Chatting with the BBA's new CEO
Birmingham Business Journal - by Ben Piper
Date: Wednesday, March 2, 2011, 1:12pm CST
- Ben Piper
- Reporter
- Email: bpiper@bizjournals.com
The new CEO of the Birmingham Business Alliance, Brian Hilson, already has a grasp on some of the major issues facing Birmingham as he prepares to start the new position on March 16.
Hilson is currently wrapping up his tenure at the Huntsville-Madison County Chamber of Commerce, where he served as CEO since 1997.
He said Birmingham differs from Huntsville in that it is a regional economy.
“There’s no question it will be exciting and challenging for me,” he said. “What excites me is the enormous potential with the great asset of UAB and the technology based growth from UAB. What’s rewarding in this kind of job is the satisfaction knowing you can contribute to the well-being of workers and their families. Jobs, acquiring better jobs and income levels for them are a result of successful economic development.”
Regional cooperation, which is touted in the BBA’s five-year strategic Blueprint Birmingham plan, was one of the challenges Hilson said he would face in his new role.
“One of opportunities is to unify the community regionally for certain purposes and identify parts of region with specific values and issues that have to be dealt with,” he said.
Hilson said he has already briefly reviewed Blueprint Birmingham, and he said there will be an “every day urgency” to the plan.
“There’s been a lot of emphasis on planning process, and it’s extremely important,” he said. “The key now is implementation, realistic implementation. We’ve got to prioritize, and I don’t want to do something unless I know we can do it well. Everyone should have high expectations but understand the timeline for implementation.”
Contract terms for Hilson’s new job were not disclosed.
Hilson will take the reins from interim CEO Barry Copeland, who has served in the temporary capacity since the unexpected resignation of CEO Dalton Smith in July 2010.
While Hilson said he plans to review all of the staff at the BBA, there’s no way to tell if any changes are imminent, but he praised Copeland and the existing staff who enduring a long search process.
“I’ve known Barry for a number of years, and I think the world of him,” he said.
“He’s a highly capable professional. I’m going to do everything I can to encourage him to stay. Those staff I do know, I’m very high on. They are winners. We need to keep them in place and give them all the support possible.”