Kendall Griffith
Senior Vice President
Meet Kendall
Kendall serves as Senior Vice President at Mortenson, overseeing the Minneapolis office, the Civil business, and BLUvera - our industrialized manufacturing business. Kendall also leads our exploration into broader industrialization across the vertical building space, along with serving on the company’s Senior Leadership Team. With over 30 years at Mortenson, Kendall specializes in innovative project delivery, partnering with customers and communities to achieve impactful, high-performance results.
Professional Experience
Kendall joined Mortenson in 1993 as an Estimator and has steadily advanced into senior leadership roles in the company, leading the successful delivery of numerous landmark cultural projects, including major expansions at the University of Iowa, Walt Disney World, the Walker Art Center, the Minnesota Zoo, and the Portland Art Museum. He ensures a customer-focused approach, maximizes resources, makes community-positive decisions, and innovates to meet or exceed customer and partner expectations.
Education
Bachelor of Science, Construction Engineering
Iowa State University
Board Positions
Associated General Contractors of MN
Former Chairman of the Board
Minnesota Chamber of Commerce
Board Member
Minneapolis Downtown Council
Former Board Member
It's so important to see the good in people. When you look for it, possibilities abound.
It starts by investing in our customers
Before we ever break ground, we invest in learning how our work will impact the customer’s business, aligning our project approach to what they really need. We know they want us to build a building, but ultimately, they’re setting out to achieve something bigger for their organization. So every project starts with an immersion in the “why” behind it. When every project team member understands and cares about what success looks like for our customer, we’ll deliver better on every level.
Delivering exceptional experiences
Driving down costs is an essential element of providing an exceptional experience to our customers. But it’s so much more than that. It takes transparency and open communication. It takes knowing where each project is financially at every step. It takes anticipating challenges and responding to issues, to prevent unwanted surprises. Making every decision with the customer’s best interests at heart is how we build trusting relationships and ensure our customers get the best outcomes for their capital investment.
Growth is a lifelong pursuit
I’ve always believed that growth comes from being open to learning from the people and experiences around me. I put a lot of energy into developing my thinking, leadership capabilities, and knowledge, while also recognizing that personal growth extends into my professional life. Since 2020, I’ve challenged myself on the tennis court, expanded my appreciation and knowledge of wine, and invested significant time in leadership, performance and personal development. These pursuits are different, but they share a common thread: I’m passionate about continuing to learn and finding new ways to grow alongside my family, team members and community.
Personal Passions
At Mortenson, we’ve always cared about building for the community and by the community. As the construction industry continues to grow, Mortenson is committed to expanding our workforce with a variety of perspectives and backgrounds so that we can meet the demand our industry faces. At the same time, I am proud of how we strive to ensure everyone feels welcome at Mortenson.
Volunteerism
- American Heart Association
Chair - 2022 Twin Cities HeartWalk - Lundstrum Performing Arts
Board Member - Plymouth-Wayzata Youth Football Association
Volunteer Coach
Interests
- Wine & related travel
- James Michener novels
- Snow skiing
- Tennis