William J. Canary became the president and chief executive officer of the Business Council of Alabama in March 2003 after serving as president and chief executive officer of the American Trucking Associations (ATA) in Washington, D.C., which represents more than 37,000 motor carriers before all branches of government.

Since taking the helm of the BCA, Canary has been named to the boards of the Alabama Civil Justice Reform Committee, the Business Associations' Tax Coalition, the Chamber of Commerce Association of Alabama, the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama, the Alabama Association of Automobile Manufacturers, the Alabama Technology Network and the Alabama Aerospace Industry Association. He also served on the Governor's Commission on Efficiency and was one of three lobbyists selected by Gov. Bob Riley to serve on a special task force to address the skyrocketing cost of health insurance for public employees. In August 2004, the governor appointed Canary to the Unemployment Compensation Reform Committee, which recommends any needed changes to the state's unemployment compensation law to the director of the Alabama Department of Industrial Relations. He is a member of the 15th class of Leadership Alabama.

A former local elected official, Canary has an extensive background in the public policy and governmental arenas. In 1989, President George H. W. Bush appointed him to serve in the White House as special assistant to the president for intergovernmental affairs. Following his time at the White House, Canary was named chief of staff for the Republican National Committee.

Canary is a graduate of the State University College of New York at Oneonta, N.Y., and holds a juris doctorate degree from the Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center at Touro College at Huntington, N.Y. He resides in Montgomery with his wife Leura and their children, Will (1993) and Margaret (1998).