Alabama Business Hall of Fame announces 7 new inductees – including Nick Saban

This year’s inductees are Rob O. Burton of Birmingham; Raymond J. Harbert of Birmingham; Thomas A. Harris of Hope Hull; Marnix E. Heersink of Dothan; Thomas H. Lowder of Birmingham; Claude B. Nielsen of Birmingham; and Nick L. Saban of Tuscaloosa.

The Culverhouse College of Business at The University of Alabama is the home of the Alabama Business Hall of Fame, located in Hewson Hall.

The College also organizes the annual event that honors, preserves and perpetuates the names and outstanding accomplishments of business personalities who have brought recognition to the state of Alabama.

Rob O. Burton

Rob Burton is CEO of Hoar Holdings. He started working at Hoar Construction for his father (then-president Bob Burton) to learn the family business at the age of 13. After graduating from Auburn University with a degree in building science, Burton again entered the company and held positions of increasing responsibility. He was named president in 1996 and CEO in 2001.

Under Burton’s leadership, Hoar Construction diversified, opening offices in several states and tackling larger and more complex projects. Those projects included ones in healthcare, entertainment, higher education, government and more while doubling the company’s revenue in the first 10 years of his leadership. In 1997 Burton established a now top-25 ranked national program management company, HPM, that offers design and construction expertise to institutions and companies around the country.

In 2021, the company also launched RPI Rentals, a construction equipment rental, materials and supplies company with offices in Alabama and Texas. Hoar Construction, HPM, and RPI Rentals have all been repeatedly certified as a Great Place to Work.

A passionate supporter of Birmingham and the greater community, Burton has served on boards of various organizations, including The Birmingham Business Alliance and the Birmingham Zoo. He has also served on the boards of the Lakeshore Foundation, Protective Life and the American Contractors Insurance Group, among others. He is currently chairman of the board at The Hope Institute, which helps schools cultivate the character of students.

Burton also founded Hoar Community Foundation in 2004. The fund has donated millions to charities that further the firm’s core values in areas where employees live and work.

Burton and his wife, Nancy, live in Birmingham and have four children and nine grandchildren.

Raymond J. Harbert

Raymond J. Harbert is the founder, chairman and CEO of Harbert Management Corporation, one of the largest alternative asset investment management firms in the Southeast. Harbert’s lifelong entrepreneurial pursuits began early in life at age 15 when he founded Penbryn Hill Catering, which he ran throughout his high school years.

After graduating from Auburn University with a Bachelor of Science in industrial management, Harbert went to work for Harbert International, Inc., the construction subsidiary of Harbert Corporation, and the company his father, John Harbert, founded and built over a span of four decades. In 1990, Harbert was promoted to president and CEO of Harbert Corporation, which was a multi-billion-dollar diversified conglomerate.

In 1993, Harbert launched Harbert Management Corporation, the first multi alternative asset investment management firm in Alabama. Today, HMC manages 10 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, 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. 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. He was inducted into the Alabama Academy of Honor in 2015.

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, University of Alabama at Birmingham and United Way of Central Alabama. They were awarded the United Way Tocqueville Society Award in 2018. They have three children and nine grandchildren and live in Birmingham.

Thomas A. Harris

Thomas A. Harris is an investment banker and entrepreneur who has founded several successful ventures. After graduating from Auburn University in 1971 with a business degree, Harris worked for First Alabama Bankshares as head of national accounts and business development. In 1987, he was a founder and president of Merchant Capital, a leading investment banking firm based in Montgomery with offices throughout the Southeast.

Merchant Capital was acquired by Stifel Nicolaus Financial Corp. in 2014 and Harris served as senior managing director at Stifel Nicolaus until 2022. In 2021, he founded Birmingham Recovery Center and Longleaf Wellness and Recovery Centers. They provide treatment for substance use and mental health disorders with four facilities across Alabama. In 2023 he partnered in launching YHN Media Group, LLC, which owns several Alabama-based media outlets.

An avid conservationist, Harris founded and serves as president of Alabama Black Belt Adventures, a nonprofit organization committed to promoting outdoor recreation and tourism opportunities in the Alabama Black Belt region. He was also recently named to the national board of directors for Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever. In 2019, he was named Alabama Wildlife Governor’s Conservationist of the Year. Harris serves on numerous boards, including the Alabama Wildlife Federation and Junior Achievement of Alabama.

