Location: Birmingham AL

Raymond J. Harbert

  • November 20th, 2024

Raymond Harbert’s lifelong entrepreneurial pursuits began early, at age 15, when he founded Penbryn Hill Catering. Undeterred by his initial lack of a driver’s license, Harbert enlisted other drivers to travel to and from client houses, deliver food, and park guest automobiles at events. This tendency to energetically pursue opportunities, learning as he went, continued throughout his life. For instance, when he initially entered Auburn University as an engineering major, he did not plan to switch to business, pursuing interests in real estate and finance and eventually earning a bachelor’s in industrial management. And when he took his first job after graduation as a computer programmer, he did not anticipate that a few short years later, in 1990, at the tender age of 31, he would be promoted to president and CEO of Harbert Corporation, a multi-billion-dollar diversified conglomerate.

From a young age, Harbert had shown interest in investments and finance. He eagerly followed his father’s (John Harbert, the founder of Harbert Construction Company) investment stories at the dinner table, and once found, as a teenager, his father’s copy of Joseph Wechsberg’s The Merchant Bankers, which led to a fascination with 19th century merchant banks and trading houses: Rothschild, Warburg, Baring, Schroeder, and J.P. Morgan & Company. So after the sale, in 1993, of Harbert Construction Company, the original company started by his father 50 years before, Harbert launched Harbert Management Corporation, the first multi-alternative asset investment management firm in Alabama. The new company would manage all Harbert Corporation’s assets for a percentage fee, and Harbert Corporation, in turn, would provide a $3 million line of credit, secured by any eventual inheritance the younger Harbert might receive.

Naysayers warned that nothing like this had been yet attempted in Alabama, and indeed, that neither Harbert nor his small team had ever managed or worked for an investment firm. Harbert, however, who started as a caterer and then worked as a computer programmer, did not see why he could not be a successful investor, and was willing to bet his inheritance on it. After all, he believed in curiosity, and letting it drive lifelong learning. And possibly more importantly, he believed in persistence, often quoting the Benjamin Franklin proverb that “Energy and persistence conquer all things.” As his business partner Charles D. Miller put it, Harbert “had the courage to make tough decisions and chart a new course which ultimately led to the formation of Harbert Management Corporation.” In the end, despite some difficult years, including the successful weathering of 2008’s Great Recession, Harbert and Ben Franklin proved the naysayers wrong: Today, Harbert Management Corporation oversees ten 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, and is chairman of the Newcomen Society of Alabama. He is also a trustee emeritus of Auburn University, where the college of business is named for him following a transformative gift in 2013. He previously served on the board of the Alabama Trust Fund and is a past member of Leadership Alabama. In 2006, Harbert was awarded the regional Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Financial Services, and he was inducted into the Alabama Academy of Honor in 2015. Friends describe Harbert as both a fierce negotiator in the boardroom and a committed mentor outside of it, encouraging interns, new employees, and children of friends to “find their passion” as he found his.

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, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and United Way of Central Alabama, where they were awarded the United Way Tocqueville Society Award in 2018.

The Harberts have three children and nine grandchildren and live in Birmingham, Alabama.

Thomas H. Lowder

  • November 20th, 2024

In 1946, Thomas Lowder’s father was asked by the Alabama Farm Bureau to create an affordable fire insurance company for rural residents of the state. Edward Lowder launched Alabama Farm Bureau Insurance Company with just $10,000 and a secretary. You may now know the company as ALFA. As boys, Thomas and his brothers, James and Robert, watched their father create businesses from the ground up, with the insurance company as a foundation.

When teaching his sons about business, Edward often compared it to football. “He’d tell me that touchdowns are your long-term goal, but then, you have first downs to work toward in between, which are your short-term goals,” Thomas told Birmingham Business Journal. Edward also taught his sons to maintain strong ties with banks and lenders. But Thomas learned just as much on the job. The self-described “saleman of the family,” he recalled, in a Wall Street Journal article, “tagging along summers with an apartment agent who always carried two things in his pocket when showing units to a prospective tenant: a piece of chalk, to cover up any scratches in the paint, and a can of aerosol spray to freshen the air.”

