The Alabama Business Hall of Fame's Class of 2023 are Herman Bulls, Tom Hough, Phillip McWane, James W. Rane, Frank Stitt III and Michael Thompson. The Alabama Business Hall of Fame has announced its newest class of inductees for 2023.
Bulls started his business career when he retired from active duty in 1988, joining JLL and working as a developer and manager of an $800 million portfolio. Bulls is also the founder, president, and CEO of Bulls Advisory Group, a real estate advisory and management consulting firm. He was co-founder, president, and CEO of Bulls Capital Partners, a mortgage finance firm.
Phillip McWane, an Auburn University graduate, is chairman of McWane, Inc., the Birmingham-based manufacturer of ductile iron products such as pipes, hydrants, and other critical goods used in construction and water infrastructure. Now, Great Southern Wood Preserving and its YellaWood brand are at the forefront of the wood and preservation industry. He earned his bachelor’s in business administration from Auburn, as well as a J.D. from the Samford University Cumberland School of Law.
Michael Thompson is chairman of the board of Thompson Tractor Co., a dealer of heavy earthmoving machinery and engines through the South. He joined Thompson Tractor Co. in 1977 and became president and CEO in 1986. The company is the full-line Caterpillar dealer for Alabama and northwest Florida, and the premier Hyundai forklift dealer for most of Georgia and Central Tennessee.