Topic: Update on Birmingham's Innovation District
Birmingham’s technology and innovation ecosystem is thriving, bolstered by a world-class research university and medical center at UAB, a globally recognized technology incubator, Innovation Depot, and more than 700 technology-based businesses that call Birmingham home. Brian Hilson, president of the Birmingham Business Alliance (BBA), will discuss how the BBA and its partners leverage these assets to enhance Birmingham’s image and market the region to the world.
Speaker: Brian Hilson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Birmingham Business Alliance
Brian Hilson is President and CEO of the Birmingham Business Alliance (BBA), which is the lead economic development organization for the Birmingham Metropolitan Area. He has been involved in economic development in Alabama since 1980 and has worked with a wide variety of economic development projects for national and international companies such as Toyota, LG Electronics, Sterilite Corp., UPS, Delta Air Lines, Verizon and the HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology. Prior to assuming his position with the BBA in 2011, he was president of the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce.
A native of Huntsville, Brian is a graduate of Auburn University and the University of Oklahoma’s Economic Development Institute. He is a graduate of Leadership Alabama, Leadership Birmingham and Leadership Huntsville/Madison County, and is active in state and national economic development organizations. He is past president of the Economic Development Association of Alabama, the Chamber of Commerce Association of Alabama and the Japan-America Society of Alabama. Brian and his wife, Windy, have two married children.