These early experiences prepared Thomas Lowder for the leadership role that he would later assume. He is the former chairman and chief executive officer of Colonial Properties Trust, a New York Stock Exchange-listed, multi-family-focused real estate investment trust, with commercial assets in the Sunbelt region of the United States.

After graduating with honors from Auburn University with a Bachelor of Science degree, Lowder assumed the leadership role at Colonial Properties Trust in 1976. He took the business public in 1993. With Lowder as CEO, the company grew from $475 million in total market capitalization to $5.3 billion before he retired from active management in 2006 to care for his wife, Jarman, who was suffering from early onset Alzheimer’s.

Lowder returned as CEO in December 2008 to lead the company after the financial recession and Wall Street crisis. After 20 years as a public company, Colonial Properties merged with Mid-America Apartment Communities in 2013 and later Post Properties, Inc. to create one of the largest and most successful apartment real estate investment trusts on the NYSE with a market capitalization over $16 billion. Lowder continues to serve on the board of Mid-America Apartment Communities.

Active in his community and beyond, Lowder serves or has served as a member or chair of several boards, including Children’s Hospital of Alabama, the University of Alabama Health Services Foundation, the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts, Quarterbacking Children’s Health Foundation, the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham, the American Red Cross, and United Way of Central Alabama, among others. Lowder and his wife, Susan, whom he married in 2012, are active in philanthropic efforts to find a cure for Alzheimer’s, ALS, and other neurological diseases, which took the lives of each of their spouses.

Lowder holds an honorary doctorate of humanities from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and an honorary doctorate of law from Birmingham-Southern College.

He has three daughters and Susan has three sons. They live in Birmingham, Alabama.

Claude B. Nielsen

  • November 20th, 2024

Claude Nielsen is the former CEO and chairman of the board of Coca-Cola Bottling Company UNITED, Inc. After earning a bachelor’s degree in economics from Sewanee: The University of the South, an MBA from the University of Virginia, and a brief Birmingham banking career, Nielsen joined Coca-Cola UNITED in 1979. He held a variety of operational and managerial positions in the company until he was named CEO in 1991 and later chairman of the board of directors in 2003. Under Nielsen’s leadership, Coca-Cola UNITED more than tripled the size and scope of the company in terms of revenues, geography, number of associates, and facilities. Birmingham-based Coca-Cola UNITED is among the largest bottlers and distributors of Coca-Cola products in the U.S. With over $4 billion in annual revenues, it is also one of the largest privately held companies in Alabama. Nielsen retired as CEO in 2016 and as chairman in 2023.

Over the course of his career, Nielsen was often asked if he knew the secret Coca-Cola formula. “I can answer that question with a simple two letter word,” he said in an address to the Newcomen Society of Alabama in 2017. “No.”

But that’s not entirely true. According to a nomination letter by current Coca-Cola UNITED President and CEO Michael A. Suco, while Nielsen may not know the secret CocaCola formula, he knows Coca-Cola UNITED’s secret ingredients. “As one of the architects of the U.S. Coca-Cola system as it stands today,” Suco wrote of Nielsen, “his incredible system knowledge and commitment to our associates, consumers, customers and communities are foundational to our success. No one believes in and lives our purpose and values more than Claude. He has always valued our associates and our brands as the ‘secret ingredients’ to our success.”

Upon his nomination to the Birmingham Business Hall of Fame in 2022, Nielsen told The Over the Mountain Journal, “Any success I’ve enjoyed as a business leader must be shared with the thousands of associates within the Coca-Cola UNITED family who made leading this great enterprise a real privilege over the years.”

Today, Coca-Cola UNITED has more than 10,000 associates located in more than 50 facilities across six southeastern states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee). The company’s operations consist of state-of-the-art sales and distribution centers, along with eight manufacturing facilities serving more than 150,000 customers across their footprint. Historically significant franchises within the Coca-Cola UNITED family include Chattanooga, the world’s first Coca-Cola bottler; Atlanta, home of the worldwide Coca-Cola system; and Columbus, Georgia, development site of the original Coca-Cola formula.

Nielsen has served as a board member and chairman of the American Beverage Association, the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation, and The Coca-Cola Bottlers’ Association. He has devoted time and energy supporting community causes like the United Way of Central Alabama, the Birmingham Airport Authority Board, and the American Cancer Society. He has also served on the Executive Committee of the Birmingham Business Alliance.

