Reported by Mike Hobson
July 15, 2024
The Bibb County Chamber of Commerce announced today the appointment of a new Executive Director, following an extensive search process for experienced and seasoned leadership. Chamber President Joseph Marchant announced today that the Chamber Board of Directors authorized the appointment of Brian Hilson to the post in their most recent meeting.
Hilson, a current resident of Vestavia Hills, will assume his new duties this week and will develop an economic growth & recruitment strategy for Bibb County in co-ordination with the Bibb County Industrial Development Authority.
The Executive Director job description holds him accountable to the Chamber Board of Directors for the promotion of Bibb County’s local businesses, economic development, and tourism. The Executive Director will coordinate county-wide economic development activities and manage the business affairs of the Chamber of Commerce. His duties include formulation of long and short-term goals, conducting research and analyzing information, developing promotional materials, acting as liaison between the Chamber, prospective industry, existing industry, local governments and boards, and state agencies to encourage the location and expansion of industry and the economy of Bibb County.
Hilson recently served the Florida West Economic Alliance in Escambia County, Florida. Before leaving Alabama for North Florida Hilson served as President and CEO of the Birmingham Business Alliance from 2011 to 2019, which included a record year in 2018 for the seven-county Birmingham region for both announced jobs and capital investment. Prior to his role with the BBA, he was President and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County, where between 1992 and 2011 the community announced over 65,000 jobs, consistently leading Alabama in job growth and attaining many national
rankings and recognitions for the community and the Chamber.
He began his career in economic development in 1980, working his first 11 years
in Birmingham plus one year with the Mobile Chamber before moving to
Huntsville in 1992. He has worked on a wide variety of national and international
corporate projects, such as Toyota, the Hudson Alpha Institute for Biotechnology, Adtran, Cinram, Del Monte, Autocar, Benjamin Moore Paints, Verizon, Delta Air
Lines and Mercedes.
He was involved in several rounds of U.S. Army Base
Realignment, including the 2005 BRAC that brought over 4,700 jobs to
north Alabama. He has been involved in projects for new, expanding and early-
stage employers that total over 100,000 Alabama jobs, and in 2011 was
commended by the Alabama State Legislature for his work in growing the State’s
economy.
He serves as Executive Director of the Japan-America Society, an organization he
has been part of since 1989. He has also worked as Rural Development Strategist on behalf of the Economic Development Association of Alabama, guiding the development of
regional strategic plans involving 17 rural Alabama counties.
Figure 1-Mercedes groundbreaking 2017. From left to right: Bibb County Commissioner Ricky Hubbard; Deputy Secretary of Commerce Angela Till; Jason Hoff, president and CEO of Mercedes-Benz U.S. International; Lee Smith, East Region Executive with BBVA Compass and incoming 2018 BBA Chairman; and Brian Hilson, president and CEO of Birmingham Business Alliance.
Chamber President Joseph Marchant said that Hilson is no stranger to Bibb County, has already been involved in key past projects here, and sees Bibb as fertile ground for future investment and the development of industrial and commercial clients. In his former role with the Birmingham Business Alliance Hilson was instrumental in developments that made significant impact on our area and boosted our economy.
Hilson’s connections to Bibb County reach back as far as 2012 when he was part of the announcement of the Thyssen-Krupp launch in Bibb County. At the time Hilson was CEO of the Birmingham Business Alliance that was responsible for the company choosing Bibb County for an expansion. At the time Hilson was quoted saying ““This project is extremely important for the Birmingham region and Alabama. ThyssenKrupp Materials is an internationally recognized company and is especially recognizable here in Alabama,” said Brian Hilson, CEO of the Birmingham Business Alliance. “It’s also significant because of the jobs and capital investment and because this development is in Bibb County. This can generate more attention for Bibb County as a future business location for other companies.”
Hilson was later instrumental in the development and groundbreaking for the Mercedes Global Logistics Center now located and operating at the Scott Davis Industrial Park in North Bibb. Hilson also played an important role in the recruitment and decision to locate the Moller Tech plant in the Scott Davis Industrial Park.
Marchant said “we look forward to Brian’s leadership and working together with him to move the Chamber and our county forward.”
Bibb County Probate Judge Stephanie Kemmer, also a member of the Industrial Development Authority board of directors said this about the hire: “Mr. Hilson brings with him experience and relationships within the economic development community that will benefit Bibb County immensely. I am excited that he will be leading the efforts of the Chamber and the Economic and Industrial Development Authority and look forward to working with him.
A native of Huntsville, Brian is a graduate of Auburn University and the University
of Oklahoma Economic Development Institute. He is a graduate of Leadership
Alabama, Leadership Huntsville/Madison County and Leadership Birmingham. He
is the immediate past chairman of the Alabama Germany Partnership, and is a
past chair of the Economic Development Association of Alabama, the Chamber of
Commerce Association of Alabama, and the Japan-America Society of Alabama.
Other previous leadership positions include the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame
selection committee, and the boards of directors of the Business Council of
Alabama, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and the North Alabama
International Trade Association. He is a recipient of the Rainer Bauer Award from
the Alabama Germany Partnership and the Samuel Ullman Award from the Japan-
America Society of Alabama. In 2017 he was named one of the Top 50 Economic
Developers in North America.
Having spent his entire career in economic development, Hilson is a strong believer
that employment opportunities are the best way to help communities prosper
and improve people’s lives. Growing up in Huntsville, where his father was a
career Army and NASA employee, he lived in a part of the community where
many Germans and NASA engineers resided. Both of his grandfathers were small
business owners, and one was also the mayor of Madison when it was a small
town.
Brian and his wife, Windy, reside in Jefferson County, and they have two married children.
Their son, Carlton, is an attorney with Burr Forman in Birmingham, and their
daughter, Abby, is a high school math teacher in Decatur. Between them they
have four grandchildren.
