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 / INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS LEADERS
David Abney, CEO, UPS
Duane Ackerman, CEO, BellSouth
Ed Bastian, President, Delta Airlines
Kevin Blair, Chairman, CEO & President, Synovus
David Burritt, President & CEO, U.S. Steel
Daryl G. Byrd, President & CEO, IBERIABANK Corporation
Dan Cathy, President, Chick-Fil-A
John Chidsey, CEO, Burger King
Brian Cornell, Board Chairman & CEO, Target
Bill Demchak, PNC Chairman & CEO
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
John Goff, Founder and Chairman, Crescent Real Estate and Goff Capital
Jason Hoff, CEO, Mercedes-Benz U.S. International
Jeffrey Immelt, CEO, General Electric
Bill Johnston, Past President, NY Stock Exchange
Dale E. Jones, CEO, Diversified Search
Ola Källenius, Chairman, Mercedes-Benz and Daimler
Kenneth Kelly, Chairman, American Bankers Association
Kelly King, CEO, BB&T
Federico Kochlowski, President & CEO, Mercedes-Benz U.S. Int’l, Inc.
Don Logan, CEO, Time Inc.
Mike O’Grady, Chairman & CEO, Northern Trust
Jim Owens, CEO, Caterpillar, Inc.
Jimmy Parnell, ALFA CEO
Keith Parrott, CEO, Baptist Health System
Craig Perciavalle, President, Austal US
Jim Rogers, Investor and Hedge Fund Manager
Adam Schechter, President, Merck
Sandy Schwartz, President, Cox Automotive
Tom Shoupe, President, Honda Motors of Alabama
Warren Stephens, CEO, Stephens, Inc.
Randall Stephenson, CEO, AT&T
Stephanie Stuckey, CEO, Stuckey’s
John Stumpf, CEO, Wells Fargo
John Turner, President & CEO, Regions Financial Corporation
Ted Turner, Founder and CEO, CNN
Steve Zelnak, Jr., CEO, Martin Marietta
LOCAL BUSINESS LEADERS
Ed Aldag, Jr., Chairman, President & CEO, Medical Properties Trust
Rich Bielen, President & CEO, Protective Life Corporation
Tom Broughton, Chairman, President & CEO, ServisFirst Bank
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
Tom Hill, CEO, Vulcan Materials
Phillip McWane, Chairman, McWane, Inc.
Craft O’Neal, Chairman & CEO, O’Neal Industries
Van Richey, CEO, American Cast Iron Pipe Co.
Jeff Rosenthal, CEO, Hibbett Sports
Bill Smith, Founder, Shipt and Landing
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.
Medical / Scientific Leaders
Dr. Anupam Agarwal, Dean, UAB Heersink School of Medicine
Dr. Regina Benjamin, U.S. Surgeon General
Josh Carpenter, CEO, Southern Research
Catherine Coleman Flowers, Founder, Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice
Dr. Mona Fouad, Director, UAB Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Center
Dr. James Kirklin, Heart Surgeon, UAB
Dr. Sharmila Makhija, Founding Dean & CEO, Alice L. Walton School of Medicine
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
Tom Shufflebarger, CEO, Children’s of Alabama
Dr. Barry P. Sleckman, Director, O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, UAB
Victor Vescovo, Undersea Explorer
SPORTS LEADERS
Charles Barkley, NBA Hall of Famer
Greg Byrne, Athletics Director, University of Alabama
John Cohen, Auburn University Director of Athletics
Trent Dilfer, Head Football Coach, UAB
Paul Finebaum, Radio and TV Personality
Noah Galloway, Honorary Co-Chair, The World Games 2022
Bryan Harsin, Head Football Coach, Auburn University
Archie Manning, NFL League MVP
Dr. Charles McClelland, SWAC Commissioner
Bucky McMillan, Head Basketball Coach, Samford University
Nate Oats, Head Basketball Coach, University of Alabama
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
Dominque Wilkins, NBA Hall of Famer
ARTS AND HUMANITIES LEADERS
Dr. Graham C. Boettcher, Director, Birmingham Museum of Art
Mark Childress, Author
