Alabama Power’s Leigh Davis is a Top Birmingham Women 2022 award winner

Leigh Davis, Alabama Power’s vice president of Economic and Community Development (ECD), is among a dozen women the Birmingham Business Journal has chosen as winners of its Top Birmingham Women awards for 2022.

The awards recognize Birmingham-area women who have reached the pinnacle of their industries or fields. These women also “have a long and tangible track record of results and impact in the community and their industries,” according to the business news site.

“I am honored to be named alongside so many accomplished female leaders in Birmingham,” Davis said. “Any individual accomplishment starts with having great teammates. This recognition is a testament to the impact we can all make working together for a greater purpose and reinforces the importance of continuing to grow opportunities for future leaders.”

Davis leads Alabama Power’s team responsible for economic and community development across the state. The ECD team works to foster healthy commerce in Alabama, and has helped hundreds of companies navigate the state’s economic development systems.

Before she assumed her current role, Davis was vice president for Customer Services, where she integrated critical aspects of the customer experience.

Davis was also senior vice president and deputy general counsel for Southern Company Services, where she provided counsel, administrative and operational services to all Southern Company operating divisions and Southern Nuclear. In addition, Davis has served as vice president of Charitable Giving for Alabama Power as well as president of the Alabama Power Foundation and executive director of the Alabama Business Charitable Trust Fund.

Earlier in her career as counsel in Southern Company’s Washington, D.C., office, Davis focused primarily on industry-wide environmental litigation and energy policy.

Davis holds a bachelor’s degree in commerce and business administration from the University of Alabama and a juris doctor degree from the University of Alabama School of Law. She is a graduate of the MBA program at Samford University.

As part of a global partnership with Harvard Business School and INSEAD, Davis completed a yearlong fellowship in the International Women’s Forum executive development program. She has also completed an executive education program in corporate finance at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

A native of Birmingham, Davis is president of the Kiwanis Club of Birmingham and chairs Samford University’s Board of Overseers. She also serves on the boards of the Alabama Department of Archives and History, Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama, The University of Alabama’s Culverhouse College of Business Board of Visitors, Ascension Alabama Health System, UAB’s O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, Auburn University’s Government and Economic Development Institute and the YWCA of Central Alabama.

Winners were selected from nominations received at BBJ.com. They will be recognized on Sept. 23 at the 2022 BBJ Women’s Summit at Ross Bridge in Hoover.

The morning keynote speaker at the summit is Gayle Benson, owner of the NFL’s New Orleans Saints, NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans and the Birmingham Squadron, the Pelicans’ G League team. For more information about the summit, including the full speaker lineup and registration details, click here.