This article originally appeared on AL.com.
Nick Saban is headed to the hall of fame, but not one you might expect.
The former Alabama coach is heading a roster of all-stars in the 2024 class of the Alabama Business Hall of Fame.
The list is a who’s who of the state’s various business arenas – Hoar Holdings CEO Rob Burton, Harbert Management Corp. CEO Raymond Harbert, investment banker and entrepreneur Thomas Harris, Eye Center South co-founder Marnix Heersink, Thomas Lowder, the former chairman and CEO of Colonial Properties Trust, and Claude Nielsen, the retired CEO of Coca-Cola Bottling Company United.
The inductees will be honored during a ceremony in Birmingham Nov. 14.
Saban, wrapping up his first SEC Media Days as an ESPN analyst, retired earlier this year as the University of Alabama football coach after 16 seasons. He led the team to six championship titles and steered the Crimson Tide into AP No. 1 rankings at some point in the season, every year from 2008 until 2023 — the longest such streak in college football history.
He is also co-owner of Dream Motor Corp., which operates seven Mercedes dealerships in five states — two in Florida, two in Alabama (both in the Birmingham area) and one each in Texas, Louisiana and Tennessee. Dream also owns an Infiniti dealership in Birmingham and a Ferrari dealership in Nashville.
Along with his wife, Terry, Saban also co-founded Nick’s Kids, a charitable organization that has donated over $14 million to support children, teacher and student causes throughout Alabama and beyond.
Burton started working at Hoar Construction for his father, then-president Bob Burton, at age 13. He was named president of the company in 1996 and CEO in 2001. Under Burton’s leadership, Hoar Construction diversified, opening offices in several states and tackling larger and more complex projects in healthcare, entertainment, higher education, government and more. He sits on several boards, and is currently chairman of the board at The Hope Institutes.
Harbert is the founder, chairman and CEO of Harbert Management Corp., one of the largest alternative asset investment management firms in the Southeast. In 1990, he was promoted to president and CEO of Harbert Corp., and launched Harbert Management Corp. in 1993. HMC manages 10 different investment strategies from eight U.S. and four European offices, with more than $8 billion of assets under management.
Harris is an investment banker and entrepreneur who has founded Merchant Capital, Birmingham Recovery Center and Longleaf Wellness and Recovery Centers, as well as YHN Media Group. Harris founded and serves as president of Alabama Black Belt Adventures, a nonprofit outdoor recreation and tourism organization.
Heersink is an ophthalmologist and co-founder of Eye Center South. He has helped lead several research studies with the Trinity Research Group in Dothan since 2016. With his wife Mary, Heersink has funded numerous scholarships and fellowships at Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia, UAB and Troy Business School.
Lowder is the former chairman and CEO of Colonial Properties Trust, a real estate investment trust. With Lowder as CEO, the company grew from $475 million in total market capitalization to $5.3 billion before he retired from active management in 2006. Lowder returned three years later as CEO to lead the company after the financial recession. Lowder continues to serve on the board of Mid-America Apartment Communities.
Nielsen joined Coca-Cola in 1979 and was named CEO in 1991. Under Nielsen’s leadership, United more than tripled the size and scope of the company in terms of revenues, geography, number of employees and facilities. Birmingham-based Coca-Cola United is among the largest bottlers and distributors of Coke products in the U.S. and one of the largest privately held companies in Alabama. Nielsen retired as CEO in 2016 and as chairman in 2023.
