New leadership at Graniterock
The new year brought new leadership to Graniterock. The 123-year-old Watsonville-based construction and construction materials company announced that it named Peter Lemon as its new president and CEO, effective Jan. 1. It’s a new role for Lemon, but the Monterey native didn’t require a tour of the facility,
as he already knows his way around the office very well.
Lemon first joined the Graniterock team as a summer intern in 1998 while studying civil engineering at UC Davis. Three summer internships, one college degree and a professional engineer certification later, he was brought on full-time as an estimator and project engineer/manager. “I am honored to serve our team, customers and community as president and CEO to continue to build on our achievements of the past 123 years,” Lemon said in a statement. “I am committed to leading this organization to deliver value to our customers and our community through our combined purpose of high-quality products and construction services.”
Once the studs were in, Lemon’s career at Graniterock continued to take form. In 2008 he became the construction division’s private works area manager until he was chosen in 2012 to run the
A.R. Wilson Quarry in Aromas, a critical asset for the company.
Lemon would spend 10 years running the flagship quarry and managing key projects, including the construction and operation of a $10 million wastewater reduction plant, a $15 million premium sand plant, standardization of a heavy equipment fleet, and oversight of more than 100 craft workers. He most recently held the position of vice president of logistics.
Lemon succeeded Tom Squeri, who served as CEO since 2012 and will remain a member of Graniterock’s board of directors. “Not only does Peter bring an incredible mix of engineering and business expertise to the CEO role, his passion for Graniterock and our people is unsurpassed,” said Graniterock family owner and Board member Marianne Woolpert. “The board is fully confident in Peter and his ability to continue building on Graniterock’s legacy in the construction industry and in the communities where we live and work.” That legacy is one of the oldest of any active business in Santa Cruz County and is continuing to grow. Graniterock worked at the recently completed Highway 1/River Street intersection in Santa
Cruz. It has also contributed to the reimagining of Willowbrook Park in Aptos in honor of Sgt. Damon Gutzwiller who was killed in the line of duty in 2020. The project broke ground this November.
But Lemon doesn’t just manage work crews.
He is also active in the Boy Scouts of America, where he serves as leader of Troop 2 and Pack 126 in Monterey. He reached the rank of Eagle Scout and attributes much of his business leadership to lessons learned from scouting, including how to lead and follow in challenging environments and help others conquer what may seem like an impossible task.