Plateau People – Brad Carroll, President and CEO

With a strong foundation built on people, quality craftsmanship, and innovation, Plateau Excavation has become a leader in tackling advanced, large-scale and complex site development projects, but it is our people that truly make the difference and have moved the company forward.

• How many years have you been at Plateau Excavation? I joined the Plateau family in January 2011 in conjunction with the acquisition of Aiken Grading, where I had worked since 2000.
• What’s your job title? When I joined Plateau, I was the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. In October 2019, when Sterling Infrastructure acquired Plateau, I was promoted to President and CEO of Plateau Excavation and President of the E-infrastructure sector of Sterling.
• What exactly do you do at our company? I guess you could say the buck stops with me since I am ultimately responsible for all operations of the company, but I focus most of my time on clients and our preconstruction activities to ensure a robust work stream for the company. I have complete confidence in all of our Managers and Vice Presidents who help make Plateau the leader in our industry.
• So far, what has been your favorite project? I love projects that are unique and challenging, so there have been numerous ones over the last 20+ years. But if I had to choose a couple, one would be the Suntrust Park/Battery Atlanta Project (currently Truist Park). The team built a MLB ballpark six months quicker than any other MLB stadium has ever been constructed. We blasted and hauled off over 90,000 dump truck loads of rock, and there is over 52’ of rock where home plate is currently located. So, with every Braves game I watch, I am reminded of the complexity and success of that project. The second one would be a project we are currently working on, which is the largest project ever in company history: the Hyundai battery plant. We will move over 14 million cubic yards of material on the 600-acre project. We have over 200 machines on the project and are working day and night to stay on schedule. I am amazed at how much our team accomplishes every time I visit the site. It is so impressive.
• What is it about you that most people don’t know? Hopefully most people are aware, but my family and I are very active in our local church, and serving God has always been a big part of my life. My wife and I were the youth leaders at our church, and I have taught Sunday School for over 20 years. The good Lord has blessed my family and me immensely, and I always want to give back.
• What advice would you provide to someone interested in getting into this industry? I believe internships are invaluable for anyone who thinks they want to get into the construction industry. While I went to college and received a degree in civil engineering, my perception of our industry was very different from the reality of it once I gained real experience.
• What is your favorite aspect of your job, plateau, or industry? My favorite part of the industry is seeing the positive impact our progress has on the communities in which we live.
• What originally drew you to Plateau? And how has Plateau changed since? What’s kept you here? It may sound like a cliché, but it has always been about the people to me. I am so blessed to be able to work with people I consider friends. We all work so many hours that our profession can’t just be a “job”, it must be a passion. My passion is Plateau, and that wouldn’t be possible if I wasn’t able to work alongside people that I care about every day.
• What is something unique about you (a fun fact) that few people are aware of? I am kind of considered a numbers geek. I have essentially a photographic memory of things and can recall numbers from my memory very well. Admittedly, I am, in some ways, absent-minded too. I am way more likely to forget where my phone is than to forget the price that we paid for a new piece of equipment last year.

It may sound like a cliché, but it has always been about the people to me. I am so blessed to be able to work with people I consider friends. We all work so many hours that our profession can’t just be a “job”, it must be a passion. My passion is Plateau, and that wouldn’t be possible if I wasn’t able to work alongside people that I care about every day.