Following a 34-year stint as chief executive of Matt Construction, Steven Matt named Brian Saenger as his successor. Saenger has been chief executive of downtown real estate development firm The Ratkovich Co. for the past four years.

Co-founding the Santa Fe Springs-based firm in 1991 along with his father and uncle, Matt recalled starting out with just $5,000 in the bank and feeling the brunt of the 1990 recession. Nevertheless, the 1994 Northridge earthquake helped to propel Matt Construction into relevance as demand soared for technical and structural expertise in the construction realm to repair damaged buildings.

“By ’97, we were rocking and rolling and never looked back,” said Matt, who will remain at the firm as chairman. “… It’s been quite a trip.”

Matt, along with his team, selected Saenger to lead the company after getting to know him through his work at The Ratkovich Co. There, Saenger also took over as chief executive at a family founded firm when he succeeded Wayne Ratkovich in 2020.

The Business Journal met with Matt and Saenger to discuss the leadership transition, reflect on the firm’s history and look toward its future.

Previously Steven, you’ve been acting as chief executive and chairman of Matt Construction. Now that your sole role will be chairman, what will your focus areas be?
Matt: Now, I get to do what I want to do the most, the most desirable and fun things. First of all, my dream has always been to build a great company – always, since I was quite young… So, I want to continue to support the strategic growth in my full-time role as chairman and focus on excellent board governance, as well as building bridges with our clients and partners, which I thoroughly enjoy doing. Mentoring our next generation of leaders, while expanding our senior leadership capacity to address our continuing success (will also be my focus). We’re still in a growth mode, and I really see the need for us to have that additional depth that Brian brings.

Can you elaborate on ‘excellent board governance’ and what that means for Matt Construction?
Matt: Right now, we are 49% employee-owned and we’re eventually going to be 100% employee-owned. The board function becomes extremely important to a successful ESOP (employee stock ownership plan). Going forward, there’s a lot more responsibility because there isn’t an individual owner running the day-to-day operation, per se, and so it requires a lot more expertise, vigilance and involvement in staying connected to the leadership team. That, to me, requires a lot of education that I get to focus on and helping our outside board members to really be effective.

Through your tenure running Matt Construction, can you pinpoint one or two projects that stand out to you?
Matt: It’s almost like asking me to pick out one of my children and say this is my (favorite). That’s pretty tough because … they’re all incredible clients and amazing people that are involved that make these projects happen, and we’re just fortunate to have the opportunity to do them.

(That said), I have to say The Broad itself and now the expansion of The Broad… as well as the Waldorf Astoria. It was a treat to work with (developer) Beny Alagem and his team to help and be a part of making (the Waldorf Astoria) a reality, and it turned out so beautiful and just a great thing to be part of…

I’ll also point out the historic renovation of the 1913 building at Natural History Museum (of Los Angeles County). We did tremendous innovation in how we reinforced an unreinforced masonry building, and then the interiors are incredible. You know, I grew up going to that museum. All of us have been there one time or another, and I’ve always found that hall fascinating.

In the nationwide search for your successor, how did Brian stand out against others being considered?
Matt: He had this incredible knowledge of our region of work and our environment. He really brought a lot of experience and wisdom that we can capture and put to great use. He has a very strategic mindset. His integrity, his commitment and very clear thoughtfulness about what he does really stood out.

He’s also been a client of ours, and it’s been great to know him from that and also from the perspective of him being an important part of The Ratkovich Co.…

(Choosing Brian) wasn’t too much of a reach for us – in fact, it wasn’t even a debate… He recognized all the hard work that all of our people have put into making this company what it is today, and he comes with a lot of respect for the people that have made this company. We’re all excited to have him come get started.

Brian Saenger: The Success

What strengths does your background as a real estate attorney and developer bring to this role?
Saenger: As not only a real estate attorney, but a real estate developer, I know the marketplace and the people that make things happen in that marketplace. I understand projects and the reward and risk analysis from a client’s perspective. I’ve seen the full life cycle of commercial projects, from formation of the concept to fundraising to navigating entitlements to assembling the construction and design teams all the way through to project stabilization, and by helping Matt better understand the client’s perspective, I think Matt will enhance its already stellar business development and client service skills.

This will be your second time stepping up as CEO of a family-founded and family-run company as someone who is not a member of that family. What did you learn from that experience at The Ratkovich Co. that you’ll carry over to Matt Construction?
Saenger: So similar to my current company, I intend to be a steward of the Matt legacy of accomplishments in the Southern California built environment. Matt has a great team of talented builders, and I really wanted to continue to work with great people working on great projects. And so, I see myself as a steward of that legacy, to continue it, to grow it, to respect it. So those are important to me – family-founded values, reputation and brand in the marketplace. And those are similar themes between both groups.

Where do you see the greatest opportunity for Matt Construction specifically within the L.A. market right now?
Saenger: There’s a role for Matt to help rebuild the commercial and philanthropic pieces of both the Pacific Palisades and Altadena communities. What exactly that will be is to be determined, but I think it’s a matter of all hands on deck to come and help support those communities and their efforts.

Separately, as we all know, there is a statewide and local need for housing, and Matt has a history of working on multifamily housing and bringing that expertise to bear as new projects get underway with particularly the relaxed state legislation allowing for more housing. That’s another area of focus that I’d like to look at in time.

What other regions or markets does the firm intend to be active in?
Saenger: Matt is licensed in six Western states already, so we have the flexibility to work with clients in those six states today. We have a number of prospective projects in California, Arizona and Nevada based on prior relationships. And so, the goal is, if we are successful in winning any of those projects and starting construction, we’ll have the ability to plant a flag for other projects in those markets. One thing we’re cognizant of is staying true to the Matt brand. The goal in any expansion is to do it thoughtfully while respecting the brand and the quality of work that we’re able to bring to our clients locally and to make sure we’re able to bring that same quality and brand to something that we do in another state.

How do you plan to navigate Matt Construction through the market uncertainty surrounding tariffs, high construction costs, interest rates and labor shortages?
Saenger: I think the word is carefully. With respect to tariffs, many suppliers have already braced for the tariffs, and they ordered and warehoused supplies early in advance of the current tariff regime, which has buffered the impact of the end users so far. In addition, overseas suppliers have absorbed much of the tariff pressure to date, but we’re going to need to be ready for the time when those warehouse supplies have been depleted and new supplies are ordered under the new tariff regime. So, we just need to be mindful of those things.

With respect to labor costs, we’re seeing those hold steady for the large institutional projects that Matt undertakes, but obviously it’s something that needs to be monitored. Construction costs are always top of mind when it comes to putting together pro formas but I think Matt has done a really good job in communicating those costs to clients and continuing to communicate those challenges, whether it be tariffs or cost to clients on an ongoing basis. So, it’s doing more of the same, monitoring, managing, communicating, which is what Matt has done to date, and I’ll continue to do going forward.

With Matt Construction’s history of contributing to iconic landmarks like the Academy Museum and The Broad, where do you see the intersection between construction and culture creation?
Saenger: There’s a great overlap. To my mind, buildings are nothing without the people that use them, and creating sophisticated, beautiful, iconic buildings is one part of the formula. The other part is bringing people to them to enjoy the space. And so, there’s a great overlap between the built environment and the culture that’s created within.