Nielsen was inducted into the Alabama Academy of Honor in 2016. In addition, he and his wife, Kate, were recognized by the Greater Alabama Council of the Boy Scouts of America in 2017 with the “Heart of an Eagle” award for their community service, and they were named Outstanding Civic Leaders by the Association of Fundraising Professionals in 2021.

The Nielsens have three children and nine grandchildren and reside in Birmingham.

Michael D. Thompson 

  • November 13th, 2023
Business Leader, Advocate for Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama
Mike Thompson is president and CEO of Fairway Investments, LLC, a real estate investment firm he founded in 1991. Boasting a portfolio that includes 125 properties in 10 southern states, Fairway manages millions of square feet of retail, office, multi-family, hospitality, and industrial property, and employs 27 people. Fairway has redeveloped many locations including Huntersville, North Carolina, Huntsville and Birmingham, Alabama and more recently, the company has developed property in Palm Beach, Florida; Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio, Texas; and Suffolk, Virginia.
A 1977 graduate of The University of Alabama with a bachelor’s degree in general business, Thompson began his career at his father’s business, Thompson Tractor Co., Inc., the Caterpillar dealer in North Alabama. He held numerous jobs until 1986, when he became president and CEO. Under his leadership, employment grew from 500 to 1,300, revenue increased, and the company opened 13 new locations. The company also expanded into new markets, with Thompson purchasing the Caterpillar dealer in South Alabama and Northwest Florida in April 1987 and hiring 188 new employees. The company created two divisions in 1989: Thompson Power Systems and Thompson Lift Truck Company. Thompson Tractor opened the CAT rental store in 1999. He held the title of CEO for 33 years until 2019 when he became chairman of the board.
In 1986, Thompson facilitated the sale of six large propulsion engines to a Russian fishing company, which led to Caterpillar offering him a sales franchise in Russia. Thompson purchased the Russian-registered company from Caterpillar and named it Tiger Machinery in 1999. Under his leadership, the company grew in employment and revenue, built several geothermal power plants on the Kuril Islands and added four branch locations in Russia/Far East, among other accomplishments. Tiger Machinery provided prime power to the largest oil and gas drill in the world, owned by Exxon on Sakhalin Island. Thompson sold the business in 2015.
Thompson is active in philanthropy and community affairs, including leadership of the Coalition of Regional Transportation, a spin-off association of the Birmingham Business Alliance with a mission to improve the quality of life of central Alabamians by advocating for the completion of the Northern Beltline. He also served on the board of directors for the Birmingham Zoo for ten years, leading the capital campaign for the Children’s Petting Zoo, and served two terms on the Mountain Brook Board of Education. He served 11 years on the board of the Callahan Eye Foundation Hospital, with four of those years as chairman of the hospital.  He is active on the board of Quarterbacking Children’s Health Foundation. He has also served 41 years on the Shoal Creek Board of Governors, being president for six years and chairing or co-chairing five major golf tournaments. He helped lead The University of Alabama’s 1992-1997 capital campaign and chaired the Business Council of Alabama in 2003 and 2004. Finally, he serves as president of the Thompson Family Foundation, which serves 250 charities per year and has contributed over $20,000,000 to state-wide charities since its founding in 1999. He is a member of The University of Alabama’s President Cabinet.
Thompson and his wife, Genie, have three daughters: Lucy (Jacob), Maxwell (Bradley), and Annie (Connor). Lucy and Jacob have two daughters, Hallsey and Mamie. Annie and Connor have two sons, Thompson and Brewster.

Ronald G. Bruno

  • September 29th, 2022

Ronald G Bruno grew up in the grocery business. Starting at the age of 14, he worked as a bagger and cashier at his family’s grocery store chain, Bruno’s. Started by his uncle Joe and soon joined by Mr. Bruno’s father, Angelo and other uncles, Bruno’s began with a single store in Birmingham in 1932. In 1971, Bruno’s became a publicly-traded company, and grew to be one of the top-producing grocery chains in the Southeast, with more than 250 stores and sales approaching $3 billion.