Keith Cromwell, Executive Director, Red Mountain Theatre
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
John Green, Author
Bobby Horton, Musician and Recording Artist
Carlos Izcaray, Music Director, Alabama Symphony Orchestra
Rev. Dr. Russell J. Levenson, Jr., Author
Dr. David Mathews, CEO, Kettering Foundation
Stewart McLaurin, White House Historical Association President
Dr. Henry Panion, Multiple Grammy winner
Paul Rogers, Academy Award-Winning Film Editor
Frank Stitt, Restaurateur, James Beard Award Winner
*Titles current at time of presentation
*Updated September 1, 2026
DIPLOMATS
Daniel Ayalon, Israeli Ambassador to US
Joe Donnelly, Former Ambassador to the Holy See, Former U.S. Senator, Indiana
Dave Dunford, U.S. Ambassador to Oman
Dennis Ross, U.S. Ambassador to the Middle East)
Margaret Tutwiler, U.S. Ambassador to Morocco
GOVERNMENT LEADERS
Raphael Bostic, President & CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
Dr. David Bronner, CEO, Retirement Systems of Alabama
Elaine Chao, 18th U. S. Secretary of Transportation, 24th U. S. Secretary of Labor
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
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
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
Bill Haslam, Former Governor of Tennessee
Governor Kay Ivey,Alabama
Governor Bobby Jindal, Louisiana
U.S. Senator Doug Jones, Alabama
President Vaclav Klaus, Czech Republic
Governor Ray Mabus, Mississippi
Mac McCutcheon, Speaker, Alabama House of Representatives
U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer, Alabama
Governor Sonny Perdue, Georgia
Governor Bob Riley, Alabama
U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, Alabama
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, Florida
Duncan Sandys, City Councillor & Lord Mayor of Westminster, London, U.K.
U.S. Senator Tim Scott, South Carolina
U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions, Alabama
U.S. Senator Richard Shelby, Alabama
U.S. Senator Luther Strange, Alabama
Governor Tom Vilsack, Iowa
Mayor Randall Woodfin, Birmingham, Alabama
LEADERS IN ACADEMIA
Dr. Stuart 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. Eric Motley, VP, The Aspen Institute
Dr. Chris Roberts, President, Auburn University
Dr. Beck Taylor, President, Samford University
Sid Trant, Chancellor, University of Alabama System
Dr. Ray Watts, President, University of Alabama at Birmingham
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
Gail Collins, Op-Ed Columnist, NY Times
Kaitlan Collins, CNN Correspondent
Paul Finebaum, ESPN Analyst & Sports Radio Host
Nancy Gibbs, Editor, Time Magazine
Gil Grosvenor, Chairman, National Geographic Society
John Huey, Editor-in-Chief, Time Inc.
Diane McWhorter, Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author
Will Pearson, Co-Founder, Mental Floss
Howell Raines, Former Executive Editor, New York Times
Brian Reed, S-Town Podcast Host & Co-Creator
Joe Scarborough, Host, “Morning Joe,” MSNBC
Scott Simon, Host, NPR Weekend Edition
James Spann, Chief Meteorologist, ABC 33/40
Warren St. John, New Yorker and NY Times writer and author
Juan Williams, NPR and FOX News
Byron York, Washington Examiner Chief Political Correspondent
MILITARY LEADERS
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
Col. James P. McDonough III, Commandant of Midshipmen, U.S. Naval Academy
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
other LEADERS
James Carville, Political Consultant
Fred Gray, Civil Rights Attorney
John Kemp, Co-Founder, American Association of People with Disabilities
Gail McGovern, CEO, American Red Cross
Myron Thompson, U.S. District Judge