UA’s Culverhouse to Induct Seven into Business Hall of Fame

TUSCALOOSA,  Ala. — The University of Alabama’s Culverhouse College of Commerce will induct seven business professionals into the 2015 Alabama Business Hall of Fame Thursday, Nov. 12.

The black tie ceremony will take place at the Hyatt Regency Hotel (formerly the Wynfrey) at the Riverchase Galleria in Birmingham at 7 p.m. Media are invited to the event.

The inductees include Samuel Ginn, of Palo Alto, California; William C. Hulsey, of Birmingham; J. Smith Lanier II, of Lanett; James C. Lee III, of Birmingham; Marvin L. Mann, of Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida; Alma Gates Scroggins, of Atlanta, Georgia; and Mike Warren, of Birmingham.

The Alabama Business Hall of Fame was founded in 1973 by UA’s Culverhouse College of Commerce Board of Visitors to honor individuals in business who have brought lasting fame to the state of Alabama.

A 14-member board of directors, who establishes the criteria for nominations, governs the Hall of Fame. All candidates must have been in retirement at least three years or are 65 or older prior to the date of induction and still active in their careers.

Ginn, a graduate of Auburn University with a degree in industrial management, also holds an honorary degree in engineering from Auburn. His 40-year career in telecommunications began as a student engineer in 1960. Ginn is the namesake for the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering at Auburn University, and he founded the Ginn Family Foundation in 2005.

Hulsey is a University of Alabama alumnus, holds an honorary doctorate of law from Birmingham Southern, and is former CEO and current chairman of Arlington Properties Inc., a development, construction and management company specializing in multifamily housing for 46 years with projects under construction in Virginia, Tennessee and Florida.

Lanier is being inducted posthumously. He attended Auburn University and graduated from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. In 1950 he joined his aunt’s insurance agency, now J. Smith Lanier & Co. in West Point, Georgia.

Today, the company is recognized as one of the oldest and largest insurance brokerage firms in the United States. He served as chairman and CEO of the agency until 1998 and was chairman emeritus until his death in December 2013.

Lee is a 1970 Auburn University graduate who serves as chairman of the board and CEO of Buffalo Rock Co., the largest, privately-held, single family-owned Pepsi-Cola franchise in the United States. Lee began his career with Buffalo Rock working summers at the age of 12. The company is an example of Alabama’s growing business community.

Mann is an alumnus of UA and Samford University and holds an honorary doctorate degree from Samford. He served as vice president of IBM and president and CEO of multiple IBM Divisions, founding chairman and CEO of Lexmark International, and chairman of the independent trustees of Fidelity Investments. He is a member of the President’s Cabinet at The University of Alabama as well as member emeritus of the board of visitors of the Culverhouse College of Commerce.

Scroggins, an honor graduate of The University of Alabama, received the University’s 2003 National Alumni Association Distinguished Alumna Award. Spending 30 years with Turner Broadcasting System Inc., she was with CNN from its infancy, serving as the news group’s executive vice president and chief financial officer. She is a life member of the College of Commerce Board of Visitors and was one of the initial members of its Faculty Enhancement Foundation.

Warren graduated from Auburn University in 1968. He is president and CEO of Children’s of Alabama. He practiced law with Bradley, Arant, Rose & White for 12 years before joining Alabama Gas in 1983. He became president of Alagasco in 1984 and was named president and CEO of Energen in 1997. Warren retired from Energen in 2007 to lead Children’s in the $400 million expansion and replacement project, making it one of the largest pediatric hospitals in the country.