After graduating from The University of Alabama with a bachelor’s in marketing in 1974, Bruno went back to work full-time for the family business as a category buyer. From there, he worked his way up through the ranks to become director of grocery merchandising, vice president of sales, and president. By 1985, he was COO, and in 1991, he became CEO of the company. This same year Bruno worked with his father to create the Bruno’s Classic, an annual golf tournament in Birmingham on the PGA Senior Tour.

But later in 1991, Bruno’s life was rocked by tragedy: a plane crash took the lives of his father and uncle, as well as five other top executives and two pilots. In the midst of grief, Bruno was appointed chairman and charged with bringing stability to the company. He also had to find a way to remain competitive during a time that included the popularization of stores like Walmart Supercenters, as well as rapidly changing technology.

Under Bruno’s leadership, the company adapted. Between 1991 and 1995, Bruno’s opened 15 new stores annually, expanding markets to Atlanta and Nashville, and claiming 50 percent of the Birmingham market share. In 1995, after being approached by KKR with an interest in purchasing the company, Bruno’s sold for $1.2 billion, at that time the largest sale in Alabama history. As a condition of the sale, the buyer had to continue the golf tournament, which was now renamed the Bruno’s Memorial Classic. The event continues to this day under new sponsorship. Now called the Regions Charity Classic, the tournament has donated more than $20 million to charity since its inception.

After the sale of Bruno’s, he founded Bruno Capital Management in 1995, and continues to serve as President to this day. The same year, with partner Gene Hallman, Bruno again leveraged his love for sports to create the Bruno Event Team, which began with the management of a single event–the Memorial Classic–and grew to be one of the largest dedicated sports event management companies in the US. It has hosted golf events including more than 20 USGA national championships as well as multiple PGA tour and LPGA tour events. In addition to golf, Bruno Event Team operates several other divisions, including Zoom Motorsports, College Gameday, and a full-service catering and concessions division, Bruno Hospitality. Bruno was inducted into the Birmingham Golf Hall of Fame in 1994, and the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 2009.

During his career, Bruno has served on the board of directors at Bruno’s, Inc., Russell Athletic Corporation, Books-A-Million, and Southtrust Bank. A committed philanthropist, he has also supported numerous civic organizations, including the United Way Tocqueville Society, the St. Vincent’s Foundation and The University of Alabama President’s Cabinet and the Culverhouse College of Business Board of Visitors. The Angelo Bruno Business Library, which was named for his late father and services the research needs of Culverhouse students, was funded and is still supported by Bruno and his family.

Bruno married Lee Ann Bruno in 1982. They have one son, Ronald Gregory Bruno, Jr.

Dixon Brooke, Jr.

  • September 29th, 2022

When F. Dixon Brooke, Jr. first visited Birmingham-based EBSCO Industries in 1970, a periodical subscription service provider to schools and libraries, he toured the Title Information Department and found the company’s database of titles was kept manually on Rolodex cards. When Brooke joined the company as a management trainee in 1973, EBSCO had begun to embrace technology. When Brooke became its third President and CEO of the company in 2005, EBSCO had become the largest supplier of information services in the world.

Today EBSCO’s reach spans an array of industries: it has a leading presence in outdoor products, real estate, manufacturing and distribution, and insurance and information services. EBSCO is consistently ranked in the top three largest privately-held firms in Alabama.

A Birmingham native, Brooke was born in 1948 and attended Marion Military Institute. He then completed his BBA degree at Auburn, graduating in 1970. After graduation, he worked for First National Bank of Birmingham and completed their management training program.

In 1973, Brooke joined EBSCO and later became a regional general manager for the Southeastern U.S. In 1981, he helped establish a new regional office in Sydney, Australia. Then, between the years of 1981 and 2003, he was instrumental in acquiring several competitor subscription agencies for EBSCO. Over the years, he assumed positions of increasing responsibility, culminating in his role as CEO from 2005 until retirement in 2014. As CEO, Brooke led EBSCO through the Great Recession, executing organizational re-engineering in a way that allowed EBSCO to emerge from the crisis stronger. During his time at EBSCO, Brooke was a member of EBSCO’s Founder’s Club, a member of EBSCO’s Lifetime 100% and 200% Sales Clubs, and awardee of the 1982 ESS GM of the Year award. He was named a Top Executive in Birmingham Business Journal’s Inaugural Power Book in 2008.

