John McMahon | Chairman | Ligon Industries
McMahon is the blueprint for how to be a major behind-the-scenes power player in Alabama politics.
In the mid-90s, he and a small group of business leaders decided it was time to get more engaged in Alabama politics — from issues in the legislature to judicial races. Karl Rove might get most of the credit for flipping Alabama’s courts from Democratic to Republican, by John McMahon was the invisible hand pushing the effort along. An excerpt from our 2012 version of this list really sums it up:
Opponents have called him “the dark overlord” of Alabama judicial races. In truth, only a handful of people truly know how influential he has been. Alabama’s courts went from being trial lawyer driven to business friendly — you can thank McMahon for that.
He’s a giant in the Alabama business community, serving on the board of directors of Protective Life Insurance Corporation, ProAssurance Corporation, National Bank of Commerce, Cooper/T. Smith Corporation and UAB Health Systems. And his influence is expanded further by his position on the Board of Trustees of both the University of Alabama and Birmingham-Southern College.
McMahon is one of a handful of Alabama business leaders who could climb up this list at a moment’s notice if he got extremely engaged on an issue.
