Skip to content

Henry C. Goodrich

Henry Goodrich

Henry C. Goodrich

Chairman, Richgood Corporation

Education

  • B.S. 1942, Civil Engineering, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Henry Goodrich began his engineering career with Rust Engineering Company in Birmingham, Alabama, where his responsibilities included design, construction, and management. In 1967, Goodrich left Rust Engineering and became chairman and chief executive officer of Inland Container Corporation and chairman of Inland’s major mill operation, Georgia Kraft, in Rome, Georgia. During his tenure, Inland grew and spread to the West Coast and Puerto Rico and built the first modern recycling mills. In 1979, Goodrich initiated and completed a merger of Inland with Time, Inc. Following the merger, he returned to Birmingham to become chairman and CEO of Southern Natural Gas Company, the largest natural gas company in the South. He led a major transformation of the company under a new name, SONAT, Inc., before retiring in 1985.

After retiring from SONAT, Goodrich served as chairman of Richgood, a venture capital and investment company that he had incorporated in 1972. Richgood makes investments in biotechnology, health care, technology, and financial services, primarily in Alabama. Also in 1972, he and two partners put up the initial funding for BE&K, Inc., now one of the largest engineering and construction companies in the United States.

While with Inland in 1975, Goodrich was named Papermaker of the Year by Pulp and Paper magazine. In 1981, while with SONAT, he was named Best Chief Executive in the Gas Industry. In 1986, he was selected as one of 12 Outstanding Scientists and Engineers from the state of Tennessee and was placed in the Alabama Academy of Honor. Additionally, Goodrich was inducted into the Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame in 1991 and both the Alabama Business and Birmingham Business Halls of Fame in 2000. Goodrich also received honorary doctorates from Butler University, Marion College, Birmingham-Southern College, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). For his civic involvement, Mr. Goodrich was awarded with the Silver Beaver Award by the Boy Scouts of America in 1987.

Goodrich was a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers and a member of the Newcomen Society, the oldest society devoted to the study of the history of engineering and technology. Until his passing in 2011, he was an emeritus member of the University of Tennessee Development Council and a senior director of the UAB Research Foundation. He was a registered Professional Engineer in 12 states.