Director of the Kennemer Center for Innovation and Social Impact
Gordon G. Martin recently retired as Senior Vice President of Corporate and Administrative Services at Alabama Power Company, where he had responsibility for the company’s Facilities Services (including corporate facilities and operations, and property services), Supply Chain (including contracts, procurement, materials distribution, investment recovery, supplier diversity, and technical support), Fleet Services, Meeting and Event Services, and Corporate Real Estate (including land acquisition, land and shoreline management, and sales, leasing, and development). Gordon was also responsible for Corporate Security, Business Assurance, and Information Technology.
Gordon served for eight years as the company’s General Counsel as well as seven years as its Division Vice President in Montgomery. He has held management positions in Generation Planning and Development, Fuels, and External Affairs. He also served as the company’s lead government affairs representative in Washington, D.C. Before joining Alabama Power, Gordon was a legislative lawyer with Hogan & Hartson (now Hogan Lovells), one of Washington D.C.’s largest law firms, and a legislative assistant to U.S. Senator Howell Heflin and the U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts.
A native of Birmingham, Gordon graduated cum laude from the University of Alabama, where he was President of the Student Government Association. He also earned a law degree from the University of Alabama, and a Master of Public Administration degree from the George Washington University. He studied international law in London and has completed executive coursework at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and Oxford University in England.
In the area of economic development, Gordon served for eight years as Chairman of the Board of the Montgomery Riverfront Development Foundation, where he was instrumental in the revitalization of Montgomery’s downtown, which includes Riverwalk Stadium, the Montgomery Biscuits baseball team, an entertainment district, and a four-star convention center and hotel. Gordon is also past Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce.
In the area of education, Gordon serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of the A+ Education Partnership and Past Chairman of Board of Trustees of the McWane Science Center. At The University of Alabama, Gordon is a member of the President’s Cabinet and serves on the Capital Campaign Committee as well as past Chairperson of the Board of the Blackburn Institute. Gordon previously served on the Board of Trustees of Huntingdon College and advisory boards at Auburn University, Auburn University Montgomery, and Birmingham-Southern College.
Gordon has played a leadership role at numerous charitable and civic organizations. He currently serves as president of the Rotary Club of Birmingham, the largest Rotary Club in the United States. He is Past Chairman of the Board and current board member of the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Leadership Alabama, and The American Village. Gordon is also Chair of the Board of Directors of the Friends of Alabama Heritage and on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of the Alabama Archives and History Foundation. He is also Past President of the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama, Alabama’s “good government” think tank. In addition to his past board service at the United Way of Central Alabama and co-chairing the Health Care Bold Goals Coalition, Gordon led the 2012 campaign, which raised more than $37.5 million, making it the 12th largest United Way campaign in the nation.
Gordon is a graduate of Leadership Alabama, Leadership Montgomery, and Leadership Shelby County. He was named Montgomery Advertiser’s Citizen of the Year in 2006 and was the recipient of the Montgomery Sunrise Rotary Club’s 2007 Commitment to Service Award.
Gordon and his wife of 30 years, Margret, have five children: Tucker, an attorney with EBSCO, Inc.; Baily, an attorney with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama; Perry, a nurse at Children’s of Alabama; Lilly, a junior at the University of Alabama; and Walker, a ninth grader at Mountain Brook Junior High School.
