I am exceptionally pleased to announce today the hiring of John Allen as our next CEO of the Committee of 100 effective Sept. 1, 2017.
John is our current BizPac Chair and would have assumed the role of Committee of 100 Chair in Jan. 2018, so no one is more qualified than John to step into the CEO position. The Search Committee and Committee of 100 Board were very pleased when John stepped forward as interested in this executive position and, after a thorough search process, he received a unanimous vote from both groups.
A Huntsville native, John has been a Committee of 100 member since 2002 and served as Governance Chair, Madison Task Force Chair and a member of the BizPac Board for six years before being named Chair in 2015. As Chair, he led the board through an interview process for 22 local offices in 2016. He has attended our Political Training Institute, Advanced Political Training and is an annual Creative Cities donor.
John serves in numerous community leadership roles including the Huntsville Hospital Foundation Board, the Botanical Garden Board, and the BIG Picture Advisory Council. He is Past President of the Huntsville-Madison County Homebuilders Association, chaired their governmental affairs for three years, and was named to the Housing Hall of Fame. He is also a Past President of the Madison Rotary Club, a past member of the Madison Utilities Board, and chaired the Career Technical Education Committee for Madison City Schools. John is a graduate of Leadership Alabama and Leadership Huntsville-Madison County.
A licensed professional engineer, John is currently President of Southern Construction & Design, the 2016 Small Service Business of the Year for the Huntsville-Madison County Chamber of Commerce. John plans to leave his construction business to his business partner and devote himself full time to the Committee of 100 CEO position.
“When I considered my retirement plans, my dream was that a board member might step up as interested in the CEO role, and I can not think of anyone more qualified and committed than John Allen,” says Carol Madry Bell, CEO. “He is clearly grounded in our mission, and has the needed skills, experience and community networks to take this organization to a new level of success.”
“It is a distinct honor to be chosen to lead this exceptional organization as your CEO,” says John Allen. “I offer my sincere thanks to the Search Committee and the Board of Directors for their exhaustive selection process and indeed their unanimous support. Much work is still to be done as we continue our local and regional efforts in supporting high quality public education, stimulating economic development, and encouraging cooperative local government. Together, we will be steadfast in the work of our core mission and consistently engage in the issues that will bring vitality and success to our community.”
John and Carol will work closely together over the next three months to ensure a smooth transition. I hope you will join me in congratulating and supporting John in his new role, and thanking Carol for her 20 years of exceptional leadership.
Charley Burruss
Committee of 100 Chair