Hoar Construction has announced the promotion of Jason Bennett and Brady Johnson to region presidents, a move that creates new roles to strengthen leadership in key markets, including Nashville, Chattanooga, D.C., Austin, Houston and North Texas. In these positions, Mr. Bennett and Mr. Johnson will each oversee operations and business development initiatives across several divisions, working to recruit and develop talent while ensuring client expectations are met. Together, the two leaders have spent 52 years with the company.
“As our company has grown over the past several years, we realized we need people to take on larger leadership roles to continue to drive our culture, build strong client relationships, and maintain our high standards for safety and quality across the business,” said Turner Burton, president of Hoar Construction. “Both Brady and Jason have been with the company for decades, live our core values, and the successes they’ve had in Houston and Nashville are clear indicators of how they’ll continue to lead our regions with consistency and determination. I couldn’t be more proud of both of their accomplishments and am excited about the future in their hands.”
Mr. Bennett started at Hoar in 2000 as a project engineer in the company’s Birmingham office headquarters before moving to its Nashville division, where he worked heavily within the healthcare industry. In the Nashville office, Mr. Bennett oversees 100 employees and multiple sectors including multifamily and higher education. As region president, he will oversee the additional markets of Chattanooga and Washington D.C., with the goal of expanding the employee base and portfolio of projects in those offices.
“I’ve devoted my career to growing Hoar’s people and culture in Tennessee, and I’m eager to continue this legacy in our D.C. market, which has seen tremendous growth and opportunity in recent years,” said Mr. Bennett. “Our company’s growth strategy is built around its people, and my focus will be on cultivating a place of work where people truly feel championed to put their best foot forward for each other and our clients.
“Hoar has strong project momentum in all three of these regions, and I am looking to bolster the operational efficiencies and consistencies across the board when it comes to client experience. We want all divisions to continue feeling like one holistic company operating together, providing the same world-class service that is offered in the other divisions across the country."
Mr. Johnson began his career at Hoar in 1998 after earning a degree in construction science from Texas A&M University. He started in the field as an assistant superintendent before becoming a general superintendent in the Birmingham office. In 2013, he moved to Texas to oversee operations in Hoar’s Texas divisions, which includes Austin, Houston and North Texas and was named regional vice president in 2023. As the region president of these divisions, Mr. Johnson will continue to provide key leadership responsibilities and oversee daily operations, employee recruitment and retention and client experience for the three offices.
“After building an impactful career at Hoar, I’m honored to begin my next chapter in a position that allows me to help shape and foster Hoar’s sense of culture,” said Mr. Johnson. “I’m an operations person at heart, and as a Texas native I’m passionate about the people and work we do in the state. My goal in this position is to continue strengthening Hoar as a workplace where people want to stay and grow, while not losing sight of Hoar’s ultimate mission to deliver exceptional projects for our clients.
“The Texas construction market is competitive, and the higher education and healthcare sectors continue to dominate in the project space. The outlook for the state is strong, and we’re eager to keep working hard towards growing our portfolio into new market sectors."
This year marks the 85th anniversary of Hoar. Since 1940, Hoar has grown into one of the most prolific general contractors in the country, now consisting of 10 divisions with work in over nine sectors. Additional geographic markets within the company include Birmingham, Atlanta, Charlotte, Orlando and Tampa. Over the past five years, Hoar’s revenue has more than doubled as it has continued to expand in the markets covered and projects completed. Hoar opened its North Texas division in 2022, and most recently opened a larger, formal office in Chattanooga in 2023.