From an early age, Rob Burton’s father instilled in him a strong work ethic and a sense of pride in a job well done. “My father taught me to work, and that work is a noble thing, and an important part of life, and something you should enjoy,” he said. One of the first hands-on lessons in hard, honest work came at the age of 13, when Burton joined his father, then president of Hoar Construction, to work on a job site for the first time. He spent the summer cutting sod, while watching, learning, and gaining an appreciation for building that would drive him forever.
Starting at that early age, Burton worked for many years to learn all aspects of the business. From general labor to carpentry, and later in estimating, accounting, and project management, he learned all aspects of the complex building process. After graduating from Auburn University with a degree in building science, he held positions of increasing responsibility in the company until he was named president in 1996 and CEO in 2001. He never forgot the importance of the hands-on work that his father expected.
Under Burton’s leadership, Hoar diversified, opening offices in Houston, Orlando, Nashville, Austin, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, North Texas, and Chattanooga, and establishing a top-50- ranked national program management company, Hoar Program Management. Hoar Program Management has been a trusted partner to The University of Alabama for 20 years, helping to manage more than $2 billion in capital building projects to facilitate the university’s rapid growth.
Hoar also expanded beyond geographic regions, increasingly taking on larger and more complex projects, growing beyond the firm’s beginnings in retail to build in healthcare, entertainment, higher education, multifamily, mixed-use, hospitality, industrial, government, and more, all while significantly increasing revenues. In fact, in Burton’s first decade of leadership, he doubled the company’s revenue. Burton received the Associated Builders and Contractors of Alabama Cornerstone Award in 2011. In 2021, Hoar launched RPI Rentals, with offices in Alabama and Texas, to offer equipment rentals, materials, and supplies delivery to projects of all sizes.
With Burton at the helm, Hoar has powered many notable projects in Alabama, including hospitals like Children’s of Alabama and the expansion and transformation of Alabama’s top higher learning institutions like The University of Alabama, Auburn University, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Hoar has helped preserve Alabama’s history through work on the Robert S. Vance Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse as well as the Historic Federal Reserve Building. The company has helped bring jobs to citizens of Alabama by partnering with Mercedes, Gestamp, Buffalo Rock, and Airbus. Additionally, the company is consistently listed in the top 200 on the Top 400 General Contractors rankings by Engineering News-Record. In 2017, the firm was named Company of the Year by Construction Dive magazine.
Fueled by a deep conviction that all this success in the industry is ultimately driven by people, Burton’s leadership has also emphasized the support and development of employees. Accordingly, Hoar Construction, Hoar Project Management, and RPI Rentals have all been repeatedly certified as a great place to work by various publications.
A passionate supporter of Birmingham and the greater community, Burton has served on boards of various organizations, including the Birmingham Business Alliance, the Birmingham Zoo, Lakeshore Foundation, Protective Life, and American Contractors Insurance Group, among others. He is currently chairman of the board at The Hope Institute, which helps schools cultivate the character of students. Burton also founded the Hoar Community Foundation in 2004, a fund that has donated millions to charities that further the firm’s core values in areas where employees live and work, all guided by Hoar employee requests and involvement.
Burton and his wife, Nancy, live in Birmingham, Alabama and have four children and nine grandchildren.
