For John A. Caddell, the old saying that “what goes around, comes around” has a special meaning.
John A. Caddell, 82, of Montgomery, was President and Chief Executive Officer at Blount Construction where he was responsible for some of the largest and most challenging projects in the world and led the company to international prominence.
After 31 years at Blount and at the height of the company’s success, Chairman and CEO Winton M. “Red” Blount suddenly asked Caddell, then age 52, to leave the company. Most believed that this was to make room at the top for his son. Under no obligation, Blount extended to Caddell full salary and benefits for five years. Caddell left Blount, but within a matter of weeks founded Caddell Construction where he currently serves as Chairman of the Board. He built the new company into a major player in domestic and international markets including U.S. diplomatic facilities, federal courthouses, high-tech research and development centers, prisons, hospitals, airports, hotels, power plants, manufacturing facilities, military barracks, and an even longer list of unique specialty projects.
Ten years after leaving Blount, in 1994, Caddell bought out the construction division of his former employer and his company posted revenues of more than $100 million, a figure that doubled two years later. Years later, Red Blount wrote that firing John Caddell was one of the worst business decisions of his life.
Caddell earned a bachelor of science degree in building construction from the Georgia Institute of Technology and attended Harvard Business School’s AMP Program, the University of Virginia Advanced Management Program, and the Top Management Briefing Course-American Management Association. He also attended Officer Engineer Technical School, USAF Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, and served two years in the United States Air Force.
Caddell began his construction career as an estimator with Blount Construction in 1952. He was promoted to Vice President of Blount in 1963 and assumed duties of President and CEO from 1969 until 1983.
Since he established Caddell Construction Co., Inc. in 1983, the company has become one of the most respected general contractors in the nation. Caddell Construction has completed more than $7 billion in public and private projects and received multiple national honors from construction industry peers. Caddell has become a premier contractor for U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide, including the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, and is among a handful of U.S. general contractors with the sophisticated management and technical systems to effectively direct this type of, especially challenging project.
Caddell Construction was recently ranked by the “Engineering News Record” as the 88th largest U.S. general contractor, the 28th largest U.S. design and build prime contractor, and among the top 30 “Green” contractors nationwide.
John Caddell served as President and Board Member of the Montgomery Chapter of the Associated General Contractors and was a member of the Montgomery AmSouth Bank Board of Directors. He is a Lifetime Board Member and Past President of YMCA and a member of the Montgomery Area Committee of 100. He has also served as a member of the Board of the Alabama Baptist Foundation, the Montgomery Area United Way, and the Advisory Board at Auburn University at Montgomery, the Advisory Board for Georgia Institute of Technology, and the Board of Trustees at Samford University.
In 1998, he received the Distinguished Alumni Center Achievement Award from the Georgia Institute of Technology College of Architecture. He was selected by the Alabama Associated Builders and Contractors as the 2004 Recipient of the Cornerstone Award for outstanding contributions to the construction industry; followed by election from the Associated General Contractors of Alabama to its Hall of Fame in 2005. In 2010, he received the Frank Plummer Memorial Arts Award for outstanding support and contributions to the fine arts from the Montgomery Business Committee for Fine Arts.
