Rob Blalock is the kind of leader who makes big construction projects feel a little less daunting. At Brasfield & Gorrie, a firm that’s been shaping skylines for over 60 years. Rob didn’t have it all figured out from the start. He bounced between college majors three times, pre-med included, before landing on architectural and building sciences at Auburn University. In 1998, he stumbled into an entry-level gig at Brasfield & Gorrie, barely knowing the company. But something clicked fast: actually building stuff people live and work in every day hooked him for good.
Building Experience
Over 27 years, Rob worked his way up through every hands-on role the company offered. He cut his teeth in Atlanta on high-rises, hotels, and condos that helped define the city’s look. Take the 1075 Peachtree job, a 38-story tower squeezed onto a tricky downtown lot. Rob led a green team there, turning dirt into a thriving spot, showing he thrives in the tough ones. His strength? Deep know-how in planning ahead, running projects start to finish, always tweaking plans to match what clients really need and can afford.
Leadership Style
Rob jumps in to fix messes himself, chaos or not. Folks like architects from his early days remember his calm authority; he doesn’t bark orders; he just gets respect and pulls teams together quietly. People come first for him; he sees employee growth as the heart of the business. Back in 2018, when Jim Gorrie tapped him for CEO, Rob uprooted his family from Atlanta to Birmingham for a slow six-year transition. Smart move, it kept things steady, no big jolts.
Key Achievements
This year, under Rob, Brasfield & Gorrie topped $7 billion in revenue, a solid 11% jump from 2024. They’ve tackled it all: modest church makeovers right up to giants like the Airbus plant in Mobile. He stepped up as president in 2022, then CEO in January 2025, guiding nationwide expansion without missing a beat. That Peachtree project? Proof of his knack for getting things done, delivered on time, with a team so fired up they “knocked it out of the park.”
Rob cherishes the realness of his work; you step into his buildings daily and feel the impact. He’s the approachable type, always on the road chatting with staff in person. Ahead, he’s gearing up to push harder on growth, sticking to the firm’s 61-year playbook of mixing project sizes. Bottom line: He wants construction to feel
