Vulcan Materials name new president and CEO

Thomas Hill elected to board and succeeds Donald James who assumes the role of executive chairman

VULCAN Materials Company, the largest producer of construction aggregates in the US, have named Thomas Hill as president and chief executive officer and elected him to the board of directors. Mr Hill, the company’s former executive vice-president and chief operating officer, succeeds Donald James who will assume the role of executive chairman.

‘Having successfully navigated the worst downturn in our industry’s history, now is the right time to put in place our new leadership team, led by Tom, to guide the company and expand our market leadership in the industry,’ said Donald James. ‘Tom has been a tremendous asset to our company over the years, particularly as we successfully enhanced Vulcan’s profitability and financial strength during the market downturn and positioned the company for strong performance during the recovery.

‘Tom is a proven leader with vast operational and industry experience and superlative management skills. He is the right person at the right time to lead our company forward in its next phase of growth. Given his strong track record at Vulcan, deep understanding of our organization and close relationship with the management team, we are confident that Tom will transition seamlessly into this new role.’

Douglas J. McGregor, the company’s lead director, said: ‘On behalf of the board, I want to thank Don [James] for his invaluable contributions to the company as CEO over the years, and in particular for his role in enhancing Vulcan’s financial strength and strategic focus during the economic recession and downturn in the construction industry.

‘Today, thanks in large part to Don’s leadership, Vulcan is extremely well positioned to benefit from the construction market recovery and to deliver value over the long term. Under Don’s leadership, first as president and then CEO, Vulcan Materials’ enterprise value has grown from US$2 billion to US$10 billion, its permitted reserves base has doubled from 7.5 billion tons to more than 15 billion tons today, and the aggregates facilities it operates have increased from 122 to 327.’