John Hudson III

John Hudson is president and CEO of Nicor Gas, the largest natural gas distribution company in the state of Illinois, providing clean, safe, reliable and affordable natural gas to more than 2.2 million homes and businesses in over 650 northern Illinois communities.

Hudson also serves as an executive vice president of Southern Company Gas, a subsidiary of Southern Company, where he maintains responsibility over Corporate Market Strategy and serving as a member of the Southern Company Gas Management Council. Before assuming his current role, Hudson served as executive vice president and chief external and public affairs officer at Southern Company Gas where hee oversaw the external and regulatory affairs, customer operations, corporate communications, marketing, community relations, charitable foundation, economic development and environmental affairs functions.

Prior to joining Southern Company Gas, Hudson served as senior vice president of marketing and business development at Alabama Power, where he was responsible for the company’s marketing, economic development, business development and corporate entrepreneurship functions, as well as customer service centers in Birmingham and Montgomery. Previously he served as the chief executive of the Alabama Power Foundation and as vice president of public relations and charitable giving. Hudson joined Alabama Power in 1996 and held positions of increasing responsibility, most notably serving as assistant to the company’s president and CEO and as area manager for the Birmingham division. Hudson left Alabama Power in 2006 to serve as senior vice president of corporate diversity and public affairs at Regions Financial Corporation, where he continues to serve as chairman of the organization’s Diversity Advisory Council. During this time, he also founded The Hudson Group, a public policy consulting firm, where he practiced law and served as president and chairman. He returned to Alabama Power in 2010.

As part of his long-term commitment to entrepreneurship and philanthropy, Hudson serves as chairman of the board of directors of Bronze Valley Corporation, which he launched to expand the entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem among people of color in the technology industry. For his work in this area of philanthropy, innovation and entrepreneurship, he was selected for the prestigious Aspen Institute Ascend Fellowship, which brings together an exclusive group of diverse leaders across the United States to work on breakthrough ideas to build economic security for families across America.

Hudson is a licensed attorney who received a bachelor’s degree in political science from Alabama A&M University and is a cum laude graduate of Miles College School of Law. He also completed the Executive Accounting and Finance Program at Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and the Young American Leaders Program at Harvard Business School.

Hudson and his wife reside in Chicago, IL.