Birmingham-based Thompson Holdings will have a new CEO in 2025.

Chief Legal Officer Chad Brown will take the reins, beginning Jan. 1. Current CEO John Baker will become executive chairman.

Thompson Holdings is the parent company of Thompson Engineering, Watermark Design, Thompson Consulting Services and Meyer Engineers.

“Chad brings a strategic energy to our organization,” Baker said. “In particular, his leadership in mergers and acquisitions and the development of our Employee Stock Ownership Plan has created growth and value for our employee-owners.”

Brown joined Thompson Holdings in 2002. He is an officer on the Thompson Holdings Board of Directors, where he chairs the board’s M&A committee and the Thompson Foundation.

“I look forward to being a strategic resource providing leadership and governance for a growing ESOP and delivering excellent business services for our operating companies,” Brown said. “John’s legacy as CEO of Thompson Holdings will have a lasting impact, and it has been an honor to serve alongside him for 22 years.”

Brown’s appointment as CEO of Thompson Holdings is the company’s latest move in advance of Baker’s retirement.

In January, Baker announced Kendall Kilpatrick as CEO of Thompson Engineering, the largest of the operating subsidiaries. Kilpatrick is only the fifth CEO to lead the company in its 71-year history.

Baker’s 33-year career with Thompson began in its Water Resources Division in 1991. He was promoted to President of Thompson Engineering and then CEO of both Thompson Holdings and Thompson Engineering.

“It’s been an incredible journey and honor to lead our employee-owners at Thompson,” Baker said.

“As executive chairman, my new role will be to ensure a smooth transition for the leadership of both Thompson Holdings and Thompson Engineering, those roles now split. This generation of leadership is excited about the future, and I am looking forward to seeing new opportunities and rewards created for our employee-owners under our new leadership structure.”