
Notable Speakers
Each week the Rotary Club of Birmingham welcomes speakers of high caliber who bring interesting information on a variety of topics. Past presenters include government officials and politicians, researchers and innovators, as well as leaders in business, sports and media.
National Business Leaders
David Abney, CEO, UPS
Duane Ackerman, CEO, BellSouth
Ed Bastian, President, Delta Airlines
Daryl G. Byrd, President & CEO, IBERIABANK Corporation
Dan Cathy, President, Chick-Fil-A
John Chidsey, CEO, Burger King
Brian Cornell, Board Chairman & CEO, Target
Sam DiPiazza, CEO, PricewaterhouseCoopers
Sandy Douglas, President, Coca Cola, N.A.
Governor John Engler, Michigan; Chairman, National Association of Manufacturers
Tom Fanning, CEO, Southern Company
David Ferriola, CEO, Nucor
Edsel Ford, Ford Motor Company
Jeffrey Immelt, CEO, General Electric
Bill Johnston, Past President, NY Stock Exchange
Dale E. Jones, CEO, Diversified Search
Kelly King, CEO, BB&T
Don Logan, CEO, Time Inc.
Jim Owens, CEO, Caterpillar, Inc.
Craig Perciavalle, President, Austal USA
T. Boone Pickens, Oil & Gas Exploration and Investor
Jim Rogers, Investor and Hedge Fund Manager
Manolo Sanchez, CEO, BBVA Compass
Adam Schechter, President, Merck
Sandy Schwartz, President, Cox Automotive
Warren Stephens, CEO, Stephens, Inc.
Randall Stephenson, CEO, AT&T
Stephanie Stuckey, CEO, Stuckey’s
John Stumpf, CEO, Wells Fargo
John Surma, CEO, U.S. Steel
Ted Turner, Founder and CEO, CNN
Steve Zelnak, Jr., CEO, Martin Marietta
Political Leaders
U.S. Rep. Spencer Bacchus, Alabama
Governor Haley Barbour, Mississippi
Second Lady of the U.S. Lynne Cheney
President Bill Clinton
Betsy DeVos, U.S. Secretary of Education
Governor Kay Ivey, Alabama
Governor Bobby Jindal, Louisiana
U.S. Senator Doug Jones, Alabama
President Vaclav Klaus, Czech Republic
Governor Ray Mabus, Mississippi
U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer, Alabama
Governor Sonny Perdue, Georgia
Governor Bob Riley, Alabama
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, Florida
Duncan Sandys, City Councillor & Lord Mayor of Westminster, London, U.K.
U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions, Alabama
U.S. Senator Richard Shelby, Alabama
U.S. Senator Luther Strange, Alabama
Governor Tom Vilsack, Iowa
Governor William Winter, Mississippi
Sports Leaders
Charles Barkley, NBA Hall of Famer
Greg Byrne, Athletics Director, University of Alabama
Bill Clark, Head Football Coach, UAB
Paul Finebaum, Radio and TV Personality
Hubert Green, US Open and PGA Champion
Allen Greene, Athletics Director, Auburn University
Bryan Harsin, Head Football Coach, Auburn University
Archie Manning, NFL League MVP
Bucky McMillan, Head Basketball Coach, Samford University
Bruce Pearl, Head Basketball Coach, Auburn University
Bobby Ross, Head Football Coach, West Point
Nick Saban, Head Football Coach, University of Alabama
Greg Sankey, SEC Commissioner
Nick Sellers, CEO, The World Games 2022
Michael Slive, SEC Commissioner
Gene Stallings, Head Football Coach, University of Alabama
Tommy Tuberville, Head Football Coach, Auburn University
Dominque Wilkins, NBA Hall of Famer
medical / scientific leaders
Dr. Regina Benjamin, U.S. Surgeon General
Catherine Coleman Flowers, Founder, Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice
Dr. James Kirklin, Heart Surgeon, UAB
Dr. Jim McClintock, Marine Biologist, UAB
Dr. Matt Might, Director, Hugh Kaul Precision Medicine Institute, UAB
Dr. Kathy Nugent, Executive Director, Harbert Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, UAB
Dr. Michael Saag, Associate Dean for Global Health and Founder of the 1917 Clinic, UAB
Dr. Barry P. Sleckman, Director, O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, UAB
Victor Vescovo, Undersea Explorer
Mike Warren, CEO, Children’s of Alabama
Arts and Humanities Leaders
Mark Childress, Author
Marquita Davis, Deputy Director of Early Learning, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
John T. Edge, Director, Executive Director, Southern Foodways Alliance
Tushar Gandhi, Chair, Mahatma Gandhi Foundation
Winston Groom, Author
Sheldon Hackney, Chair, National Endowment of Arts
Bobby Horton, Musician and Recording Artist
Delores Hydock, Author, Actress
Carlos Izcaray, Music Director, Alabama Symphony Orchestra
Dr. David Mathews, CEO, Kettering Foundation
Dr. Henry Panion, Multiple Grammy winner
Frank Stitt, Restaurateur, James Beard Award Winner
Miscellaneous Leaders
James Carville, Political Consultant
Fred Gray, Civil Rights Attorney
Lilly Ledbetter, Fair Pay Act
Local Business Leaders
Ed Aldag, Chairman, President & CEO, Medical Properties Trust
Stephanie Bryan, Tribal Chair and CEO, Poarch Creek Indians
Kelly Caruso, CEO, Shipt
Mark Crosswhite, CEO, Alabama Power
Nancy Goedecke, Chairman & CEO, Mayer Electric Supply
Jim Gorrie, President, Brasfield & Gorrie
Raymond Harbert, CEO, Harbert Management Corporation
Jason Hoff, CEO, Mercedes-Benz U.S. International
Don James, CEO, Vulcan Materials
Johnny Johns, CEO, Protective, Inc.
