Sources: Martin Marietta Materials, Raleigh, N.C.; CP staff
Longtime Chairman of the Board Stephen P. Zelnak Jr. will retire following Martin Marietta’s annual shareholders meeting, May 22, but remain a director. President and CEO C. Howard (Ward) Nye will assume the chairman’s post, completing a seamless and orderly succession process overseen by the board.
The architect of today’s Martin Marietta Materials—the second largest source of crushed stone and sand & gravel, and a growing ready mixed concrete player with the impending Texas Industries merger— Zelnak joined Bethesda, Md.-based Martin Marietta Corp. as vice president, Planning and Business Development in 1981. He was appointed president of the newly constituted Aggregates Division, located in Raleigh, N.C., the following year. In 1994, Zelnak led initial public offering of Martin Marietta Materials stock and a 1996 offering of remaining shares held by Lockheed Martin, successor to Martin Marietta Corp.—Martin Marietta Materials becoming a fully independent New York Stock Exchange-listed company.
Zelnak was named chairman of the board the next year, maintaining the chief executive officer post, and would oversee closing of 70-plus acquisitions en route to Martin Marietta eclipsing $2 billion in annual revenues. Under his leadership, Fortune magazine named the company most admired in its sector for 2006.
“Martin Marietta’s strength today is a testament to [Steve’s] vision and leadership,” says Nye. “I look forward to continuing to work closely with the board, our outstanding management team and dedicated employees as we fulfill our aim of being the world’s premier aggregates-led building materials company. With numerous indicators of increased construction activity, Martin Marietta is well positioned to capitalize on these opportunities, build on our momentum and enhance long-term shareholder value.”