NEW ORLEANS — Woodward Design+Build, LLC, a New Orleans-based design-build construction and engineering firm, has announced the appointment of Wiley Blankenship to a strategic leadership role focused on expanding the company’s construction operations and market presence throughout Alabama and key Gulf Coast markets. Blankenship will serve as Gulf Coast Market Leader, guiding Woodward’s continued growth across the region.
Woodward has served New Orleans and the Gulf Coast for more than a century. Blankenship brings experience supporting complex industrial, infrastructure, and coastal development initiatives across the Gulf South.
Wiley Blankenship
Blankenship brings experience supporting complex industrial, infrastructure, and coastal development initiatives across the Gulf South. According to Woodward, he is known for aligning diverse interests, navigating regulatory frameworks, and moving large-scale initiatives forward.
His economic development background includes leading multi-stakeholder efforts that advanced major capital projects, strengthened regional competitiveness, and supported long-term growth through collaboration with public agencies, private industry, and municipal partners.
“Woodward has earned a strong reputation for delivering construction projects with high levels of quality and integrity,” Blankenship said. “They treat their clients and, just as important, their subcontractors like true partners. I’m excited to join a team that values relationships and the communities it serves while also being objectively excellent at what it does. I’m looking forward to introducing Woodward to my friends and colleagues around the state.”
“We’re thrilled to welcome Wiley to the team,” said Ken Flower, president of Woodward. “The way he leads and interacts with everyone he meets—with generosity, energy, and humility—aligns closely with our core values and the communities where we’re growing.
“Our company has proudly served New Orleans and the Gulf Coast for more than a century,” Flower said. “We are investing in this region because people like Wiley are who we want to build with for the next 100 years.”
In his new role, Blankenship will lead strategic market expansion efforts by aligning clients’ project goals with Woodward’s design-build expertise and connecting clients with experienced teams and trusted resources to address the unique challenges and opportunities of each project.
About Woodward
Woodward is a full-service construction firm providing architectural, structural engineering, millwork, and construction management services. The company primarily serves its clients as a general contractor and attributes its longevity to a commitment to high-integrity collaboration among clients, designers, project management, and tradesmen.
Woodward’s New Orleans project portfolio includes work for the New Orleans Culinary & Hospitality Institute and the Federal City Marine Support Facility.
A trusted partner to Gulf Distributing, Woodward recently completed the company’s Mobile Headquarters facility and is currently serving as Gulf’s design-build partner on enhancements to its Huntsville operations, with additional projects planned across the Gulf Coast.