Libby Lassiter, President, Bayer Properties
James McManus, CEO, Energen
Phillip McWane, Chairman, McWane, Inc.
Keith Parrott, CEO, Baptist Health System
Hunter Renfroe, Co-Founder, Orchestra Partners
Van Richey, CEO, American Cast Iron Pipe Co.
Jeff Rosenthal, CEO, Hibbett Sports
Tom Shoupe, President, Honda Motors of Alabama
Robert Simon, President & CEO, Corporate Realty
W. Stancil Starnes, Chairman & CEO, ProAssurance Corporation
Mark Tarr, President & CEO, Encompass Health
John Turner, President & CEO, Regions Financial Corporation
Tim Vines, President & CEO, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama
J. David Walker, President & CEO, EBSCO Industries, Inc.
Diplomats
Daniel Ayalon, Israeli Ambassador to US
Bill Cabaniss, U.S. Ambassador to The Czech Republic
Simcha Dinitz, Israeli Ambassador to US
Dave Dunford, U.S. Ambassador to Oman
Dennis Ross, U.S. Ambassador to the Middle East)
Margaret Tutwiler, U.S. Ambassador to Morocco
Andrew Young, Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations
Government Leaders
Raphael Bostic, President & CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
Dr. David Bronner, CEO, Retirement Systems of Alabama
Rob Couch, President, Government National Mortgage Association
John Driscoll, Director & CEO, Alabama State Port Authority
Dennis Lockhart, President & CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
Neel Kashkari, Interim Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Stability
Ted Olsen, U.S. Solicitor General
Charles Plosser, Chairman, Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank
Donald E. Powell, Chairman, U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Don Powell, Past Head of FDIC and Katrina Relief Effort
David M. Walker, U.S. Comptroller General
Leaders in Academia
Dr. Stephen Bell, President, University of Alabama
Daniel Coleman, President, Birmingham-Southern College
E. Gordon Gee, Chancellor, Vanderbilt University
Dr. Chris Howard, President, Hampden-Sydney College
Bobbie Knight, President, Miles College
Dr. Stephen Leath, President, Auburn University
Dr. Eric Motley, VP, The Aspen Institute
Finis St. John IV, Chancellor, University of Alabama System
Dr. Ray Watts, President, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Dr. E.O. Wilson, Harvard University, Biologist
Dr. Andrew Westmoreland, President, Samford University
Leaders in Journalism
John Archibald, Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalist
Fred Barnes, Executive Editor, The Weekly Standard
Chip Brantley, Co-Host & Co-Creator, White Lies Podcast
Monte Burke, Sports Writer, Forbes magazine
Gail Collins, Op-Ed Columnist, NY Times
Kaitlan Collins, CNN Correspondent
Nancy Gibbs, Editor, Time Magazine
Gil Grosvenor, Chairman, National Geographic Society
John Huey, Editor-in-Chief, Time Inc.
Diane McWhorter, Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author
Eric Mills, Editor-in-Chief, Naval History Magazine
Will Pearson, Co-Founder, Mental Floss
Howell Raines, Former Executive Editor, New York Times
Joe Scarborough, Host, “Morning Joe,” MSNBC
Cliff Sims, CEO, Yellowhammer News
Scott Simon, Host, NPR Weekend Edition
Warren St. John, New Yorker and NY Times writer and author
Ivan Watson, NPR and CNN Correspondent
Juan Williams, NPR and FOX News
Military Leaders
Maj. Gen. Walter D. Givhan, Vice Commander, Air University
Gen. Michael Hagee, Commandant, U.S. Marine Corps
Albert H. Konetzni, Jr., Vice Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.)
Gen. Charles Krulak, Commandant, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.)
Lt. Gen. Steven L. Kwast, Commander and President, Air University
Gen. James C. McConville, Chief of Staff, U.S. Army
Admiral David Nash (Ret.), Past Director of Iraq Reconstruction Management Office
Gen. Gustave F. Perna, Commander, U.S. Army Material Command
Maj. Gen. Bentley Rayburn, Commander, Air Force Doctrine Center
Rotary International Presidents
Kalyan Banerjee, 2011-2012
K.R. “Ravi” Ravindran, 2015-2016
Sakuji Tanaka, 2012-2013
*Titles current at time of presentation
*Updated December 15, 2021
