The following biographical sketch was updated in September 2011.
Wallace R. Bunn was a native of North Carolina. Until his retirement, he was Chief Executive Officer of BellSouth
Corp., the successor company to South Central Bell and Southern Bell.
His success in the field of communications was accomplished without the benefit of a formal college education. He rose
from a telephone coin collector to the highest position his company could offer. His entire personal business career was in the communications field, with the exception of the time from October, 1943, to March, 1946, he spent in the United
States Coast Guard.
As Mr. Bunn rose in the area of economic endeavor, his activities were also attuned to the opportunity for civic, cultural
and religious responsibilities. He was a member of the Birmingham Rotary Club, on the executive board of the Birmingham
Council of the Boy Scouts of America; director and member of the executive committee of the Hall of Fame Bowl in
Birmingham, and a director of the Jefferson Club in Birmingham. He was a member of the Mountain Brook Baptist Church.
As Mr. Bunn was assigned more and more duties and responsibilities in the Bell System, other fields of activities
were attracted by his ability, energy, and personality. Among the directorates he accepted, other than his own company,
were: First National Bank of Birmingham, Saunders Leasing System, Provident Life and Accident Insurance Company, Holiday Inn, Inc.,
Birmingham Area Chamber of Commerce, Eye Foundation Hospital, and Southern Research Institute.
Mr. Bunn believed that, for one to be truly successful, one must give more than is expected of that individual.
In December, 1942, he married Margaret Seeger, and they are the parents of two sons: Rodney and Russell.
