About Us
The Birmingham Metropolitan Development Board (MDB) is the lead economic marketing and business recruitment entity for the seven county Birmingham – Hoover Metropolitan area. MDB is a private, nonprofit organization governed by a 67-member board of directors and was formed by a group of area business leaders in 1971.
The Board has always included high-level representatives of business, education and government from throughout the area. The roster of those who have chaired MDB during the past twenty years reads like a who's who of Birmingham commerce. John Woods of AmSouth Bank (Regions), Harry Brock of Central Bank (Compass), Emil Hess of Parisian, Inc., James C. Lee, Jr. of Buffalo Rock Co., Carlton Baker of South Central Bell (AT&T), Michael Warren of Energen, and Mike Garrett of Alabama Power Company are among area leaders who have made economic development a top priority.
MDB fulfills its mission of attraction and placement of new business and investment in the Birmingham area in a number of ways, concentrating primarily upon four areas: direct solicitation of targeted industries in targeted international and domestic markets, public relations, promotion of industrial parks and sites development and customized economic research.