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McCarthy Building Co., based in St. Louis, has hired a new executive to support its renewable energy team, according to an Oct. 22 press release shared with Construction Dive.
Kendra Kim will serve as vice president of electrical prefabrication for the Phoenix-based business unit, according to McCarthy. In his new role, Kim will support prefabrication and assembly processes, while improving efficiency and productivity.
A former Collins Aerospace executive and current professor of robotics and embedded systems at the University of Advancing Technology in Tempe, Arizona, Kim brings 14 years of operations and leadership experience to the builder.
His previous roles have included overseeing numerous manufacturing facilities worldwide and in industries including aviation, space, steel and electronics. It will bring best practices from these segments to McCarthy’s prefabrication processes for solar and renewable projects, according to the company.
Kim earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and his master’s degree in systems engineering from Arizona State University. She is currently a 2025 candidate for a PhD in systems engineering at the institution, according to her LinkedIn.
McCarthy’s renewable energy team has built or is currently building more than 100 utility-scale solar projects in the United States, according to the release, which includes the $535 million. Double Black Diamond Solar Project in Illinois.
The company isn’t alone: Other companies, including Bechtel and PCL, are also getting in on the solar action. Bechtel won the $453 million Sunfish Solar 2 project to Michigan in September and PCL booked $1 billion in solar work in 2023, amid plans to add 100 employees to its solar division. The growing field is also an area where contractors have applied roboticsusing machines to automatically drive the pile panels where they are mounted.