Garney Leadership Retires

Garney Celebrates Key Leadership Retirements

Garney recently celebrated the retirements of Mike Heitmann, CEO emeritus, and Scott Parrish, president emeritus.

In the fall of 2023, Garney welcomed a new executive leadership team, including CEO David Burkhart and presidents Matt Foster and Matt Reaves, marking a new chapter for Garney. This transition is part of a strategic plan that moves Garney into a future marked by secure retirements for employee-owners, holistic water solutions and maintaining its reputation as the nation’s top water contractor.

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Heitmann, CEO at Garney from 2011-2023, is retiring at the end of March. He spent his entire 34-year career at Garney, helping shape the company into what it is today. Starting out as a project administrator after graduating from the University of Kansas in 1990, Heitmann quickly learned the ropes in the field, traveling around the country to build projects. In the mid-90s, he established a presence for the company in the Southeast, propelling Garney into the industrial sector. Clients like Southern Co., International Paper and Westinghouse Electric were added to Garney’s growing repertoire of private work. Heitmann eventually relocated back to Kansas with his family in the mid-2000s and was named vice president before becoming President and CEO in 2011.

Heitmann always had a vision for marketing, business development, and high-level strategy that drove the company forward. His humble and down-to-earth leadership style proved massively effective. Under his guidance, the firm grew from 720 employees and $422 million in revenue in 2011 to more than 2,000 employees and $1.8 billion in revenue in 2023.

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In retirement, He is excited to pursue his passions of restoring old, historic buildings, traveling the world with his wife, Susan, and visiting their four daughters.

Parrish dedicated his career to the company, starting out in the field in 1988 under the tutelage of his father, Jerry Parrish, a superintendent at Garney. He transitioned to the office, becoming a project manager who oversaw the construction of pipeline projects throughout Texas and the Midwest, before relocating to Kansas City in 1995. He was named president in 2018.

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Parrish has always led with energy and assertiveness. His drive for continuous improvement and standard of excellence elevated those who worked around him. He always maintained strong relationships with clients, engineers, and vendors, which strengthened Garney’s brand and reputation in the water industry. He played a key role in positioning Garney as a leading contractor and CMAR in the Texas market. He was instrumental to the success of many of Garney’s largest pipe projects to date, including the monumental Vista Ridge Water Supply Project—the largest P3 water project in North America.

In retirement, Parrish looks forward to spending more time with his daughters and father, enjoying the fresh Colorado mountain air, and staying connected and traveling with fellow retired Garney employee-owners.

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SOURCE – Garney

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