GMC announces new Executive Vice President of Engineering

GMC is pleased to announce Kevin Laird as Executive Vice President of Engineering. Laird joined the architecture and engineering firm in Birmingham in 2005 and moved to Greenville, S.C., in 2007 to open its first office in the state. He has since continued to lead GMC’s South Carolina operations and was elected to serve on the company’s board of directors in 2018.

As executive vice president, Laird is responsible for managing the firm’s entire engineering division, which includes oversight of approximately 180 employees in offices throughout Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee. He succeeds Burt Hankins, who announced he would step down from the EVP role at the end of 2019.

“It’s an honor to be appointed to this position. Burt and I have been working together for several months to ensure a smooth transition and will continue to do so throughout the year,” Laird said. “The men and women we get to work alongside every day are some of the best and brightest in the industry, and the opportunity to serve in this new capacity is truly humbling.”

Under his leadership, GMC has completed several notable projects in the region, including the Clemson University Football Operations Complex, Clemson University Softball Complex, Anderson Regional Joint Water System Lake Hartwell Water Treatment Facility Ozone Addition, Laurens County Water & Sewer Commission Lake Greenwood Water Treatment Facility, Greenville Water – Water Resources Master Plan, and the Aiken County Public Service Authority Horse Creek Water Pollution Control Facility Upgrades.  Laird volunteers his time as the Troop Committee Chair of the Boy Scouts of America Troop 19, the Shalom House in Belton, Greenville Little League and the Anderson County Development Corporation.

Laird is a graduate of both Leadership Greenville and Leadership South Carolina and was named one of Greenville Business Magazine’s “Best and Brightest Under 35” in 2010. He is a member of the South Carolina Economic Developers Association, South Carolina Rural Water Association and the South Carolina Chapter of the American Water Works Association. He graduated from Clemson University with bachelor’s degrees in civil engineering and crop, soil and environmental science, in addition to earning a master’s degree in civil engineering from Auburn University. He is a registered professional engineer in South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia and Alabama.

In addition, the firm has appointed Yann Cowart, Vice President of Sports Architecture, to the board of directors. He joins the 2020 board alongside Chris Engel (chairman), Cedric Campbell, Kevin Laird, Freddie Lynn, Galen Thackston and Lee Walters.