Mike Hollingshead was raised in Smyrna, Tennessee, in a working-class family. He is the son of Dearl Wayne Hollingshead, a long-time truck driver, and Mary Alice Hollingshead. Growing up alongside his brothers, Jeff and Ryan, he was brought up in a close-knit, community-oriented environment.
His parents, who had faced economic hardships in their own youth, instilled in their children a strong work ethic and practical values. Hollingshead’s early life was also shaped by regular involvement in church and community activities, reflecting a household grounded in discipline, faith, and resilience.
| Fact | Details |
| Name | Mike Hollingshead |
| Role | Founder & Chairman, SRM Concrete |
| Net Worth | Not publicly disclosed |
| Income Source | SRM Concrete (private company) |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Company Size | 8,500+ employees |
| Operations | ~24 U.S. states |
| Industry Rank | Largest family-owned ready-mix firm (U.S.) |
| Background | Former concrete finisher |
| Growth Strategy | Expansion + acquisitions |
Mike Hollingshead, founder of SRM Concrete, built a leading U.S. ready-mix company from a small Tennessee startup. Mike Hollingshead is the founder and long-time leader of SRM Concrete, serving as its Chairman and guiding its growth since 1999. A former concrete finisher by trade, he launched SRM (originally Smyrna Ready Mix) out of a backyard plant in Smyrna, Tennessee with just a handful of trucks and a focus on customer service and reliability.
Under Hollingshead’s direction, SRM grew from a small local operator into a national construction materials firm. Today SRM Concrete is widely recognized as the largest family-owned ready-mix concrete producer in the United States.
In his current role, Hollingshead sets the company’s long-term strategy and oversees major expansion initiatives, while ensuring that SRM’s core values of service and quality remain central to its operations.
In 1999 Mike Hollingshead and his wife, Melissa, combined their savings to start a ready-mix plant in their rural Tennessee backyard. Hollingshead had become frustrated with the poor service he received as a small concrete contractor, so he decided to supply his own jobs.
He and Melissa borrowed money, bought a used concrete plant and five mixer trucks at auction, and began delivering concrete from a one-plant operation on Hickory Grove Road. Although two of the engines failed on the way home, the remaining three trucks launched Smyrna Ready Mix with little formal experience beyond Hollingshead’s finishing work.
Within six months of opening, the company’s emphasis on responsiveness and reliability led neighboring contractors to place their own orders. This early success fueled steady expansion across Rutherford County and nearby areas.
By the 2010s SRM was the dominant local supplier, and in 2014 Hollingshead led the acquisition of Metro Ready Mix, a strategic deal that greatly increased SRM’s market presence in the fast-growing Nashville area. These early years established the operational model and culture that Hollingshead used to grow SRM.
Hollingshead built SRM Concrete on a foundation of family-oriented values, hard work, and customer focus. Drawing on his own experience as a concrete finisher, he understood the importance of on-time deliveries and strong customer relationships.
He implemented rigorous training and safety programs for drivers and batch plant operators. For example, new mixer drivers undergo multiple weeks of supervised training before going solo.
Hollingshead maintained an open-door management style, often working alongside employees at plants or even driving trucks himself to stay connected with field operations. Company materials and media note that the Hollingsheads promote a teamwork culture: owners and senior managers regularly visit jobsites and plants, emphasizing that “the owners have their backs.”
Under his leadership, SRM placed special emphasis on consistency of service: every load of concrete was backed by the same commitment to quality, whether for a small residential project or a large commercial job. This customer-first philosophy, combined with an insistence on relentless work ethic and honesty, helped the small start-up compete with much larger suppliers and gain loyal customers, fueling SRM’s early growth.
Beginning in the 2010s Hollingshead shifted SRM to aggressive growth through acquisitions and geographic expansion. SRM pursued dozens of acquisitions nationwide, targeting independent ready-mix and materials companies in strategic regions.
By late 2021 the company reported more than 300 plants in its network, spanning well beyond Tennessee into the broader Southeast and Midwest. In recent years SRM opened multiple new plants in fast-growing markets like Atlanta, Houston and Salt Lake City, and entered new regions, for example, entering Texas and Colorado via acquisitions in 2023.
Hollingshead also diversified SRM’s business lines: under his oversight SRM launched a materials division with quarries across several states, created a cement distribution division, and added concrete products divisions. Company announcements frequently emphasize this acquisition strategy.
In a 2022 press release about a Florida deal, Hollingshead remarked, “We are excited to welcome our new team members and their families to SRM,” underscoring his focus on integrating each acquisition.
