Vulcan Materials, the country’s largest producer of construction aggregates, has promoted two of its top leaders to the positions of president and chief operating officer.

Former COO Tom Baker II has been named president and Ronnie A. Pruitt has been promoted to COO, the company announced today.

Baker will continue to lead enterprise-wide strategic initiatives and support and advise the company’s senior leadership team, Vulcan said.

“Tom has a deep understanding of the construction materials industry. Vulcan — and particularly our talented management team — will continue to benefit from his valuable expertise and thoughtful leadership in his role as President,” said Tom Hill, chairman and CEO of Vulcan.

Pruitt, former senior vice president of Vulcan’s Southwest and Western divisions, will play an “integral” role in in driving the company’s strategy, Hill said.

“Ronnie’s promotion to COO positions us well for continued execution of our two-pronged strategy, enhancing our core and expanding our reach,” he said. “His industry experience and accomplishments will be integral in driving continued execution of our strategic objectives.”

According to Hill, the promotions are an important part of Vulcan’s continued success.

“Succession planning is an important and ongoing focus of our board of directors,” he said. “We have a senior team with exceptional leadership skills and extensive experience both within the industry and at the company.

“This team remains committed to excellence and further enhancing shareholder value.”

Austen Shipley is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News.