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Ron Tutor, the longtime president and CEO of heavy civil construction giant Tutor Perini, will leave his current role in 2025, the company announced, and will continue as executive chairman of the company’s board of directors.
Gary Smalley, the current CFO of the Los Angeles-based company, will succeed Tutor as CEO. The company’s board named Smalley president effective November 15.
Guardian Perini made the announcement through a press release and filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday, a week after reporting its third-quarter earnings.
Ron Tutor
Courtesy of Tutor Perini
Tutor, 83, has been the company’s president and CEO since 2008, when the firm’s two successor companies, Tutor-Saliba and Perini, merged. Along the way, he has employed a forceful executive style on the company’s earnings calls, including last week when he urged investors to stay away. Tutor Perini despite his ongoing legal disputes.
“Be patient,” he said at the end of the call. “We’re getting there.”
It has also provided a touch of Hollywood glamor in the often rough and tumble world of heavy civil construction. In 2010, Tutor led a group of investors who bought Walt Disney Co. Miramax Films. for 663 million dollars. Soon after, he threw a lavish party on his 194-foot yacht, Pegasus, at the Cannes Film Festival. Guests reportedly included actors Jamie-Lynn Sigler and Rob Lowe. Tutor sold his stake in Miramax three years later
Gary Smalley
Courtesy of Tutor Perini
Of Smalley’s appointment, Tutor said: “Gary is a proven leader who has provided valuable insight and demonstrated consistent sound judgment and top-notch executive management skills during his eight years with the company.”
“I am confident that Gary is the right person to lead Tutor Perini into the future, and I look forward to continuing to work with him and making a smooth leadership transition over the coming year,” Tutor said.
In addition to the succession announcement, previously disclosed in Tutor employment contract through an SEC filing in early 2021, Tutor Perini also named Ryan Soroka, the company’s chief accounting officer, as senior vice president and CFO. He will succeed Smalley in this role.
The company is currently looking for a new Director of Accounting. According to the statement, Soroka will also continue in that role until a replacement is named.
