Alabama Power announces leadership changes

Alabama Power Company President and CEO Mark Crosswhite has named Anthony A. “Tony” Smoke as vice president of the company’s Eastern Division. He will assume the position Aug.1, and will succeed Julia Segars, who retired July 1. Smoke currently serves as vice president of the company’s Marketing organization.

Patrick Murphy, who currently is vice president of Economic Development, will expand his responsibilities to include marketing as the new vice president of Business, Sales and Economic Development.  

“Both Tony and Patrick have proven themselves as effective leaders and bring vast experience and expertise to their organizations,” said Crosswhite. “Their contributions to our company and commitment to our communities will add great value as we continue to serve our customers and our state.”

Smoke joined Alabama Power in 1980 as a co-op student from Auburn University working in Power Delivery. He served in positions of increasing responsibility in Power Delivery and the Birmingham Division before moving into his role as vice president of Marketing in 2014.

In addition to his Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering, Smoke earned a Juris Doctor from the Birmingham School of Law and is a graduate of the 2013 class of Leadership Birmingham.

He has served as board chairman of the Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama, the Birmingham Education Foundation, the YMCA, the March of Dimes, American Red Cross, the 4 Little Girls Scholarship Foundation and the Birmingham Public Library Foundation. He currently serves on the Alabama Symphony Orchestra board.

Smoke is a member of Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church in Homewood and a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. He and his wife, Jackie, have two daughters.

The Eastern Division serves 12 counties in east Alabama.

Murphy has worked in Economic Development since joining the company in 2011. He was named vice president of the organization in 2016.

Prior to joining Alabama Power, Murphy was the senior vice president of Economic Development for the Birmingham Business Alliance, where he led economic development recruiting, business retention and expansion efforts in the seven-county Birmingham metropolitan area.

Murphy is on the board of the Economic Development Association of Alabama, the Alabama Communities of Excellence, BBVA Compass Advisory Board and the Auburn University Harbert College of Business Advisory Board. He is a member of numerous organizations, including the Birmingham Kiwanis and the Birmingham Monday Morning Quarterback Club.

He is a graduate of Auburn University and lives in Birmingham with his wife, Kerri, and their four children.

Alabama Power, a subsidiary of Atlanta-based Southern Company, (NYSE:SO), provides reliable, affordable electricity to more than 1.4 million customers across the state. To learn more, please visit www.alabamapower.com.