Bentley Taps Hammett to Head ADO

Gov.-elect Robert J. Bentley has named former Speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives Seth Hammett as Director of the Alabama Development Office (ADO). Hammett is currently vice president of business development for PowerSouth Energy Cooperative headquartered in Andalusia, Alabama.

Hammett, a Democrat from Andalusia, served 32 years in the Alabama House of Representatives, the last 12 years as Speaker, elected by members of the House.

“Seth Hammett has played a key role in every major economic development project in Alabama in the past 20 years including Honda, Hyundai, ThyssenKrupp and the EADS Tanker Project,” Bentley said in a Monday press release. “Not only does he know economic development, he has the leadership skills and experience to keep Alabama at the forefront in attracting new business and helping our existing businesses grow and prosper."

Hammett was a founder and served as the first president of the First National Bank of Andalusia, now Wells Fargo, and was president of Lurleen B. Wallace Community College in Andalusia. In 2004, he joined PowerSouth Energy, a generation and transmission cooperative providing wholesale electricity in central and south Alabama and northwest Florida, as director of economic development. Hammett will serve as a loaned executive during his tenure at ADO.

He is a native of Covington County, Alabama and holds bachelors and masters degrees from Auburn University.

During his legislative career, Hammett received numerous awards including Legislator of the Year, Visionary Leadership Award, Meritorious Service Award and Guardian of Small Business Award. He is past chair of the 16-state Southern Legislative Conference, past president of the National Speakers Conference and is a member of the Coastal Recovery Commission of Alabama.

He and his wife, Nancy, live in Andalusia and have two adult children and two grandchildren.

-- posted by Markeshia Ricks