Bowman Consulting Group Ltd experienced a 7.7% drop in its share price on Tuesday following an announcement that founder and Chief Executive Officer Gary Bowman plans to retire later this year. The national engineering services firm said the board of directors has opened a formal process to identify a new CEO, with the search to include candidates from both inside and outside the company.
The company confirmed that Mr. Bowman, who founded the business in 1995, expects to stay involved after stepping down by serving as a Senior Advisor to support an orderly transition. In connection with planning for leadership continuity, the board approved amendments to the employment agreements of Chief Financial Officer Bruce Labovitz and Chief Operating Officer Dan Swayze.
Under Bowman’s stewardship, the firm expanded substantially. The company is listed as the 72nd largest design firm in the United States on ENR’s Top 500 Design Firms list. Management noted that since going public in 2021 the business has more than tripled in size, completed over 35 acquisitions, broadened its national footprint and diversified its service offerings.
Bowman Consulting operates from more than 100 offices across the United States. The board said Mr. Bowman will resign his position as a director once his successor is appointed.
"Leading this company has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life," said Bowman. "Since going public in 2021, we have scaled the business beyond what we envisioned and built a durable national platform positioned for long-term success."
The board’s decision to formalize the CEO search and to amend senior executives’ employment agreements signals an effort to preserve operational continuity during the leadership change. The company did not provide further details on the timeline for the search or on the specific terms of the amendments.
Investors reacted to the retirement news with a single-session decline in the stock price, reflecting near-term market sensitivity to executive transitions at a publicly traded engineering and design services firm.