McCarthy taps aerospace exec for renewables team

An article from

St. Louis-based McCarthy Building Co. has hired a new executive to support its renewable energy team, according to an Oct. 22 news 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 her new role, Kim will support prefabrication and assembly processes, while improving efficiency and productivity.

A former executive at Collins Aerospace and current robotics and embedded systems professor at the University of Advancing Technology in Tempe, Arizona, Kim brings 14 years of operations and leadership experience to the builder. 

Her past roles have included the oversight of numerous manufacturing facilities around the globe and across industries that include aviation, space, steel and electronics. She will bring best practices from those segments to McCarthy’s solar and renewable projects prefabrication processes, per the firm.

Kim earned her bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and her master’s degree in systems engineering from Arizona State University. She is currently a 2025 candidate for a doctorate in systems engineering at the institution, according to her LinkedIn.

McCarthy’s renewable energy team has built or is currently constructing more than 100 utility-scale solar energy projects across the U.S., per the release, which includes the $535 million Double Black Diamond Solar Project in Illinois. 

The company isn’t alone — other firms, such as Bechtel and PCL, are also getting in on the solar action. Bechtel won the $453 million Sunfish Solar 2 project in Michigan in September, and PCL booked $1 billion in solar work in 2023, amid plans to add 100 employees to its solar division. The burgeoning field is also an area where contractors have applied robotics, using machines to automatically drive the piles panels are mounted on.