Harris and his wife, Cindy, reside in Lowndes County and have four children and seven grandchildren.

Dr. Marnix E. Heersink

Dr. Marnix E. Heersink is an ophthalmologist and co-founder of Eye Center South. Born in the Netherlands, Heersink earned his bachelor’s and medical degrees at the University of Western Ontario in Canada. Following a surgical internship in Montreal and an ophthalmology residency and an anterior segment surgery fellowship, both in Philadelphia, he and his wife, Mary, moved to Dothan, where he helped found Eye Center South in 1978.

He has helped lead several research studies with the Trinity Research Group in Dothan since 2016. He is also a fellow and member of several professional organizations including the American Academy of Ophthalmology, International College of Surgeons, American College of Surgeons, American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery and The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons. Heersink is certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology, and the American Board of Eye Surgery.

Committed philanthropists, the Heersinks have funded numerous scholarships and fellowships at Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia, the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Troy Business School. They also established the Wiregrass Pathway to Optometry scholarship. Heersink founded the Eye Education Foundation, an educational nonprofit for eye care professionals.

Recently, the family made transformative gifts to two universities: University of Alabama at Birmingham, which named its medical school the Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine, and McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. Heersink has also lectured internationally and has served or serves on numerous nonprofit boards. He holds an honorary doctorate from McMaster University.

Heersink and Mary live in Dothan and have six children and 11 grandchildren.

Thomas H. Lowder

Thomas H. Lowder is the former chairman and CEO of Colonial Properties Trust, a New York Stock Exchange-listed, multifamily-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 the family business, Colonial Properties Trust, in 1976.

Lowder 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. Lowder returned three years later as CEO 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 of Alabama, the University of Alabama Health Services Foundation, the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts, as well as, the 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, who 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 former spouses.

Lowder has three daughters and Susan has three sons. They reside in Birmingham.

Claude B. Nielsen

Claude B. Nielsen is the retired CEO and chairman of the board of Coca-Cola Bottling Company United, Inc. After earning a bachelor’s degree in business from Sewanee: The University of the South and an MBA from the University of Virginia, Nielsen joined Coca-Cola in 1979. He held a variety of operational and managerial positions in the company until he was named CEO in 1991. He was later chairman of the board of directors in 2003. Under Nielsen’s leadership, United more than tripled the size and scope of the company in terms of revenues, geography, number of employees and facilities.

Birmingham-based Coca-Cola United is among the largest bottlers and distributors of Coke 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.

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 also devoted time and energy to supporting 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 and into the Birmingham Business Hall of Fame in 2022. Additionally, 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. They were also named Outstanding Civic Leaders by the Association of Fundraising Professionals in 2021.

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

Nick L. Saban

Nick L. Saban is a sportscaster, sports analyst, entrepreneur and retired college and professional football coach. He is best known for his coaching of the Crimson Tide football team at The University of Alabama from 2007 to 2023. After playing defensive back at Kent State University, he graduated in 1973 with a bachelor’s in business, then in 1975, from the same university, with a master’s in sports administration.

Saban’s coaching career began in graduate school as a graduate assistant to coach Don James. He went on to work as assistant coach to several college football programs from the late 1970s to mid-1980s. He then started his career as head coach at the University of Toledo in 1990. After one season with Toledo, Saban left to join the Cleveland Browns as defensive coordinator under Bill Belichick.

He stayed until 1995, when he became head coach of Michigan State University. He then went on to coach at LSU in 2000 and then the Miami Dolphins in 2005. Saban took on the head coach position at The University of Alabama in 2007. He led the team to six championship titles and steered the Crimson Tide into ranking #1 in the AP Top 25, at some point in the season, from 2008 until 2023 — the longest in college football history.

Saban now works as an analyst for the nationally televised ESPN College GameDay. He is also co-owner of Dream Motor Corp., which operates automotive dealerships.

Along with his wife, Terry, Saban co-founded Nick’s Kids, a charitable organization that has donated over $14 million to support children, teacher and student causes throughout Alabama and beyond.

Saban and Terry have two children and two grandchildren and live in Tuscaloosa.

Grayson Everett is the state and political editor for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @Grayson270