For nearly six decades, Ronald N. Tutor has operated one of L.A.’s most recognized construction firms, Tutor Perini Corp.
One thing that’s changed for him over those years is that now, at age 83, he no longer works into the evenings and only rarely works on weekends.
Tutor said he’s down to working only 50-hour weeks.
In fact, he said the worst part of working into your 80s is “overcoming the aches and pains and the fact that you can’t put in an 18- hour day anymore. I have only slowed down to the point where I put in a 10-hour day.”
Why continue working? The chair and chief executive said he simply loves his job and is never bored.
“It is challenging and fascinating and never dull,” Tutor said. “The pleasure and satisfaction I get is the accomplishments and the challenge of building the nation’s largest infrastructure and buildings all over the United States,”
His Sylmar construction firm is known for building big projects. Among other contracts, it got work for the Hudson Yards in New York, a portion of the California High-Speed Rail line, a terminal at the Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas and the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas.
It is deeply involved in building the Purple Line extension for L.A.’s subway system.
“We built a significant part of the Ventura Freeway; the $200 million downtown Los Angeles Police Headquarters; over $5 billion of the L.A. subway system; the $200 million Los Angeles Central Library; numerous projects at USC, including the $150 million Ronald Tutor Academic Center and the $50 million Ronald Tutor Hall of Engineering,” Tutor said.
Early start
Tutor said his career started in 1963 after he graduated from USC and went to work for his father at Tutor Perini’s predecessor company.
“Two years later he was diagnosed with prostate cancer and went into recovery for two years at home, which left me to take over the business, such as it was, doing less than $500,000 a year in a commercial sector,” Tutor said. “Since that time, of course, the old A.G. Tutor Co. Inc. grew into Tutor-Saliba, which grew into Tutor Perini after the merger in 2008.”
Although he enjoys working, Tutor has committed to retiring at the end of next year. Gary Smalley, who was named president on Nov. 15, is expected to succeed him as CEO. Tutor, meanwhile, will become executive chair until the end of 2026.
“After I retire, I have no idea what I am going to do with my time. That will be the real challenge.”
Any advice for someone thinking of working past retirement age?
“I have never believed there is a particular retirement age,” Tutor said. “I believe that retirement is tied to the nature of the individual and his importance to the business he is in, and just how good he physically feels to work until a point where he really wants to retire.”
He concluded by saying, “the biggest lesson I have learned in my life is to always work the hardest and put in your best effort on everything you do. Then you will never have a regret looking back at anything you may have failed at for the lack of effort.”
