Killian Construction president vacates post

An executive assistant with Killian Construction Co. confirmed that five-year President John Ghirardelli has left the company and former Jack Henry & Associates Inc. President Terry Thompson has taken an executive position with the firm.

Calls to Thompson, and Ghirardelli at his home, were not returned by deadline. Company CEO Bill Killian was unavailable for comment. It is unclear whether Ghirardelli's successor has been named.

According to Thompson’s LinkedIn social media profile, he became director of finance with Killian this month after serving as a consultant for the company since December. Thompson served as president of Monett-based banking software firm Jack Henry & Associates (Nasdaq: JKHY) from 2000 to 2003 before he retired and was succeeded by current president Jack Primm. 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.

Ghirardelli joined Killian Construction in 2008 with more than 30 years of industry experience, according to KillCo.com. During his tenure, the company completed at least two notable, multimillion-dollar projects in Springfield: the 125-room Hilton Garden Inn on East Republic Road and the 60,000-square-foot Assemblies of God Financial Solutions building at Chesterfield Village. In February, Ghirardelli was elected chairman of the board for Springfield-based stainless steel manufacturer Paul Mueller Co. (OTC: MUEL). He also serves on the Metropolitan National Bank Board of Directors.

Times have been turbulent for Killian Construction under Ghirardelli, but company revenues had bounced back in 2011 after significant drops in business for two years in a row, according to Springfield Business Journal 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.