Ward Nye, chairman and CEO of North Carolina-based Martin Marietta Materials, has been elected 2021-2022 chair of the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA). The announcement was made during ARTBA’s national convention, held Sept. 26-29 in Pinehurst, N.C.
Nye has been chairman of Martin Marietta since 2014, CEO and director since 2010, and president since 2006. He previously served as chief operating officer from 2006 to 2009.
Previously, Nye spent nearly 13 years in positions of increasing responsibility with Hanson PLC, including as executive vice president of its North American building materials business.
In 2019, Forbes magazine named him one of “America’s Most Innovative Leaders” based on his media reputation for innovation, social connections, track record for value creation, and investor expectations for value creation.
Nye’s volunteer ARTBA leadership positions include senior vice chair (2020-2021), first vice chair (2019), vice chair at-large (2012-2018), director (2011-present), ARTBA Foundation trustee (2021), Strategic Planning Committee co-chair (2019-2020), and Project 2019 Task Force co-chair (2017).
Nye’s goals for his tenure as ARTBA chair center on making sure Congress passes and President Joe Biden signs into law the most significant transportation investment legislation this century.
“The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment & Job Act (IIJA) approved by the Senate and scheduled for a vote Sept. 30 in the House would boost highway, bridge, public transportation, airport, and other types of infrastructure activities for the next five years,” Nye said. “We have no greater priority than making sure this measure gets over the goal line.”
Once the IIJA becomes law, Nye said ARTBA’s ongoing priority will be helping ensure its five-year investment levels are realized and policy reforms are implemented as intended by Congress.
Another of Nye’s priorities will be to expand ARTBA’s safety training programs.
“Safety is a core value throughout the transportation construction industry,” Nye said. “The availability of these resources will complement – not supplant – the safety programs utilized throughout our industry, because we can never do too much to protect our team members and the users of the transportation system we build.”
Nye is a past chair of the board of the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (NSSGA). He is also a board member of the United States Chamber of Commerce, the world’s largest business organization, and chair of the North Carolina Chamber of Commerce.
Nye has also served with numerous North Carolina philanthropic organizations, including on the boards of directors of the UNC Health System and the Research Triangle Foundation and on the board of governors of RTI International.