a family-owned business: Patsy Weil, whom he married in 1953, was the daughter of the company’s founder.

Working his way up the ranks within the company, Collat became owner and president in 1979.

Realizing the need for education in the distribution industry, he and his wife established the Ben S. Weil Chair of Industrial Distribution at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. However, their commitment to UAB goes deeper than that: over the years, they have given well over $25 million to the school and are among its strongest supporters.

In recognition of their contributions, the business school at UAB is now known as the Collat School of Business. He is also a member of both its Leadership Cabinet and President’s Council. Collat has been recognized for his service to the institution with its President’s Award and was the recipient of an honorary doctorate of humanities.

Collat’s personal philosophy is “Do Good and Be Better” which is something he has strived to do all his life. To that end, he has served in a leadership capacity at community-oriented organizations such as the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind Foundation, the Boy Scouts of America and Rotary Club. He was also a past president of Temple Emanu-El in Birmingham and created and chaired the Temple’s endowment fund for many years.
Collat was born in Savannah, Georgia. He attended the University of Georgia where he earned an accounting degree.

He was married to Patsy Weil Collat for 62 years. She passed in January 2015. They have four children: Nancy Goedecke, Caki Mendel, Susie Collat and Charles Collat, Jr. Collat has ten grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. He is currently married to Joanna Gotlieb Collat.

Marillyn A. Hewson

• August 17th, 2021

Hewson joined Lockheed Martin more than 35 years ago as an industrial engineer. During her career at the global aerospace and defense leader, she has held numerous executive and operational positions of increasing responsibility.

Lockheed Martin is organized around four primary business areas – Aeronautics, Missiles and Fire Control, Rotary and Mission Systems, and Space. From those core divisions, Lockheed Martin produces some of the world’s most advanced technologies, including the F-35 Lightning II fighter jet, integrated air and missile defense systems, military and commercial helicopters, and the Orion space capsule for deep space exploration.

In 2019, TIME magazine identified Hewson as one of the “100 Most Influential People in the World,” and FORTUNE magazine ranked her No. 1 on its list of “50 Most Powerful Women in Business” for the second year in a row. In 2018, she was named the “CEO of the Year” by Chief Executive Magazine, a Top 10 “Businessperson of the Year” by FORTUNE magazine, and one of the “World’s 100 Most Powerful Women” by Forbes.

Hewson currently serves on the board of directors of Johnson & Johnson, the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation, the board of governors of the USO, and as chair of the Catalyst board of directors. She previously served on the boards of DuPont, DowDuPont and Carpenter Technology.

Hewson has served on several U.S. government advisory bodies and business advisory groups. She is currently a member of the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board and the National Space Council’s Users Advisory Group. She is former chairman and current executive committee member of the Aerospace Industries Association and a member of the board of directors for the Business Roundtable.

Born in Junction City, Kansas, Hewson grew up in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and earned her Bachelor of Science degree in business administration and her Master of Arts degree in economics from The University of Alabama’s Culverhouse College of Business. She is a member of UA’s President’s Cabinet and the Board of Visitors of the Culverhouse College of Business.

Her contributions to her alma mater are significant. In 2018, she and her husband, James Hewson, gave $15 million to support the construction of a new 108,000-square-foot building for the Culverhouse College of Business. The building will be named Hewson Hall in recognition of their generosity. The College was also the beneficiary of a $5 million gift in 2017 to support innovation and education in data analytics through an on-campus computing and collaboration center that bears her name.

She and James have two sons, Will and David.