William E. “Chip” Kessler, Owner, President
Chip Kessler is the founder, majority owner and President of Zebra Construction Company, Inc. Chip grew up in Rome, Georgia and worked for his father’s construction firm while attending high school at Darlington School. He went on to Auburn University where he earned a bachelor of science degree in Building Construction in 1982. He is a member of the Sigma Lambda Chi Building Science Honorary Society, the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity and qualified for membership in the Pi Mu Epsilon Math Honorary Society. Upon graduation from Auburn, Chip began his career with McDevitt & Street Co. (now Bovis), one of the premier construction firms in the southeast. He began in Atlanta as a project engineer and advanced to project manager over a two-year period.
In 1984, Chip accepted an opportunity with Patterson-West, Inc. in Atlanta as a project manager. He was ultimately promoted to vice president and was instrumental in the acquisition and operation of a construction company in St. Thomas, U. S. Virgin Islands. Mr. Kessler became vice president of Saliba Construction Company of Dothan, Alabama, for whom he started a branch office in Atlanta, Georgia in 1992. At Saliba he was responsible for all phases of the operation including estimating and project management. In 1994, Chip was recruited to become part of a team that established a division of J. Kinson Cook, a Florida-based construction company, in Atlanta. Chip served as Vice-President of Operations and Estimating where he was instrumental in developing the Atlanta Division from zero to over fifty million dollars in sales from 1994 to 1999.
In March of 1999, Chip left J. Kinson Cook to form Zebra Construction Company, Inc.. Mr. Kessler has developed Zebra Construction into a complete concrete and masonry subcontracting firm that specializes in educational and correctional facilities.
Brian E. Greene, Vice President – Preconstruction
Brian Greene is a native of Atlanta, Georgia and a graduate of Riverside Military Academy. Mr. Greene’s construction career began at a young age as a laborer and assistant field engineer on various civil projects. After graduating from the University of Georgia where he was a member of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity, Mr. Greene accepted a position with Bill Harbert International of Birmingham, Alabama as a project engineer in 1995. Mr. Greene quickly rose to the level of project manager and was primarily involved with the water and wastewater treatment plant division in Atlanta, Georgia.
In 1997, Mr. Greene joined J. Kinson Cook, Inc. where he worked for Mr. Kessler as an estimator. Brian was responsible for estimating and purchasing of numerous school projects in metropolitan Atlanta. Mr. Greene also served as project engineer and project manager on several projects for J. Kinson Cook.
Brian joined Zebra Construction Company in 1999 as an estimator/project manager where he assisted Mr. Kessler in starting and growing the company. In 2003, Mr. Greene became vice president and part owner of Zebra and was responsible for estimating and operations. In 2006, the company’s growth dictated the hiring of Clay Martin as the Vice President of Operations, thus enabling Brian to focus his efforts on Preconstruction – estimating, marketing and business development.
H. Clay Martin, Jr., Vice President - Operations
Clay Martin was raised in Chamblee, GA and graduated from Chamblee High School in 1979. After graduating from Georgia Tech in 1983 with a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering, Clay was hired by McDevitt and Street as a project engineer. In 1985, Mr. Martin accepted a position at Patterson-West General Contractors as an assistant project manager and was ultimately promoted to chief estimator.
Clay joined Genoa Construction Services in 1993 as a senior project manager and eventually became the Executive Vice President of Operations. While at Genoa, Clay was the key individual involved with overseeing estimating, project management of larger projects and supervision of onsite personnel. He was involved with many design-build and negotiated projects, and his attention to detail, value engineering expertise and customer service standards were directly related to Genoa’s repeat client base.
In March of 2006, Mr. Martin joined Zebra Construction Company as Vice President of Operations.
Richard G. "Rick" Thacker, Vice President
Rick Thacker is a veteran of the general contracting and design business since 1977. He has been responsible for overall construction and business operations of mid-size contracting and design firms throughout most of his career. He has served as project manager, project executive, or executive vice president of construction operations on 62 retail shopping centers, 17 warehouse/distribution facilities, 37 office buildings, 19 industrial projects and in excess of 2,000 tenant projects; encompassing mercantile, business, and restaurant facilities. Mr. Thacker has constructed churches, stadiums, bridges, parking decks, gymnasiums, nursing homes and various public works projects.He has managed construction services in excess of 760 million dollars and 30 million square feet. He has served as expert witness, mediator, and provided litigation support in construction related disputes and holds several industry certifications. Mr. Thacker maintains membership in various professional associations including induction into Who's Who in Executives and Professionals in 2001 and the American Institute of Architects.
Mr. Thacker grew up in Rome, Georgia, where he attended Model High School. After high school, he attended West Georgia College receiving a degree in Environmental Science. After spending a year with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Mr. Thacker joined J.M. Beeson Company as Assistant Vice President where he organized the opening and operations for six branch offices across the SouthEast. After ten years with Beeson Company, Mr. Thacker joined Citadel Corporation as Senior Project Manager for takeover projects in the SouthEastern United States and South America. In 1990, Mr. Thacker served as Vice President / Director of Operations for National Stonehenge Company. While working at Stonehenge, he established South Florida operations for reconstruction and damage evaluation of property after Hurricane Andrew.
In 1997, Mr. Thacker became Executive Vice President / Director of Operations of International Precision Group, Inc. During this time, Mr. Thacker received an award from the American Concrete Institute for recycling portions of Atlanta's Centennial Stadium into two high school stadiums.
Rick joined Zebra Construction Company, Inc. in 2007. He is responsible for special operations of Zebra, including; client consulting, design services, interior build-out and tilt-up concrete projects.
Danny Parrish, Chief Financial Officer
Danny Parrish is a graduate of Western Kentucky University with a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting. Mr. Parrish has been involved with accounting in the construction industry for the nearly 30 years, gaining an extensive knowledge in the A/E/C and Design-Build environment.
Mr. Parrish served 20 years as Vice President of Finance and Risk Management with Gray Construction of Lexington, Kentucky. He also acted as interim EVP/CFO with an emerging general contractor in Texas serving commercial, institutional, and industrial markets. He owned and operated Parrish Consulting Group from 1994 to 2007, in which he traveled the country to work with management and leaders in the construction industry helping them find pathways to success on a business and personal level.
Danny Parrish is a former national president of Construction Financial Management Association and is still actively involved in the association. He was an integral part in the formation of the Institute of Certified Construction Industry Financial Professionals and served as its first treasurer. Danny was honored by the CFMA with the creation of the Danny B. Parrish Leadership award in recognition for his leadership and contributions to the association.
Mr. Parrish came to Zebra in February 2008 to serve as the Chief Financial Officer, overseeing accounting, human resources, and information technology.
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