Third Generation CEO & Owner of W.B. Guimarin & Company, Inc. Announces Retirement
January 26, 2015
Fourth Generation of Owners Prepare for the Future
COLUMBIA, SC – Today, Carroll Heyward, Senior, the Chief Executive Officer for W.B. Guimarin & Company, officially announced his retirement effective January 1, 2015.
W.B. Guimarin is a mechanical contractor and engineering firm based in Columbia that has been providing mechanical infrastructure to commercial and institutional customers for 112 years. Carroll Sr. has been leading the company since 1979 when his father, Albert R. Heyward II, sold it to him. Shortly after, Carroll Sr.’s cousin, Church Powers, bought into the firm and served as Executive Vice President until his retirement in December of 2013.
Carroll Sr. has been both a business and community leader throughout his entire career. In addition to leading the company for more than three decades, he also served on and led several boards, including the Mechanical Contractors Association of South Carolina, both the Specialty-Subcontractors Division Board and the Board of the Carolinas Associated General Contractors, the Babcock Center Board, the Providence Hospital Foundation, the Sisters of Charity Foundation, the Columbia Museum of Art Board and the CAGC Board. He currently serves on the board of the Central Carolina Community Foundation and is Chairman of the Columbia Museum of Art Commission.
At W.B. Guimarin, he has been involved with numerous influential projects around the state. Some of his more noted work includes the construction of the USC School of Pharmacy, the renovation of Hand Middle School in Columbia, the construction of the Brooks Center for the Performing Arts at Clemson University, and the renovation of the Gaillard Center in Charleston.
“W.B. Guimarin has developed projects at every major institution in the state of South Carolina,” said Carroll Sr. “It has been an honor to be the CEO to our amazing team and oversee all the work we have done for more than three decades. It is bittersweet stepping down, but I know the future of the company is bright under our existing management and new ownership.”
W.B. Guimarin has been a privately owned company for its 112 years, and owned by the Heyward family for 76 years. Heyward’s two adult children, Carroll Heyward, Jr. and Sidney Heyward Rex will be the new owners of the company.
Carroll will be the major stock holder in the company. Carroll has been with the company for seven years and earned his B.S. from the University of Florida and holds a Masters in Construction Science Management from Clemson University. Sidney has been with the company for 11 years and holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Virginia and a M.B.A. from the University of South Carolina’s Moore School of Business.
Carroll and Sidney will hold ownership of the company, but it will continue to be managed by the existing executive team, who have been managing the company with Carroll Sr. for several years. The executive team has more than 60 years of combined experience working with W.B. Guimarin.
“We will miss having our father in the office every day as CEO,” said Sidney. “We have been gradually adjusting to this change over time with him first taking himself out of projects in 2007 and then slowly allowing the executive team take over general management.”
Bill Waters, who has been the President of Construction at W.B. Guimarin, will be the new Chief Executive Officer. He and the rest of executive team will mentor the new owners as they grow into their leadership roles over the next decade. That team includes Bob Privette (Chief Financial Officer), Jeff Tober (Vice President of the Service Division), and Shawn Wood (Vice President of the Direct for Owner Division).
“We have been preparing with our management team for this succession for over a decade,” said Carroll Sr. “We are executing a very well thought out and strategic plan. We wanted to mitigate any impact a transition like this would have on our customers and employees.”
W.B. Guimarin has customers and construction projects throughout the state. They have 135 full-time employees in their Columbia, Ladson and Greenville offices.
“My great-grandfather and the first Heyward to own W.B. Guimarin always used to say ‘quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten,” said Carroll. “Quality of work is key to our business, and it is something that dad and the management team has taught myself and Sidney. It is imbedded in our company values.”
“My father entrusted this company to me in 1979, and now I have the privilege to do the same with Carroll and Sidney,” said Carroll Sr. “I now know what my father felt then and it is an incredible feeling to have come full circle.”
Since 1903, the W. B. Guimarin team has maintained its commitment to being the best mechanical contractor in South Carolina, serving our customers, employees, and the community with integrity and innovation. We continue to grow and prosper by consistently providing value to all. For more information visit www.wbguimarin.com.
