For most of the last 16 years, few people in Montgomery had more say over how Alabama spent its money than Bill Poole.
As chairman of the House Education Appropriations Committee for eight years and then as state finance director since 2021, Poole helped shape budgets that grew to record levels, oversaw the distribution of more than $2 billion in federal COVID-19 relief and helped steer more than $7 billion in public bond financing, including the deal that funded the Mobile River Bridge.
Now, a week after leaving state government, Poole is going to work in the private economy he spent years trying to grow.
He announced Monday that he will join Tuscaloosa-based Harrison Construction as vice president of finance, legal and external affairs, become an operating partner with Birmingham private equity firm Accelerated Partners and form a consulting firm, Poole Growth Strategies.
“I don’t view my next chapter as leaving public service so much as changing the way I contribute,” Poole said.
Poole’s career in Montgomery was marked by a series of firsts. He was appointed to chair the education budget committee in his first House term, which the announcement describes as unprecedented, and he is believed to be the second-longest-serving finance director in state history, behind Alex Trammell in the 1960s.
His legislative record includes the 2019 Rebuild Alabama Act, which raised money for road and bridge work and supported port expansion; the Alabama Incentives Modernization Act; and the TEAMS Act, which aimed to recruit math and science teachers to rural and hard-to-staff schools. He also helped create Innovate Alabama, a public-private partnership for entrepreneurship and startup investment that, according to the announcement, has drawn more than $100 million in investment into Alabama-owned businesses. Poole plans to remain its board chairman, subject to future approvals.
His new role at Harrison returns him to a familiar client. Poole’s law office represented the company before he entered public office in 2010.
“Bill has been a trusted attorney, advisor, and friend to Harrison Construction for many years,” company President Tim Harrison said.
Founded in 1996 and licensed in 15 states, Harrison builds health care facilities, schools, industrial and office space and, increasingly, data centers and other technology-driven projects. Harrison said Poole will help the company grow its offices in Tuscaloosa and Mobile.
At Accelerated Partners, Poole will help identify and scale Southeast-based private companies. Through Poole Growth Strategies, he plans to stay involved in fiscal, education and economic development policy.
Poole said the move will also let him spend more time at home in Tuscaloosa with his wife, Niccole, and their three children.
