Greg Canfield serves as Managing Director of Economic Development at Burr & Forman. In this role, he works closely with the firm’s Economic Development Team, which includes lawyers across five states. The team handles economic development matters regarding site selection, incentive negotiation & implementation, choice of entity & tax structure, construction, real estate, environmental permitting, contraction negotiations, and government relations.

Prior to joining Burr & Forman, Canfield served as Secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce for over 12 years. In this role, he provided consistent leadership for a statewide team of economic development professionals while helping to shape a strategic vision for sustainable economic growth and meaningful job creation across Alabama. Canfield had broad responsibility for directing business recruitment and expansion activity, expanding export opportunities for Alabama companies, improving workforce development initiatives, enhancing small business growth, and providing avenues for job creation in the film and entertainment industry. During Canfield’s tenure, industry publications repeatedly honored Alabama for economic development success. Under Greg’s leadership the State of Alabama attracted projects involving over $76 billion in new private sector capital investment and more than 188,000 jobs.

Canfield worked with high-performing companies such as Mercedes-Benz, Mazda Toyota Manufacturing, Google, Amazon, Boeing, Airbus, Blue Origin, Hyundai, Honda, GE Aviation, Polaris, Novelis and many others. Canfield also spearheaded a successful effort to overhaul the state’s incentives platform to make it more fiscally responsible, effective and sustainable over time and he is responsible for launching a new statewide brand under the Made in Alabama logo in 2013. His efforts resulted in his being recognized into the Southern Automotive Manufacturer’s Alliance Hall of Fame, the Alabama Automotive Manufacturers’ Hall of Fame and was the recipient of the Alabama Germany Partnership’s Rainer Bauer Award in 2021. In December 2024, Greg was awarded Japan’s prestigious Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette in recognition of his service contributing to promoting regional economic exchanges and mutual understanding between Japan and the United States.

Because of extensive international travel, Canfield has developed a diverse range of high-level business contacts around the globe. As Commerce Secretary, he led Alabama delegations on 30 trade missions to locations around the world, helping to drive export growth. During his tenure he led 12 business missions to Japan alone. With Canfield’s leadership, Alabama set export records in 2017, 2022 and 2023.

Canfield graduated from Huffman High School in Birmingham and attended the University of Alabama and UAB, where he earned a finance degree in 1983. He began a career in sales with Purolator Corp., a Fortune 500 company. At Purolator he advanced his career serving as Area Manager for South Carolina, Southeastern Regional Sales Manager for the four-state region located in Memphis, TN before becoming Regional Administration Manager with responsibility for the region’s budgetary process.

Canfield later served as a National Account Manager for Transus Freight Systems, overseeing the company’s markets along the U.S. Eastern seaboard from Alabama to New Jersey.

Canfield entered the insurance and financial services field in 1990. Three years later, he opened his own business, marketing insurance services to businesses and individuals. He sold Canfield Insurance & Financial Services Inc. in 2008 and joined J.H. Berry Insurance in Birmingham.

As president of the Vestavia Hills Chamber of Commerce, Canfield launched the organization’s Business Development Committee, which promoted the community for commercial investment. In 2000, while serving as President of the Vestavia Hills City Council, he was instrumental in the development of Vestavia’s first long-range economic development and land use plan.

Canfield was elected to the Alabama House of Representatives in 2006, serving for nearly five years. He is the author of the Rolling Reserve Budget Act, which improved the education budget process in an effort to establish reserves and prevent education proration. Canfield also served as chairman of the House’s Commerce & Small Business Committee.

He has been married to his wife Denise since April 1983, and they are the parents of Rachel Canfield Young and John Canfield and grandparents to James and Abby Young.