Russell "Russ" Burns, chairman and former CEO of Chicago-based design-build and real estate development firm Clayco, who was tapped to lead it at a critical time, died March 20 of cancer, the company said. He was 65.

Burns, who had retired from Turner Construction in 2008 as an executive vice president and member of its executive leadership team, was writing a children’s book and taking courses to become a minister when Bob Clark, Clayco founder and executive chairman, hired him as a consultant—eyeing a potential successor to run the growing business.

“He had a totally natural ability to instill complete trust and confidence," Clark says. "He was a leader who inspired those around him to want to succeed, not just for themselves or the company, but also for himself." 

Burns graduated from Middle Tennessee State University with a bachelor's degree in business administration, and served as a pilot in the U.S. Air Force. He was deployed during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm and as part of the United Nations peacekeeping force in eastern Europe. He began his construction career at Lacona Construction, which was later bought by Turner. 

Taking on the role of Clayco president in 2008, Clark says Burns led the company’s operations during difficult economic times that hit that year.  

"With Russ at the helm, by 2010, while most construction companies were still reeling, we instead had a record profit and had set ourselves on a path to actually grow every year through the Great Recession," he says.  

The business grew from $700 million in revenue in 2008 to $7.6-billion in 2024. Burns was named CEO in 2010, and impacted many parts of the business. Burns also led Clayco through the COVID-19 pandemic years and vowed to follow all directives that Clark and other construction leaders helped draft for construction jobsites keeping them open as essential infrastructure.

Although Clark and Burns sometimes disagreed, "we took leaps of faith when it came to different concepts and ideas, including growing leadership, developing various team members and business units, and making types of structural changes to the enterprise through turning over complete and absolute trust [in Burns] of all things financial, banking, bonding and insurance,” Clark says. 

He adds that Burns will be remembered for various phrases dubbed “Russ-isms,” noting that when delivering bleak news, Burns would say, "I’ve read the last chapter, and everything turns out fine.”

Peter Davoren, chairman and CEO of Turner Construction, says Burns "was one of the most beloved leaders who graced us for 21 years at Turner. He believed in creating an environment where people could be at their best and be authentic and where everyone would treat each other with respect and dignity, bringing out the best in people." 

Turner later worked with Burns and Clayco on various projects. 

Burns also served on the boards of Habitat for Humanity, Junior Achievement, Vanderbilt Medical Center, YMCA of Middle Tennessee and Ascension St. Thomas Foundation.

Following Burns' retirement in December 2024, Anthony Johnson was named CEO of Clayco. 

Clayco's new 230,000-sq-ft office in the St. Louis area has been named in Burns’ honor.  

More obituary details and information on a Celebration of Life event for Burns set for Sat., March 29 at 1 p.m. in Nashville, Tenn., can be found here