“I was absolutely fascinated from day one by all things construction,” says David Pugh, partner in the construction practice for national law firm Bradley Arant Boult and Cummings. With a grandfather successful in the foundry business, a father with a storied career at Chicago Bridge and Iron, and a brother chasing his own engineering dream, construction ran in Pugh’s blood.
“My grandfather and my father always had projects going on at the house,” he says. “I was never as excited as when we built the large brick patio out behind our house.” Another project he recalls was one that even spawned construction careers for some of the other neighborhood kids.
“My dad being an engineer, he wasn’t satisfied with just a normal sized sandbox,” says Pugh. “So, he built this massive sandbox and all the kids in the neighborhood would come over and play in it. I remember telling the story about my sandbox to my friend Mike Choutka—now the CEO of Hensel Phelps, which happens to do a lot of work on airports. I told Mike that he could confidently hire me any time because I was building airports in that sandbox when I was four and five years old.”
For a kid with an industrial-sized sandbox and the full collection of Tonka Trucks, a successful career in construction was seemingly set in stone, “but I was never very good with my hands,” says Pugh. “I might could rough grade a site with a dozer, but I’d never make it as a finish carpenter.” Even so, Pugh’s excitement and enthusiasm for building led him to a successful law career supporting construction clients—and this year, he’s taking things to the next level as he steps up to serve as Associated Builders and Contractors’ 2025 national chair.
NEVERTHELESS, HE PERSISTED
Most students don’t come to college knowing exactly what they want to major in, or maybe they think they do but end up changing plans once or twice. “I was the exact opposite,” says Pugh, who was adamant about pursuing a B.S. in civil engineering, which he received in 1984 from the University of Alabama, followed by a J.D. from Vanderbilt Law School in 1988. “And then my dream was to own my own construction company. That was my plan from day one,” he says. But when all of Pugh’s credit cards were maxed out by the third year of law school, he went to work in private practice with the firm at which he works today. “That was also always part of the plan,” he says. “It turns out I just never left private practice.”
A contractor at heart, Pugh had spent time during law school clerking only at firms that had construction law practices and represented contractors, so it was an easy transition into full-time practice. Joining Bradley in 1988, Pugh worked his way up to partner, gaining a deeper insight into and love for the construction industry and its workforce along the way.
“I love design and construction. I love the process. I love the people who work in the trades and do the actual building,” he says. “There’s a frontiersman or cowboy-esque ethos. They’re willing to take huge risks to build something that’s never been built on a site that has nothing on it. And that’s going to stand as a testament to their efforts long after they’re gone. And that’s just a neat process. I love that spirit.”
While Pugh’s love of construction evolved from his childhood, throughout his education and now to his law career, Pugh has remained steadfast in his admiration of the contractor spirit. From contract drafting and negotiation, to providing general business advice and consults, and, if necessary, resolving disputes, Pugh’s work at Bradley is his way of championing that spirit.
“In my role as a construction lawyer, I have represented small, medium, large and mega-sized general contractors in the commercial, industrial and federal contracting sectors,” he says. “I have represented a number of large, medium and small subcontractors. I’ve represented engineering firms. I’ve represented architecture firms. I’ve represented owners, developers, insurers and bonding companies. I have been in the back room with them in the middle of very tense disputes or large business transactions. I have seen the industry from each of their perspectives. As national chair, I can bring all those different perspectives to the table. Hopefully, that will, in the long run, serve the association well. So, it’s a fresh and different perspective that I’m offering, if nothing else.”
LAW AND ORDER: ABC
His love of construction, combined with his industry-ingrained upbringing, engineering degree and law practice, positioned Pugh to serve the construction industry not only as a lawyer but as a representative of Associated Builders and Contractors. Although not a general or trade contractor—like previous chairs—he is not without a history of association service. Pugh has previous experience on the ABC Alabama chapter board of directors, but it was not until he joined the ABC National Executive Committee that his “vision and appreciation of ABC exploded.”
“I had blinders on,” he says. “What I knew of ABC was based solely on my experience with the Alabama chapter.” Early on in his involvement with the chapter (1998, 2007-present), Pugh helped ABC Alabama lead state legislative efforts, then moved through a variety of chapter committees. His first exposure to the national board came in 2010, when he attended a national board meeting as a proxy. “I knew we had every reason to be proud of what the Alabama Chapter was doing, but I saw then, first-hand, that there were a bunch of great chapters out there doing things better than anybody and realized how much we could all learn from their creativity and sharing best practices.”
Pugh joined the ABC National Board of Directors from 2013 to 2017 and served as chair of the ABC Alabama Board of Directors 2017. He was the National Parliamentarian for three years, then Southeast Region Vice Chair (2020-2023), Executive Committee Secretary (2023), and National Chair Elect (2024). This year, as ABC National Chair, Pugh is eager to expand his vision even further—a feat which entails national travel and chapter engagement.
“I would love to say I’d be able to make it to all 67 chapters,” he says. “I would like to see as many as possible. On prior occasions, I’ve been to Houston, Dallas, Mississippi, Greater Tennessee, North Alabama, Alabama, North Florida, Central Florida, Carolinas, Georgia and Metro Washington.” Pugh knows there is strength in numbers—and having visited several chapters already throughout his ABC involvement, he is well aware of the strength of the association: 23,000 members in 67 chapters, and counting. “Our size is a strength we need to use to our benefit,” he says.
