DES MOINES, Iowa — The Weitz Company, a general contractor that works extensively in seniors housing, has promoted Kevin McClain from chief operating officer to CEO. He replaces Leonard Martling, who has retired.
Martling spent 36 years with Weitz and was only the seventh CEO in the Des Moines-based company’s 162-year existence.
McClain has been at Weitz for 18 years, starting as a project engineer in 1999. After holding nearly every operational position within the company. He earned his first executive leadership position in January 2012 as executive vice president overseeing Watts Constructors, which Weitz previously owned until being acquired by Orascom Construction Limited in 2012. Prior to being named COO on Jan. 1, 2017, McClain served as the president of Weitz’s commercial business segment.
A graduate of Simpson College, McClain earned his construction engineering degree from Iowa State University.