Description

The Chamber's monthly business luncheon provides an excellent opportunity for attendees to showcase their businesses, promote products, and let others know how you can serve their business needs, all while enjoying a delicious lunch, prepared by a local caterer and a spectacular speaker!

Speaker: Christy Taylor with Austal USA

As the Austal USA Chief Operating Officer for Transformation, Christy Taylor oversees Human Resources, Production Control, IT and Supply Chain Management operations in addition to other business integration, leadership, and strategy roles, which are critical to the success of our ship construction and service businesses. Her focus is developing and integrating companywide system and process synergies across these functions to ensure we are aligned in pursuit of our strategic goals.

Taylor is a seasoned and forward thinking senior financial professional with more than 25 years of progressive experience in finance and operations management. Since joining Austal USA in 2007, she has successfully developed and negotiated rates, effectively managed costs and developed strong partnerships to deliver on other contractual requirements with the United States government. Her proven ability to formulate and implement financial strategies as well as organizational policies and programs optimize company performance and shareholder value.

Taylor holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Georgia State University and a master’s degree in accounting from Central Florida University. She is a licensed CPA in the states of Alabama and Florida as well as a Chartered Global Management Accountant and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (CPAs), the Alabama Society of CPAs, and the University of South Alabama Accounting Advisory Board.

Taylor is a key member of the Austal USA Leadership team, a coach and mentor to many leaders as well as an ambassador of Austal USA’s culture and values.

About Austal

Austal USA is a ship manufacturer headquartered in Mobile, Ala., with service centers in San Diego and Singapore and a technology center in Charlottesville, Va. With the most modern steel panel line in the shipbuilding industry, Austal USA manufactures both aluminum and steel ships. Austal USA leverages a moving module production line and strict adherence to lean manufacturing principles to consistently deliver on-schedule and on-budget. Austal USA is under contract for several programs, including the U.S. Coast Guard’s Heritage-class Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC), and the U.S. Navy TAGOS-25 ocean surveillance ship, Landing Craft Utility (LCU) vessel, Spearhead-class Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF), Navajo-class Towing, Salvage and Rescue ship (T-ATS), Expeditionary Medical Ship (EMS), Auxiliary Floating Dry Dock Medium (AFDM), and Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) programs. Austal USA also supports Navy unmanned vessel programs leveraging its advanced autonomous machinery control system. Austal USA’s service business provides global support to U.S. Navy, Military Sealift Command and other customers. Austal USA’s San Diego Service Center includes a waterfront facility that has the capability to drydock small combatants and similar sized ships. Earning 23 safety excellence awards, Austal USA continues to be one of the safest shipyards in America.

Sponsor: Mobile County Sheriff's Office

The Mobile County Sheriff’s Office is the second largest in the state, with a staff of over 600 serving more than 400,000 citizens across an area of some 1,200 square miles.

The Sheriff’s Office serves through four divisions: administrative services, field operations, support services and correction. Our correction division which operates the Mobile Metro Jail, has an average daily population of some 1500. In order to best fight crime while saving taxpayers millions of dollars, the Sheriff’s Office also administers a 325-bed minimum security barracks that houses prisoners who are put to work in order to earn their keep.

The fight against crime requires constant updates of technology, from text-based citizen reporting methods to Smart Policing. This concept utilizes crime analysis in order to identify trends and crime “hot spots” in order to best allocate resources.

Business of the Month: D'Michaels

This a great place if you want to enjoy a great cheesesteak, pizza, gyro, burger, and many more items! You won't find a more friendly place to eat, and a more friendly store owner than Fred Heierbacher. It was Fred's dream to open up a great place serving the foods he grew up eating as a child and young adult. D'Micheals has been a great success, and if you do not believe it, come find out for yourself!

Caterer: Grand Catering