Vulcan Materials Company has added two new members to its board of directors: a former Secretary of Labor and the CEO of one of the largest energy companies in the country.
With the addition of Elaine Chao, who was the U.S. Secretary of Labor from 2001 until 2009, and Thomas Fanning, Chairman, President and CEO of Southern Company, the board of directors expands from 11 to 13 members.
Fanning and Chao will each receive directors fees and stock-based compensation for directors, and will each stand for re-election at the company's 2015 Annual Meeting of Shareholders in May.
In 2014, Vulcan Materials sold about $2 million worth of product to Southern Company, which is less than 1 percent of each company's revenues for the year.
Chao is the first Asian-American woman to be appointed to the U.S. Cabinet. She has been the President and CEO of the United Way of America, Director of the Peace Corps, and the Deputy Secretary at the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Fanning has been CEO of Southern Company since 2010 and has been at the company for more than 30 years. Southern Company owns Alabama Power, Georgia Power, Gulf Power and Mississippi Power.
Vulcan is the largest producer of construction aggregates, like gravel, sand and stone, in the United States. Vulcan Materials is a Fortune 1000 company, and is a component of the S&P 500. It's headquartered just off of I-459 in Birmingham.