Hall of Fame Inductee
Class of 2018
William J. Sandbrook
William J. Sandbrook has steered tremendous growth at U.S. Concrete since arriving in 2011, taking the company’s price per share from under $2 to $79.35 (as of Nov. 13, 2017).
Upon his arrival, Sandbrook realized the company suffered from a culture of centralized decision-making, thus stripping local management of both responsibility and accountability for results. To overcome that, it was imperative that he listen to employees so he could provide them the tools they needed to thrive and the support for decentralized decision-making.
Sandbrook spent 80 percent of his time on the road his first year at U.S. Concrete, traveling the country to meet with employees at many of the company’s different operations. He re-instituted the principle of accountability, which has been a fundamental part of U.S. Concrete’s improvement efforts. Suddenly, employees were responsible for their own decisions again and were rewarded for their efforts.
In addition, his turnaround efforts involved selling off low-margin businesses the previous regime acquired (precast concrete and concrete block), and refocusing the company in key markets.