Brooke is personally committed to improving the quality of life in Birmingham and around the State. He has served as Chairman of the Birmingham ASO and led an Endowment Campaign to assure the Symphony’s continued success. In addition, Brooke led a transformational campaign to fund a new entrance and plaza at the Birmingham Zoo. Further, Brooke has received recognition for his leadership and support from numerous educational institutions, including Alumnus of the Year by Marion Military Institute, Distinguished Alumnus by the Altamont School, and Lifetime Achievement by McCallie School in Chattanooga.

Brooke serves on the Board of Directors of various organizations, both public and private. He is a long-term and Founding Director of Synovus Bank of Birmingham, as well as a Director of its holding company, Synovus Financial Corp. In addition, Brooke serves on the Boards of EBSCO Industries, Inc. and McWane, Inc.

Brooke married the former Dell Stephens in 1970, and they have three children: F. Dixon Brooke III, Nelson O’Hara Brooke, and Carter Brooke Vann, and seven grandchildren.

As avid outdoor enthusiasts and environmental stewards, the Brooke family worked with TNC & Forever Wild Land Trust to preserve and protect from development over 1,600 acres of EBSCO-owned land adjacent to Oak Mountain State Park in Birmingham. The addition of the land expands the size of the park to over 11,000 acres.

Michael A. Mouron

  • September 29th, 2022

When Michael A. Mouron graduated from The University of Alabama in 1972 and began his career as an accountant, student housing was the farthest thing from his mind. But in 1980, he began working in development for a construction firm in Montgomery, Alabama, and became aware of a new model of condo that was housing for college students but an investment for their parents. Little did he know that this experience would plant a seed that eventually grew into Birmingham-based Capstone Development Corp, whose “leased by the bed” model of student housing revolutionized the business.

Mouron became the head of the development arm of Birmingham firm Polar BEK in 1985 and began building apartments near college campuses, which were easier to finance than condos. He worked for Polar BEK for five years but left in 1990 to launch his own development company, along with three other co-workers. The company, Capstone Development, focused on college student housing.

Capstone began its management operations in 1991 when it rolled out the “lease by the bed” model. Unlike traditional arrangements, where students and parents are responsible for the entire leased unit, this new model made them responsible only for one bed. This way, if one or more of the residents defaulted on the rent, the others would not be liable. Because of the success of this model, Capstone grew rapidly. From 1990 until Mouron’s retirement as chairman in 2012, Capstone developed about $3 billion in student housing communities both off and on campuses.

When Mouron retired, he divided Capstone into four “successor companies,” with ownership given to the various division heads — his family retained ownership of one. However, retirement did not slow him down much. He began investing in real estate projects that interested him personally. For instance, he bought a vacant building in his hometown of Mountain Brook, Alabama, renovated the property then leased it to Little Hardware, a Mountain Brook staple. He renovated the Federal Reserve Building in downtown Birmingham. Then, in 2021, he developed the Valley Hotel in Homewood, Alabama. He also restored the historic Birmingham Greyhound bus terminal, where the Freedom Riders once disembarked during the Civil Rights movement.

A strong sense of civic duty caused Mouron to establish The Mouron Family Foundation. He is a member of The University of Alabama’s President’s Cabinet and UA’s Adapted Athletics Board of Visitors. In 2017, Mouron and his wife Kathy made gifts totaling $4 million to support the construction of Stran-Hardin Arena, a $10 million multi-purpose facility for the University’s Adapted Athletics program. Furthermore, the couple are co-chairs of UA’s $1.5 billion Rising Tide capital campaign.

He also supports many other organizations, including serving on the boards of First Horizon Bank Birmingham, the City of Mountain Brook’s Planning Committee, and the Lakeshore Foundation’s Advisory Council.

Mouron married Kathy Neugent in 1976, and they have three sons: Drew, Christopher, and Lewis, and eight grandchildren.

Grayson Hall

  • September 29th, 2022

Grayson Hall is the Birmingham-based retired chairman and CEO of Regions Financial Corporation, the state of Alabama’s only Fortune 500 company. He retired from Regions in 2018 after a 38-year career, which started when he joined its predecessor AmSouth Bancorporation as a management trainee. Over time, he served in roles of increasing responsibility and was named president and CEO in 2010, and in 2013, was named chairman. No matter his role, Grayson never lost his focus on the people and communities Regions serves.

