Pat Kelly, right, is pictured on Granite Construction’s Caltrans 111 repaving project in Palm Springs with foreman Mike McDaniel and a paving crew member.
Pat Kelly has never been one to shrink from a challenge. In fact, it’s something he relishes, wheth- er it was helping lead his Carmel High School baseball team to victory at the Central Coast Section championship, competing in multiple marathons and triathlons, including (twice) the grueling “Escape from Alcatraz,” presiding over Northern Nevada’s largest youth serving organization, or helping the nation’s number-one highway builder deliver numerous vital infrastructure projects over four decades. Tis year Kelly, Granite Construction
Company’s vice president of operational excellence, continues his lifelong trend of embracing challenge and leaning into leadership opportunities as he takes the reins as the 2025 president of AGC of California. He is optimistic about the year ahead and excited about the chance to give back and make an impact on the industry that has enabled his own career growth and success. “A lot of people have worked hard so I could have this opportunity today, so
I think it’s incumbent on me to do the same for future generations,” he said. “It is a way to help leave the industry in better shape than when I came into it.” Kelly plans to build on the groundwork and successes of the strong leaders who immediately preceded him during his rise through AGC of California’s officers’ ranks, including Immediate Past President Steve Rule, 2022-23 President Dina Kimble, and 2020-21 President Mike Blach. “We’ve had some exceptional presi-
dents and executive committee leadership in recent years, so I’ve got some huge shoes to fill,” he noted. “But that’s also exciting and challenging for me, and I have always welcomed challenges. I want to make sure AGC of California continues to grow in terms of our membership, operating rev- enues, and our relationships in California and within the construction industry.” As he assumes the top leadership
role at AGC of California this year, Kelly is proud to represent one of Califor- nia’s oldest, largest, and most respected general contractors with a long history rooted in the Golden State. Founded in 1922 in Watsonville, CA, Granite Con-
struction has repeatedly been ranked by Engineering News-Record as the largest highway builder both in California and the U.S. overall.
Second Generation Builder Although he did not initially plan to spend his career in the construction industry, Kelly’s path into it began as a youth growing up in the Central Coast town of Carmel, CA. As the son of a longtime Granite Construction veteran, he was exposed to construction at a young age. At 17, he landed a summer internship with Granite before heading off to attend the University of Notre Dame, where he was pursuing a degree in chemical engineering. Kelly came home from Indiana to
intern with Granite each summer during college. When he graduated in 1983, the nation was in the middle of a recession that had dried up the job market in his chosen field of study. Kelly accepted a fulltime job with Granite, but admits he had no intention of staying there beyond a year or two when the market rebounded. Forty-one years later, he is still hard
at it.
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