John Carroll, CE 77, delivering the Spring Hyatt lecture on February 19, 2026.
“Why am I here?” John Carroll, the Spring 2026 Hyatt speaker, asked a room full of civil and environmental engineering students. “Because I am failing at retirement.”
Carroll hasn’t failed at much over the 40-year career in engineering and construction that he began after graduating from Georgia Tech in 1977 with a degree in civil engineering.
Carroll, currently serving as a city councilman in Vero Beach, Florida, retired as vice president for forensics from international consulting firm J.S. Held in 2023. J.S. Held bought Twenty First Century Engineering, a company Carroll founded in 1989, in 2020. Carroll is currently the President of Carroll Holdings Inc.
Carroll was invited to speak as part of the Hyatt Distinguished Leadership Speaker Series, which brings a distinguished leader to campus each fall and spring to share wisdom and insight with students and the wider Georgia Tech community.
Carroll called his career advice a “40-year site plan,” and organized the talk into four key stages of professional development: foundation, framing, the professional bridge, and civic leadership. Together, these stages form a long-term plan for building both a successful career and a stronger society.
Phase I: The Foundation: Technical Mastery and Real-World Experience
Carroll described the early phase of a career as the foundation, where young engineers focus on technical competence, data analysis, and design. He emphasized that classroom knowledge alone is insufficient; real understanding comes from field experience. Early in his career designing water, sewer, and drainage systems in Houston, Texas, he learned that design is only as effective as its execution. Carroll advised the students that computer models can’t predict weather conditions, labor shortages, or the ability to meet deadlines that visiting a job site can reveal.
This insight led Carroll to pursue dual credentials as both a professional engineer and licensed contractor.
“That allowed me to control my whole destiny,” he said. “I could design it. I could build it. And then ultimately, I became a developer and I sold it.”
Carroll is currently a Vero Beach, Florida city councilman and the President of Carroll Holdings, Inc. (Photo by Melissa Fralick)
His message to students: build a strong technical base, seek hands-on experience, and understand how your work performs in the real world. He also stressed adaptability. Moving from Florida to booming 1970s Texas expanded his perspective.
“It proved to me that I was able to navigate life's twists and turns; that I could survive on my own and actually flourish,” he said.
The foundation stage, he said, is about more than technical skill — it is about resilience, curiosity, and the willingness to step outside one’s comfort zone.
Phase II: The Framing: Management, Communication and Relationships
The second stage, framing, represents the transition from technical contributor to manager and leader. At this point, success depends less on calculations and more on communication, trust, and relationship-building. Carroll characterized this stage as transitioning from doing the work to guiding people who do the work.
“Communication is key,” Carroll said.
Engineers must listen carefully, document accurately, and explain complex issues clearly — sometimes to juries or clients under stress. Strong writing skills are equally essential, as technical reports must present logic, evidence, and conclusions in a clear, defensible structure.
Left to right: Associate Chair Adjo Amekudzi-Kennedy, John Carroll, and School Chair Don Webster. (Photo by Melissa Fralick)
Phase III: The Professional Bridge
Carroll described the bridge stage as ongoing professional engagement — connecting technical expertise with broader industry awareness. He admitted he initially underestimated the value of such involvement but later recognized its importance in expanding perspectives and fostering innovation.
“Once I started getting involved in different organizations, I realized how important they were for interacting with others, getting people other ideas, and also thinking out of the box,” Carroll said.
Professional groups such as the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) help engineers understand policy changes, market trends, and emerging opportunities. Carroll said this is critical knowledge for those interested in starting their own business.
Carroll is a past president of the Ft. Lauderdale and Vero Beach Rotary Clubs and served as assistant district governor. Carroll stressed engaging with professionals outside of the engineering world can improve problem-solving and open unexpected career paths. “Community service organizations are eager for young professionals who can bring technical expertise and fresh ideas,” he told the students.
Phase IV: Civic Leadership
The final stage, civic leadership, represents the most rewarding phase of a career: using professional skills to serve the community, Carroll said. Carroll saw civic leadership early on in life, as his mother served as the city clerk of Plantation, a suburb of Ft. Lauderdale and again when his wife, Tracy, ran for Vero Beach City Council in the 2010s.
Carroll followed in his wife’s footsteps in 2022, winning his own seat on the city council. He has contributed to major community improvements, including airport expansion, marina redevelopment, and a waterfront development project that is repurposing an old power plant that has sat dormant since 2016.
Finally, Carroll urged the students not to chase promotions alone in their careers but to pursue impact—mentoring others, improving communities, and strengthening the engineering profession.
“Use your engineering toolkit to solve community problems and leave the world better than you found it,” he said. “Your degree from Georgia Tech is the ultimate foundation. Now, go out and build the road you travel and the bridges you cross.”