Ellen McNair began her tenure as Secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce on Jan. 1, 2024, having been appointed by Governor Kay Ivey.
McNair formerly served as the chief economic development officer for the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce, where she was a member of the negotiating team that brought Hyundai Motors Corp. to Montgomery. While at the Chamber, she successfully located 600 national and international projects with a combined capital investment exceeding $8 billion, resulting in the creation of almost 30,000 new jobs for the community. The Montgomery Chamber’s Corporate Development Division was named a Top 20 Economic Development Organizations in the U.S. by “Site Selection” magazine four times during her tenure.
She holds the designation of Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) by the International Economic Development Council, making her one of a handful of economic development professionals in Alabama with this designation. McNair has previously worked for the Alabama Department of Commerce as project manager and as director of research. She is a graduate of the Economic Development Institute at the University of Oklahoma. Earlier, McNair had worked in television news in Huntsville. She is a graduate of Auburn University and a native of Boston.
McNair is a past president of the Economic Development Association of Alabama (EDAA) and an active member of the International Economic Development Council (IEDC). She is a recipient of the David R. Echols Distinguished Service Award for exemplary achievement in economic development in Alabama. She is active in her church and many civic organizations.
McNair is the first woman to be named as Secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce, the first woman CEcD in Alabama, the first woman president of EDAA and the first woman to lead a major metro area’s economic development effort in Alabama.
She is married to Joe McNair, and they have two children and six grandchildren.
Ed Castile was appointed Director of Alabama Industrial Development Training on August 16, 1993. He is a former director of the State of Tennessee Industrial Training Service.
He currently serves on the Governor’s College and Career Ready Task Force, the State Workforce Investment Act Board, the Board of Directors for the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama Foundation, the Economic Development Association of Alabama Board of Directors, the Alabama Career/Technical Education Advisory Council, the Commission on Manufacturing, the UAB Biotechnology Advisory Board, and the Governor’s Economic Alliance. He is the in-coming president of the National Association of Industry Specific Training Directors.
Mr. Castile earned a Masters of Vocational Technical Education degree and a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Studies Education degree from the Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
Erika McKay serves as the Deputy Secretary and General Counsel of the Alabama Department of Commerce, Business Development Division. She joined the Department as General Counsel in April 2021, following her tenure as Chief Deputy General Counsel in the Office of Governor Kay Ivey.
In her current role, McKay plays a critical part in shaping Alabama’s economic development strategy. She oversees the award of state incentives, as well as the drafting and implementation of key economic development legislation, including the Alabama Jobs Act, Growing Alabama Act, SEEDS Act, and the recently enacted Alabama Development Fund and the Powering Growth Act.
McKay is an active member of the Alabama State Bar, local bar associations, and multiple economic development organizations, where she contributes her legal expertise and policy insight.
She earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Alabama School of Law and holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and international studies from the University of Alabama. Erika is married to Chris, and they have one daughter.
Erika McKay serves as the Deputy Secretary and General Counsel of the Alabama Department of Commerce, Business Development Division. She joined the Department as General Counsel in April 2021, following her tenure as Chief Deputy General Counsel in the Office of Governor Kay Ivey.
In her current role, McKay plays a critical part in shaping Alabama’s economic development strategy. She oversees the award of state incentives, as well as the drafting and implementation of key economic development legislation, including the Alabama Jobs Act, Growing Alabama Act, SEEDS Act, and the recently enacted Alabama Development Fund and the Powering Growth Act.
McKay is an active member of the Alabama State Bar, local bar associations, and multiple economic development organizations, where she contributes her legal expertise and policy insight.
She earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Alabama School of Law and holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and international studies from the University of Alabama. Erika is married to Chris, and they have one daughter.
Eddie Postell and the Small Business Office of Advocacy foster the growth of Alabama’s small operations by giving them a variety of assistance. The office provides information to businesses, and the needs and concerns of small-business owners are regularly addressed. Working closely with the Small Business Development Consortium, the agency’s Small Business Office is working in coordination with the consortium’s 11 Small Business Development Centers at universities throughout the state and jointly publishes Alabamas Answers, a guide to doing business in Alabama.
The department also participates in joint efforts with ADECA’s Office of Minority Business Enterprise, as well as other groups around the state involved in the development of small business.
Ms. Faulk and her staff in the Alabama Film Office are tasked with recruiting film, television and entertainment production to the State of Alabama. This office has seen tremendous growth since the passage of the “Entertainment Incentives Act” by the legislature in 2009.
Ms. Faulk was instrumental in passage of this legislation and was appointed to lead the Film Office. She spent over twenty years working in the Governor’s Office under four Governors. Ms. Faulk said that working for the Film Office has been the biggest and most rewarding challenge of her 38 years of state service.
Since joining the staff, the Alabama Film Office has implemented a successful incentives program that is gathering national attention. In April 2013, two feature films were released in the same month; a first for the Film Office. Numerous feature films such as “October Baby”, “42”, “Space Warriors” have filmed in Alabama, along with countless commercials, reality shows, documentaries and music videos.
Prior to working in the Film Office and the Governor’s Office, Ms. Faulk also worked in the state departments of Finance and Human Resources.