Hall’s tenure as CEO began as Regions and its peers across the banking industry were navigating the impacts of the Great Recession. His leadership and vision helped Regions emerge stronger. Hall championed a set of strong core values, a culture built around teamwork and service, and a deliberate focus on creating shared value for customers, communities, associates and shareholders. The company went from reporting a loss in 2010 to posting strong profits in the years before Hall retired. Regions Bank is now a regional powerhouse with a branch network reaching 15 states and specialty capabilities serving clients nationwide. At the time of Hall’s retirement, it had a $7.6 billion impact
on Alabama’s economy. As of July 2022, the company had a market value of approximately $17 billion; it remains Alabama’s only Fortune 500 company.

Hall is on the board of Vulcan Materials, Great Southern Woods Holdings Inc., and Alabama Power. He has also given his time to a variety of philanthropic and community-focused organizations including the Newcomen Society of Alabama, Birmingham Business Alliance, and Children’s of Alabama. He is also a member of The University of Alabama’s President’s Cabinet and the Culverhouse College of Business’s Board of Visitors.

Hall earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from Sewanee, the University of the South and his MBA from The University of Alabama.

He married the former Susan Stringer in 1982 and together they have three children: Laura Hall Money (Scott), John Hall (Lauren), and Anna Hall Johnson (Daniel) and six grandchildren.

Joseph S. Bruno

  • October 26th, 2021

The life of Joseph S. ‘Joe” Bruno (Chairman Emeritus of Bruno’s, Inc., and Chairman of Big B, Inc. of Birmingham, Alabama) could well have been the subject of one of Horatio Alger’s books about boys of character who succeeded through hard work and honesty in the face of all odds. In 1980, Joe Bruno was one of the recipients of the prestigious awards named for the author of these well-known stories – and none other has been more deserving of this honor.

The eldest of the eight children of Vincent and Maria Theresa Costa Bruno was born in Bir­mingham on October 3, 1912. His parents had come to America from Sicily in 1909 to pursue their dreams of a better life.

Like many others who fled to the United States in the early 20th century, Vincent Bruno found work in a steel mill in the Birmingham area and settled in a small house in a company town near the mill.

To supplement the family income, the Brunos raised vegetables and chickens and kept a goat to provide milk for cheese. Any food not used at the table was peddled to neighbors. Since Joe’s father worked long hours at the steel mill, the supervision of the household and its finances rested primarily with his mother, and each child learned to assume responsibilities compatible with his or her age.

When he was twelve years old, it became Joe Bruno’s responsibility to seek work outside the household because his father’s work at the steel mill had become sporadic.

Twelve-year-old Joe went to board with the Vincent Rosato family and to work in the Rosato grocery store. His wages – $5 a week at the time – went into the family “kitty”, as did the wages of his brother Sam, who, at age twelve, went to board and work with another grocer. Even though the youngster was up at 4:00 to go to market with Mr. Rosato before school and often worked after school until 9:00 p.m., he made good grades in school. And, as he became more and more fascinated with the grocery business, he attended summer school to accelerate his graduation. His dream was for his family to own a grocery store.

In the depth of the Great Depression, Joe Bruno’s dream came true. The nineteen-year-old took a chance and used his family’s savings – $600 – to purchase a 20′ by 40’ grocery store from a man too ill to continue running it. This Bruno’s Grocery Store, on the corner of Eighth Avenue North and Tenth Street in Birm­ingham, would have fit inside a modern meat cooler. He and his brother Sam quit their jobs and moved the family into the small living quarters adjacent to the store.

The whole family participated in various capacities in operating the store, but Joe Bruno was considered the head of the family business. He immediately began to initiate some of the revolu­tionary marketing techniques that eventually resulted in the creation of one of the fastest grow­ing, most profitable, and most innovative food and drug chains in the nation.

For example, on credit, he bought stock in far larger quantities and more varieties than his competitors in the neighborhood. On handbills (distributed by his four youngest brothers after school) he advertised “brand names at low prices.” Although he established a policy of no credit-a dramatic departure from small groceries of that time-the store thrived. The public seemed attracted by the abundance and variety of goods and the low prices. Buying in volume and selling at advertised low prices for quality goods became two key factors in the growth of the Bruno stores.

