One of the largest construction companies in the Springfield area has changed up its leadership team.
Killian Construction Co. President John Ghirardelli has left the business after five years, and CEO Bill Killian has assumed the role, according to a company statement issued to Springfield Business Journal.
Killian, who held the president position for 20 years before Ghirardelli took the post in 2008, declined an interview for this story.
In a separate move, former Jack Henry & Associates Inc. President Terry Thompson has taken an executive position with the construction firm.
Thompson was named director of finance with Killian earlier this month, after working as a consultant for the company since December, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Thompson served as president of Monett-based banking software firm Jack Henry & Associates Inc. (Nasdaq: JKHY) 2000–03, before he retired and was succeeded by current president Jack Prim. Thompson began working for Jack Henry as chief financial officer in 1990, according to a 2002 company news release. For the last nine years, Thompson has been an investor and served as an outside director for some of the companies in which he’s invested, according to the profile. Calls to Thompson were not returned.
Notable projectsGhirardelli joined Killian Construction in 2008 with more than 30 years of industry experience, according to KillCo.com. Calls to Ghirardelli at his home were not returned by press time.
During his tenure, the company completed several notable projects, including:
- the $10 million, 125-room Hilton Garden Inn on East Republic Road;
- the $10 million, 60,000-square-foot Assemblies of God Financial Solutions building in Chesterfield Village;
- the $12 million, 65,000-square-foot O’Reilly Family Events Center at Drury University; and
- the $5.6 million, 13,000-square-foot addition to Ramada Oasis Convention Center.
Killian Construction’s current project list includes the $22 million mixed-use community Farmers Park, centered around Farmers Market of the Ozarks.
Board rolesIn February, Ghirardelli was elected chairman of the board for Springfield-based stainless steel manufacturer Paul Mueller Co. (OTC: MUEL). He also currently serves on the Metropolitan National Bank Board of Directors.
Paul Mueller Co. President and CEO David Moore said Ghirardelli had been in contact with Moore and other board members to tell them he would remain chairman of the Mueller Co. board, but Moore said he didn’t know the details behind Ghirardelli’s departure.
“We didn’t discuss anything specific about his relationship with Killian,” Moore said.
Michal Moss Early, business development and marketing officer at Metropolitan National Bank, also confirmed that Ghirardelli was still a board member.
Economic times were turbulent in the construction industry during Ghirardelli’s tenure with Killian Construction, but company revenues had bounced back in 2011 after significant drops in business for two years in a row, according to SBJ list research.
In 2011, the firm garnered $103 million in revenues, up 172 percent from $37.8 million in 2010. In 2009, the company posted $88.6 million in revenue, which was down 43 percent from 2008 revenues of $156 million.
The industry at large might be swinging upward, too.
The U.S. construction industry unemployment rate fell to 13.2 percent in April, according to Associated Builders and Contractors Inc., a national trade association representing roughly 22,000 firms. The unemployment rate was 14.7 percent in March, and 14.5 percent in April 2012.[[In-content Ad]]
