Great Southern Wood Preserving, Inc., the Abbeville-based maker of the iconic YellaWood® brand of pressure-treated pine, announced Monday that it has named Ian Crabtree as its new Chief Financial Officer and elevated longtime company leader Justin Wright to Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer.
Today’s announcement is the latest notch in a wider reshuffling of the company’s leadership team as Great Southern continues an aggressive growth push following last fall’s executive transition, when founder Jimmy Rane handed daily operations to 34-year company veteran Mark Callender.
Callender spoke to Crabtree’s readymade experience and Wright’s next chapter at a company he’s been a part for more than two decades.
“The addition of Ian and the change in roles for Justin are great fits for the growth trajectory that Great Southern is on and position us well for the future,” President and CEO Mark Callender said.
“Adding Ian Crabtree to our team is in line with our continuing and strategic steps to make sure that Great Southern is well organized to handle future growth and keep our business thriving in the years ahead.”
According to the company, Crabtree is a seasoned CFO with over 25 years of experience leading finance in manufacturing and industrial businesses. He has a strong track record in professionalizing finance functions, capital planning, mergers and acquisitions, and operational partnership across multi-site, growth-oriented facilities.
He most recently served as CFO of Foley Products Company, a national leader in precast concrete infrastructure components based in Newnan, GA.
Crabtree is a graduate of the University of Sheffield in England, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Financial Management. He is also a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.
With Crabtree taking on responsibility for and leadership of the company’s Accounting and Finance Departments, this change also makes it possible for Justin Wright to transition into the role of Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer, the company reports.
Wright previously served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer since late 2020 and is well qualified to fill the COO role that opened when Callender became president and CEO last year.
Wright joined Great Southern in 2003, serving in a variety of sales and operations roles, including General Manager of our Columbus, Texas, facility for seven years, before ultimately becoming Senior Vice President and Chief Sales Officer in 2015.
In that position, he became responsible for all sales efforts within the organization and also collaborated in other management areas, such as in decision-making for capital expenditures and oversight of the leadership development program. He has continued to increase his responsibilities and value to the leadership team.
Wright has an undergraduate degree and MBA degree from Georgia Southern University where he was a member of the 1999 and 2000 Division 1-AA National Championship football teams.
In 2014, Georgia Southern’s Alumni Association named him to its prestigious “40 Under 40” list of alumni in recognition of his professional expertise and achievements, as well as his dedication to charitable and community initiatives.
He has successfully completed three programs at the Harvard Business School: Key Executives, Aligning Strategy and Sales, and the Advanced Management Program.
Great Southern Wood Preserving was founded in 1970 by Jimmy Rane, who famously took over a small, struggling lumber treatment plant in Abbeville after his in-laws’ deaths and made his first delivery out of the back of a pickup truck in 1971.
More than five decades later, the company has grown into one of the largest pressure-treated lumber producers in the world — yet Rane, routinely ranked by Forbes as the wealthiest person in Alabama, has kept the headquarters in his Henry County hometown of roughly 2,000 people.
Grayson Everett is the editor in chief of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @Grayson270.
