Alabama Honda executive receives prestigious leadership award

Employees celebrate as the first new Honda Pilot is rolled off the line

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The Business Council of Alabama presented Honda Manufacturing of Alabama general counsel Raymond W. Perez with the BCA Distinguished Service and Leadership Award at a reception in Birmingham on Tuesday.

Perez, a board member of both the BCA and the BCA’s Manufacturing Advisory Council, is a longtime friend of the business community who has been with Honda since 1991 and in Alabama since the Talladega County plant’s birth in 2000.

“Ray has been a dedicated member of our board of directors and due to his intimate knowledge of the manufacturing business, an important addition to our Manufacturing Advisory Council,” BCA President and CEO William J. Canary said. “We thank Ray for his service to the business community and wish him well in his new role at Honda North America.”

Perez is moving to Honda’s North American Operation Offices in Marysville, Ohio, on Aug. 1, as chief audit executive for the North American Region. His division is responsible for financial and operational auditing of all Honda companies, such as sales, manufacturing, and research and development, as well as certain related supplier companies in North America.

Perez looked forward to the next step in his career and took a look back at his 15 years in Alabama.

“It’s a bitter sweet moment because I truly enjoyed my time working in Alabama, working with the business community and watching our operation grow,” Perez said.

He said he appreciated the recognition that came with the award that signifies business excellence. “I’ve always been impressed by the BCA’s commitment to the state of Alabama and to improving the business community for the state’s betterment,” Perez said.

Besides serving as general counsel, Perez also is the division manager of legal and corporate services for Honda Manufacturing of Alabama LLC.

As general counsel, Perez is responsible for managing all aspects of the legal issues facing HMA. And he directs the Facilities Department and the Corporate Affairs and Communication Department. He is responsible for all of the facility maintenance and environmental compliance at HMA and with Corporate Affairs, is responsible for governmental relations, community relations, media relations, and internal communications.

Alabama’s Honda operations have celebrated several achievements this year, as they unveiled the all-new Honda Pilot in May, and a new $71.4 million engine assembly facility so advanced that its 250 workers and 92 robots can turn out 1,500 V-6 engines per day, in April.

Past winners of BCA’s Distinguished Service and Leadership Award include former Gov. Bob Riley, former Labor Commissioner Tom Surtees, former Alabama Superintendent of Education Dr. Joe Morton, and former Vulcan, Inc. President and CEO Robert W. “Bubba” Lee.