Kansas City, Missouri, United States, May 2025 – Garney Construction, a national leader in water and wastewater construction, has announced the appointment of Mark Garrett as its Chief People Officer w.e.f. 27th May 2025. In this newly created leadership role, Mark will focus on building a high-performing, people-first culture while aligning HR strategies with Garney’s mission of delivering sustainable infrastructure and empowering employee-owners across the nation.
Mark joins Garney Construction after nearly six years at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City, where he most recently served as Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer. At BCBSKC, Mark led transformative human capital initiatives that elevated employee engagement, advanced diversity and inclusion, and enhanced organizational agility.
Previously, Mark served as Chief People, Diversity and Engagement Officer at Smithfield Foods, Inc., overseeing strategic HR functions for more than 54,000 employees. He also held executive leadership roles in supply chain and HR operations at Smithfield Farmland Corp and Farmland Foods, where he was instrumental in integrating operations post-merger, improving retention through inclusive talent strategies, and delivering multimillion-dollar cost efficiencies.
Earlier in his career, Mark held senior roles at Kansas City Public Schools and Hallmark Cards, bringing over three decades of experience in operations, human resources, and business transformation across both private and public sectors.
About Garney Construction
Founded in 1961, Garney Construction is an employee-owned company and a national leader in water and wastewater infrastructure construction. With a workforce of over 2,500 employee-owners, Garney specializes in collaborative project delivery methods including construction management at risk (CMAR) and design-build. Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, the company is committed to building sustainable futures by developing water and wastewater systems for municipal, federal, industrial, and private clients across the United States.
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