Commercial Real Estate Design/Building Leader Clayco Establishes West Coast Office; Expands Team

Industry veterans Rob Jernigan and Emery Molnar Join Clayco in Los Angeles Expansion

CHICAGO – May 4, 2021 – Clayco, a full-service, turnkey real estate, architecture, engineering, design-build and construction firm with headquarters in Chicago, announced today that the firm is expanding its operations and establishing a West Coast regional office in Los Angeles. As part of that expansion, the firm has hired esteemed industry veterans Rob Jernigan and Emery Molnar to join Clayco as senior vice presidents.

With revenue expected to exceed $ 4.5 billion in 2021, Clayco specializes in the “art and science of building,” providing fast track, efficient solutions for industrial, commercial, institutional, and residential related building projects. Clayco has completed several billion dollars of work on projects along the West Coast, and still has a backlog in excess of $2 billion in Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada and Arizona.

“We have had explosive growth in all of our business lines on the West Coast and the time has come for us to go big,” said Clayco Executive Chairman/Founder Bob Clark on opening a Los Angeles office.

“Clayco has always pounced on opportunities created by industry setbacks and recessions; and with the shakiness of various markets and uncertainty caused by the pandemic, the shareholders and leadership agreed that this investment is in the best interest of our customers and company. Rob Jernigan and Emery Molnar are critical additions to our team.”

An accomplished architect, practice leader and community mentor with over 30 years of experience, much of Jernigan’s work can be seen across a revitalized Los Angeles. As a managing principal at his former architectural firm Gensler, Jernigan’s award-winning projects include the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, Wiseburn Unified School District and Da Vinci schools, The Ritz-Carlton Residences and JW Marriott at L.A. Live, Metropolis, The Broad, C3 in Culver City, and ICON Sunset Bronson Studios in Hollywood.  At Clayco, he will be senior vice president of integrated services and will be responsible for accelerating growth on the West Coast.

Molnar brings extensive leadership to Clayco’s West Coast expansion while having previously served in executive level positions at Gilbane Building Co. and Swinerton Builders in preconstruction, construction operations and business development. Molnar has successfully helped clients accomplish their visions in diverse industries including education, healthcare, hospitality, commercial and retail. As senior vice president for the Clayco Pacific Region Molnar will continue to serve as Chairman of the Board of Directors for ACE Los Angeles and as a board member of Women in Construction Operations (WiOPS).

Jernigan, after more than three decades working for the best architectural firms, said, “Both Emery Molnar, who comes from the building side, and I have always looked for the best results for our clients. We believe we can do better work by making the commitment to putting design and construction together the way in which Clayco has been so successful over the years.”

Added Molnar: “Rob and I are incredibly excited to be part of Clayco’s growth in the Pacific Region. I’ve long admired Clayco’s absolute command of the design-build industry, and I look forward to helping the company grow in these new target markets and, also, in new design-build verticals such as higher education.”

Helping lead Clayco’s West Coast expansion is executive vice president and shareholder Ryan McGuire. McGuire spent more than a decade of his career in Southern California with McCarthy Building Companies before joining Clayco in 2014. He returns to the West Coast having successfully led the Corporate and Mission Critical business units for Clayco.  Roberto Valdes, vice president of Industrial Pacific Region, will also help spearhead the effort; along with executives of the Lamar Johnson Collaborative, Clayco’s design arm.

McGuire said, “Los Angeles has one of the highest accumulations of intellectual and financial capital in the world and we see the area as a perfect fit for the Clayco platform to attract amazing talent to further the interests of our West Coast customers. Our value proposition is unique to those who would seek to join us, as we have an integrated platform across the entire real estate development, design and building spectrum and there are multiple ways to succeed and advance throughout the organization.”

The West Coast regional office will house group leaders from all of Clayco’s business units and subsidiaries. Its Los Angeles-based headquarters will be in Culver City, California. Clayco and its full-service real estate development entity CRG also currently have an office in Newport Beach, California.


About Clayco
Clayco is a full-service, turnkey real estate development, master planning, architecture, engineering, and construction firm that safely delivers clients across North America the highest quality solutions on time, on budget, and above and beyond expectations. With $3.8 billion in revenue for 2020, Clayco specializes in the “art and science of building,” providing fast track, efficient solutions for industrial, commercial, institutional, and residential related building projects. For more information, visit www.claycorp.com.

About LJC
LJC is the full-service design and architecture arm of Clayco and is committed to enhancing the quality of the human experience and to improving how design and architecture can impact each individual’s emotional being. By harnessing the power of integrated design — including architecture, workplace strategy, interior design, landscape architecture, urban planning and engineering. — the company achieves its clients’ goals and aspirations. For more information, visit www.theljc.com.