The Alabama Power Company Board of Directors has elected James W. Wright, chairman and chief executive officer of First Tuskegee Bank, as a member of the Board.

"James Wright's outstanding record of personal and professional achievements will serve us well as we continue our pursuit of excellence in business and our commitment to leadership in the community," said Elmer Harris, President and CEO of Alabama Power.

In 1991, Wright purchased Tuskegee Federal Savings & Loan, which opened its doors on the campus of historic Tuskegee Institute, now, Tuskegee University, in 1895. Through his leadership, the bank has more than doubled its assets, and expanded to two Montgomery locations. The bank is the oldest minority-owned, continuously operating financial institution in the United States.

Previously, Wright served as president and chief executive officer of Beneficial National Bank, a subsidiary of Beneficial Corporation, in Wilmington, Delaware, where the company's growth in assets was nearly ten-fold in a ten-year period. Previous to that, he served in numerous positions of increasing responsibility in the banking industry with the Delaware Trust Company and Girard Trust, the predecessor to Mellon Bank.

Wright is a graduate of Lincoln University in Oxford, Pennsylvania and holds a Bachelor's Degree in both History and Economics.

Wright serves on the Board of Directors of the Business Council of Alabama, the Tuskegee Area Chamber of Commerce, Birthright, Incorporated, the Tuskegee Area and Montgomery Metro YMCA, and the Boy Scouts of America. Wright is a native of Wilmington, Delaware and he and his wife, Karen, have three adult children.

SOURCE: Alabama Power