As Joe Bruno has said, “You can’t stand still, and you can never stop dreaming.” The ensuing years are testimony to the fact that he and his brothers followed this philosophy. By 1952, when there were four stores operated by the six Bruno brothers, Joe Bruno decided it was time to incorporate, rent a warehouse, and use the pooled volume to buy direct.

Eighth Avenue North and Tenth Street in Birm­ingham would have fit inside a modern meat cooler. He and his brother Sam quit their jobs and moved the family into the small living quarters adjacent to the store.

The whole family participated in various capacities in operating the store, but Joe Bruno was considered the head of the family business. He immediately began to initiate some of the revolutionary marketing techniques that eventually resulted in the creation of one of the fastest-growing, most profitable, and most innovative food and drug chains in the nation.

For example, on credit, he bought stock in far larger quantities and more varieties than his competitors in the neighborhood. On handbills (distributed by his four youngest brothers after school) he advertised “brand names at low prices.” Although he established a policy of no credit-a dramatic departure from small groceries of that time-the store thrived. The public seemed attracted by the abundance and variety of goods and the low prices. Buying in volume and selling at advertised low prices for quality goods became two key factors in the growth of the Bruno stores.

As Joe Bruno has said, “You can’t stand still, and you can never stop dreaming.” The ensuing years are testimony to the fact that he and his brothers followed this philosophy. By 1952, when there were four stores operated by the six Bruno brothers, Joe Bruno decided it was time to incorporate, rent a warehouse, and use the pooled volume to buy direct.

He is a past president and executive director of the Jefferson County Unit of the American Cancer Society and past chairman of the Board of the American Red Cross. He has been a member of the boards of the National Con­ference of Christians and Jews; of the Jefferson County Mental Health Association; United Way; the Community Food Bank; the Salvation Army; and St. Vincent’s Hospital. He has served on the Board of Trustees of Southern Benedictine College and Birmingham-Southern College; and has worked with the Miles College and United Negro College Funds.

Joe Bruno has always shared his good fortune to improve the quality of life for others. His philanthropic activities include the establish­ment of: the Joseph S. Bruno Foundation to fund non-profit primary schools; the Joseph S. and Theresa R. Bruno Cancer Center at St. Vincent’s Hospital; the Nutrition Sciences Building and (along with his brothers) the Bruno Neuros­cience Intensive Care Unit at UAB medical center.

For his varied accomplishments and services, Joe Bruno has been honored by numerous local, state, and national organizations.

He has been the recipient of the Greater Bir­mingham Service Award; the Alex de Tocqueville Society Award (United Way); honorary degrees from St. Bernard College and the University of Alabama at Birmingham; and the Exemplary Dedication to Higher Education Award from the Alabama Association of Col­leges and Universities. A Chair of Retailing in the Free Enterprise system has been established in his honor at Birmingham-Southern College. He has been inducted into the Alabama Academy of Honor.

He has also received the Brotherhood Award from the National Conferences of Christians and Jews; the Horatio Alger Award; the “Man of the Year” award from the Order of the Sons of Italy; and the Knights Officer in the Order of Merit decoration from the Republic of Italy. He has been named a member of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta Federal Association U.S.A. (Knights of Malta).

Joe Bruno takes no credit for all he and the Bruno family have accomplished in this coun­try, where, he has said, “anyone willing to work and persevere … can make it.” Everything the Bruno family has, he continued, “comes from God …. He has blessed us all more than we deserve … and more than most … I have been the one who seems to have attracted all the atten­tion, but every one of them (the family) has contributed as much as I have.”

Source of biographical information: Joe: Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of Bruno Food Stores, by Pat Dunbar, (published by Joseph S. Bruno, 1983).

William McWane

  • October 26th, 2021

William McWane, who retired in 975 as Chairman of the Board of McWane Cast Iron Pipe Company (now McWane, Inc.) of Birmingham, Alabama, was born in 1898 in Wytheville, Virginia. In 1904, when he was six, the family moved to Birmingham where his father became president of the Birmingham Steel and Iron Company.

This only son of James Ransom and Ella Mae McCartney McWane graduated from Powell High School in Bir­mingham and then earned a degree in engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

William McWane then followed in the footsteps of his grandfather and father by enter­ing the foundry industry.

