Jesse Hill is the retired Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Atlanta Life Insurance Company. Mr. Hill joined Atlanta Life in 1949. Before becoming Chief Executive, he served as Assistant Actuary and Vice President Chief Actuary. During his tenure as Chief Executive (1973-1994), Atlanta Life attained its highest level of growth in shareholder value, profits, revenues and assets.
The company became nationally recognized for its financial and staff volunteer support of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the civil rights movement. Mrs. Rosa Parks, civil rights legend, was once employed as the secretary of the Atlanta Life sales office in Montgomery, Alabama. In addition, Atlanta Life is credited with playing a key role in breaking of hte bottleneck in home mortgage financing at fair interest rates for blacks in the City of Atlanta, the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Texas.
Mr. Hill has compiled a long list of "door opening firsts" for African American. Dr. James Duderstat, President of the University of Michigan in presenting an honorary degree to Hill, a few years ago stated: "For decades, Jesse Hill has used his business expertise and management skills to influence a broad range of business, educational, civic and political interests in Atlanta, the state of Georgia and the nation. He has occupied a prominent place on all fronts of the civil rights movement since the mid-1950s, when he was the driving force behind the highly successful voter registration campaigns in Atlanta. He has broken racial barriers in the insurance industry, in corporate boardrooms, in the chambers of commerce, served effectively as a innovative leader in corporate, political and philanthropic communities."
Mr. Hill has served on the board of directors of eight corporations including Delta Airlines, Knight Ridder Inc, SunTrust (Trust Company of Georgia) and NSI. He served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the King Center for 15 years. In 1977 elected President of the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, the first black to hold such a position in a major American City. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Mr. Hill attended the public schools of St. Louis and graduated with honors from Lincoln University in Missouri in 1974, earning a B.S. in mathematics and physics. In 1949, he received a Master's of Business Administration degree from the University of Michigan.
Married to the former Azira Gonzalez, his wife of 46 years, the Hills have two daughters, Nancy Cooke and Azira Kendall, and six grandchildren.
