Seth Hammett, PowerSouth Energy Vice President for Business Development and former Speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives, was elected chairman of the Leadership Alabama Board of Directors. Hammett recently served as Leadership Alabama’s vice chairman and began his one-year term as chairman on July 1. Hammett also serves as chairman of the Energy Institute of Alabama and is an inductee of the Alabama Academy of Honor. He was named Speaker Emeritus of the Alabama House of Representatives upon his retirement from the House in 2010 after serving 12 years as Speaker. He was a member of the House for 32 years representing Covington County.

Most recently, Hammett served as chief of staff for Gov. Robert Bentley and also served in the Bentley administration as Director of the Alabama Development Office, now the Alabama Department of Commerce.

Leadership Alabama each year brings together a class of 50 to 60 participants for a series of issues-oriented forums based on the belief that knowledge is a key element and prime motivator of leadership. Class members seek to invent solutions to the challenges that define the future of our state.

Since the organization’s founding in 1990, more than 1,000 citizen leaders in Alabama have participated in the Leadership Alabama program.