By early 2026 SRM Concrete had grown to over 8,500 employees and operated in roughly 24 states, making it the nation’s largest family-owned ready-mix operation. Hollingshead’s expansion strategy, combining organic plant openings with targeted takeovers, turned the business from a regional player into a national industry leader.
Hollingshead’s leadership style is often described as hands-on, humble and people-focused. He blends practical, on-the-job experience with a commitment to high standards and innovation.
Industry sources note that he has taken active roles in trade organizations, serving as president of the Tennessee Concrete Association and holding leadership posts in the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, reflecting his interest in advancing industry best practices.
Within SRM, Hollingshead emphasizes a culture of teamwork and open communication. Both employees and family members credit him with fostering a “family-owned” atmosphere: conflicts are minimized because owners and teams share values and often work side by side, whether in offices or at job sites.
Safety and training are also priorities under his philosophy. He views investment in people as essential, so SRM cultivates expertise through thorough operator training and development programs. In interviews his sons have said the family’s shared faith and work ethic influence the company’s direction, but even outside those terms, SRM’s emphasis on reliability and customer service clearly stems from Hollingshead’s own insistence on accountability and quality.
Overall, his business philosophy combines a commitment to community values with disciplined growth, ensuring SRM’s service-oriented approach remains consistent even as the company expands.
Under Hollingshead’s leadership, SRM Concrete achieved a series of major milestones. Today the company boasts several hundred ready-mix plants, dozens of quarries, cement terminals and construction materials centers, a footprint that makes it one of the five largest concrete suppliers in the nation.
SRM has reported sustained high growth: for example, the company added 21 new plants in 2025 alone. By mid-2026 SRM operated in nearly two dozen states, and employee counts exceeded 8,500.
The aggressive acquisition program has been a key driver: SRM’s own communications state that it completed over 70 acquisitions by 2022, with more than 100 total deals in recent years as the company pushed into new markets. Although financials are private, industry reports describe SRM as a multibillion-dollar enterprise, noting that it now outsizes many competitors despite being privately held.
Other notable accomplishments include developing its own cement terminal network and building materials warehouses to support expanded services. In 2023, SRM donated $3 million toward a major university athletic facility, a gift reflecting both the company’s success and Hollingshead’s desire to invest in the local community.
Observers credit Hollingshead with guiding SRM’s rise from a single backyard operation to a top-tier national company; for instance, an industry article noted that the firm grew from 4,000 employees in 2021 to nearly 9,000 by 2026. Each of these achievements underscores the impact of his long-term vision on the concrete industry.
In recent years Mike Hollingshead has concentrated on strategic leadership and industry influence. As Chairman and Owner, he no longer manages day-to-day operations, but he actively shapes SRM’s future direction.
Company statements say he now oversees special projects, long-term expansion planning, and cultivation of partnerships and potential acquisitions. He is frequently the company’s public spokesman on major initiatives: for example, he announced SRM’s multi-million-dollar charitable gift in 2023 and often speaks on behalf of the firm at industry events.
Hollingshead continues to sit on or lead trade associations, where he contributes to setting technical standards and safety practices for the ready-mix sector. His role has also become more national in scope; under his guidance SRM has opened new divisions and offices in multiple regions.
At the same time, he remains involved locally in Tennessee. He and his wife are active in community and philanthropic causes around Murfreesboro and Smyrna, and he has been honored in regional business circles, such as induction into his high school’s Hall of Fame.
Overall, between 2021 and 2026 Hollingshead has used his experience to steer SRM through rapid expansion while mentoring the next generation of leadership. His continued service in industry associations and community initiatives reflects his commitment to the concrete industry’s growth and to the markets SRM serves.
As of 2026, Mike Hollingshead’s net worth has not been publicly disclosed, and no figures have been officially verified by major financial authorities. He is the founder, chairman, and owner of SRM Concrete, a privately held, family-owned ready-mix concrete and construction materials company. His income is derived from this business. Specific details regarding his compensation or profit distributions from SRM Concrete are not publicly available.
Mike Hollingshead is an American businessman and the founder of SRM Concrete. He currently serves as the company’s chairman and has led its growth since 1999.
SRM Concrete is a privately held, family-owned company specializing in ready-mix concrete and construction materials. It is recognized as the largest family-owned ready-mix concrete producer in the United States.
He started SRM Concrete in 1999 with a small backyard plant in Tennessee. His background as a concrete finisher influenced his focus on service quality and reliability.
He serves as chairman and focuses on long-term strategy and expansion. He is not involved in daily operations but remains active in major business decisions.
Mike Hollingshead began his career as a concrete finisher. This hands-on experience helped shape his understanding of customer needs in the construction industry.