Family Business Symposium Attendee Spotlight – Bryan Hawkins

Highlighting another of our family business owners registered for the upcoming “It’s All Relative” 2022 Ole Miss Family Business Symposium hosted by the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, we spoke with Bryan Hawkins, the founder and president of Hawkeye Industries, Inc. in Tupelo, Miss.

Established in 1995, Hawkeye Industries is a high-tech OEM contract manufacturer of precision fabricated sheet metal components and assemblies for a wide variety of manufacturers. Hawkins, a graduate of the University of Mississippi with a bachelor’s and master’s degree in business administration, retired in 1999 after 24 years as a helicopter pilot with the Mississippi Army National Guard as a Lieutenant Colonel.

Throughout his successful career, Hawkins is most proud of creating his business.

“Founding and building a successful family-run company that is widely known as being the best in class,” said Hawkins. “That’s what I’m most proud of.”

For his achievements, Hawkeye Industries, Inc. has been recognized as one of the state’s top-40 fastest growing businesses in 1999, 2001, and 2005 by the Mississippi Business Journal. In 2003, Hawkins was selected by the U.S. Small Business Administration to represent Mississippi as their Small Businessperson of the Year in Washington D.C. He’s no stranger to supporting the state’s economic growth, and looks forward to the benefits the upcoming Family Business Symposium provides Mississippi.

“I’m looking forward to learning new and innovative ways to manage the challenges of transition from founder, CEO, and president, to retired-but-involved, and beyond,” said Hawkins. “It will be a great opportunity for networking and collaboration with like-minded individuals to bolster my efforts.”