Hall of Fame Inductee
Class of 2016
Steve Zelnak
Steve Zelnak, whose career in the aggregates industry began in 1974, grew Martin Marietta revenues from $450 million to more than $2.2 billion during his tenure as the company’s CEO. Zelnak joined the Martin Marietta Corp. in 1981 as vice president of planning and business development for its aggregates company. He was quickly promoted, taking on a role as president in 1982. Zelnak was elected an officer of the parent corporation in 1989, and he was promoted to president of the company’s Materials Group in 1991. In 1994, as president and CEO, Zelnak led a transition for Martin Marietta Materials Inc. as a publicly traded corporation on the New York Stock Exchange. He was elected chairman of the company’s board of directors in 1997 and was responsible for more than 70 acquisitions, broadening the company’s geographic footprint. Zelnak also devised and implemented a unique long-haul distribution strategy, making Martin Marietta a leader in rail- and water-distributed aggregates products. Zelnak retired as chairman in 2014.