His grandfather, Charles Phillip McWane, had initiated the family’s involvement in the foundry business when he formed the C. P. McWane Foundry in Wytheville, Virginia, to produce plows and other farm equipment. (As a boy, C. P. McWane had spent many days around the blacksmith shop where his father James had worked with Cyrus McCormick in visualizing and manufacturing the world’s first successful reaper.)

After gaining experience in the foundry in Wytheville, William’s father with Henry and Authur McWane entered business for themselves in Lynchburg, Virginia, where they established the Lynchburg Foundry.

Then, in 1904, James R. McWane moved his family to the booming young city of Birmingham where he served as president of Birmingham Steel and Iron Company for four years.

A memento of that company still stands high above Birmingham on Red Mountain – the giant statue of Vulcan, which was originally cast for the St. Louis World’s Fair. Young William McWane watched as his father personally super­vised the casting of this world-renowned symbol of the Birmingham steel industry-Vulcan, the god of the forge. His father was also one of the largest contributors to the Vulcan Fund established by the Commercial Club. But, it is reported, the venture almost cost William’s father his career because he was not paid for his services in casting the statue.

William’s father James joined the American Cast Iron Pipe Company (ACIPCO) in 1908. He serv­ed as president of ACIPCO from 1915 to 1921, when he resigned to establish in 1922, the McWane Cast Iron and Pipe Company. Four years later, the company expanded with the crea­tion of Pacific States Cast Iron Pipe Company in Provo, Utah. The companies produced pipe, fittings, valves, and fire hydrants distributed nationwide.

In 1933, when James R. McWane died sudden­ly, thirty-five-year-old William McWane in­herited the responsibility of running a company that, like many others at the time, was deeply in debt because of the Great Depression.

As President, William Mc Wane set out to en­sure that the company would survive the Depres­sion and become debt-free. His goals were achieved by the late 1930′ s and the company had begun to achieve greater prosperity by the early 1940’s.

In 1945, William McWane became Chairman of the Board of McWane Cast Iron and Pipe Company, in which capacity he served until 1975.

During these years, the company began to ex­pand. DeBardeleben Coal Company was one of the companies acquired. As Empire Coke Com­pany, it is still an operating division of Mc Wane, Inc.

In 1975, ”Mr. Bill” (as many people who work­ed at the McWane and Pacific States cast iron companies called him) relinquished his title as Chairman of the Board to his son, James R. McWane, who had served as president since 1971. William McWane then served until his death in 1978 as Chairman of the Executive Committee of the family company which had been renamed McWane, Inc.

William McWane represents the third of the five generations of the McWane family to assume leadership as masters of the forge and foundry. Today, his son, James Ransom (the fourth generation) is chairman of the board of McWane, Inc., which has expanded into a thriv­ing multi-division corporation with operations in seven states and Canada. William McWane’s grandson, C. Phillip McWane, continues the family tradition as Director and Vice President of McWane, Inc.

William McWane’s contributions to Birmingham and the surrounding area were many. But, being a very private man, he often did not take credit for his industrial, business, and civic activities. He seemed to eschew publicity, preferring to remain in the background.

His picture did appear in the Birmingham News in 1945 when he was elected a director of the Birmingham Trust and Savings Company, and the caption under the picture cited him as a man “prominently identified with industrial, business, and civic activities.”

And, in order to promote the creation of the Birmingham Symphony orchestra, he let it be known that he was one of its early benefactors and supporters.

He was also a sponsor and benefactor of the Speies Clinic which was dedicated to the study of nutrition; and he was one of the directors of the Eye Foundation-both projects providing many benefits to the citizens of the state.

Like his father, William Mc Wane was a devotee of the game of golf. He was involved not only in playing for the fun of playing but also as a member of the United States Golf Associa­tion and of its rules committee for a number of years.

Quietly, William McWane exerted a beneficial influence on the economic, civic, and cultural life of the city where he lived for seventy-four years.

Sources of biographical information: “The Birmingham District: An Industrial History and Guide,” Birmingham Historical Socie­ty, 1981; Birmingham News, November 14, 1945; Leah Rawls Atkins, The Valley and the Hills: An IIustrated History of Bir­mingham and Jefferson County, sponsored by Birmingham­Jefferson County Historical Society.

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