HBD ABC
It should shock no one that an Alabama lawyer would be a gregarious, bubbly raconteur. Pugh has never been nervous in front of a crowd and exudes Southern hospitality—traits which transfer well to his new national chair role.
In preparation for his interview with Construction Executive, Pugh was reviewing a list of discussion topics—one of which snagged his attention. “You know, it’s funny,” he says, “when I was looking at your question, ‘Are you comfortable speaking in front of crowds?’ I laughed out loud. I thought, yeah, I’m comfortable, but that’s not the problem. The problem is making sure the crowd is comfortable listening.”
This February, a crowd of over 2,000 ABC members will listen to Pugh as he emcees the events of ABC Convention 2025—including ABC’s Construction Management Competition, National Craft Championships, 75th anniversary celebrations and more—kicking off another year of addressing industry issues and fighting for merit shop construction.
“The issues that we address in this association affect every member; not just the general contractors, but all the subs, all the suppliers, our engineering members, our architect members, our insurance and bonding members,” says Pugh. “They affect everybody. Each of us is involved in the same industry. Each of us has a vested interest in a good outcome.”
Some of the issues Pugh aims to address—or milestones he aims to celebrate—during his term include:
The workforce: “Our industry is facing a huge worker shortfall. Many of our chapters are working diligently to train the next generation of construction workers. We must not only continue those efforts, but find ways to increase them.”
Chapter involvement: “I want to raise the level of member participation in all chapters and overall chapter performance in all aspects of ABC’s strategic plan. We have to be candid about where we’re underperforming and find ways to improve.”
New administration: “The construction business is famous for being able to make decisions based on limited information. We don’t know what the weather’s going to do, or if our materials or workers will arrive on time. We have to plan for a lot of different contingencies, and that’s what we’re good at. Overall, we’re very optimistic about the new administration. We certainly expect it to be more favorable than the previous administration. But there will be surprises. We have to remain vigilant and responsive.”
75th anniversary: “I look forward to a full year of celebrating this association. It’s also important to look back and reflect on all that we’ve accomplished. One of my objectives is very much one of education and making sure that we hand down to the next generation of construction leaders the stories [of our founders] so that their bedrock values, principles and objectives are forever preserved.”
Also, as total human health, safety and overall wellbeing resources become more widely available and advocated for throughout the industry, more construction workers—from the C-suite to the field—are reaching out for support. Pugh knows all too well that a successful career—or success anywhere—starts with a solid support system, and he credits much of his own success to his wife.
“She is a very successful businesswoman in her own right,” says Pugh. The owner of a successful printing company whose clients run the gamut from Coca-Cola to Walmart and many Fortune 500 companies in between, “She’s an incredible person,” he says. “Has an incredible personality. Very kind, very thoughtful. Just an incredible partner, and she’s been a big part of the things I’ve been involved in at ABC.”
The rest of his family play no small part in Pugh’s work-life success either. With four children and five grandchildren under the age of five, Pugh spent his recent weeks steeped in family fun time, a perfect way to ring in the new year and his new role at ABC. “We put up six Christmas trees, a six-foot tall singing Santa and a six-foot tall singing Grinch,” he says of his holiday happenings. He also attended the Iron Bowl game at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa this past fall—an annual tradition made even better this season by a Crimson Tide victory.
ROLL ABC ROLL
As the year rolls on for ABC, Pugh takes a piece of his own advice and pauses to reflect: “There’s still the side of me that is convinced that I would’ve loved the contractor side. I’ll never lose that. But during my career as an attorney, I’ve been able to remain predominantly, if not almost exclusively, in the construction industry and to serve the construction industry. And that has been very, very gratifying.”
It seems like Pugh’s plan has panned out, but that doesn’t mean he’s done planning—there is still work to be done as ABC National Chair, but he takes another moment to pause and, this time, look forward to what this new position means to him: “As much as I love the construction industry, as much as I love the contractors, for them to have the confidence in me, that they’re willing to elect me to serve as the national chair of the largest construction trade association that there is, it’s incredible. It is incredibly emotional for me and very gratifying. It’s a huge honor.”
Having been involved with the executive committee in previous years and serving last year as chair-elect with 2024 National Chair Buddy Henley, Pugh knows what it takes to make ABC work: teamwork.
“My personal preferences may have to take a back seat,” he says. “I see it very much as the continuation of the same work. I want to make sure that I’m including the leadership that’s going to follow me. My goal is to make sure that we are as effective as possible for my 12 months, and that the handoff [to Thomas Murphy] is so smooth that we continue at that same level of efficiency.”
So, what does the rest of the year look like for Pugh? “A lot of communication, a lot of planning,” he says, mixed in with a lot of celebrating 75 years of ABC—but he won’t forget to leave time for his wellbeing, his family and Alabama football.
SEE ALSO: A NATIONAL CHAIR’S WORK IS NEVER DONE: A FAREWELL INTERVIEW WITH BUDDY HENLEY
