By Rachel Hastings
14 October 2025
Ryan Sawall has spent the better part of two decades at McCarthy Building Companies building things—not just large-scale construction projects, but also teams and business units. Now the Chief Executive Officer for the company’s Central Region, Sawall’s path from professional mechanical engineer to managing business across 30 states, as well as 700 salaried employees, is a study in ascending through experience. But moving from a technical role to a managerial one didn’t come with a map.
The Pivot from Technical Expert
With a technical education in architectural engineering, Sawall spent his first decade at McCarthy working on major projects across the country. By the time he stepped into his first leadership roles, he’d built up a wealth of experience, though he lacked a formal background in business management.
“I advanced into a business leadership role and learned there was no manual,” Sawall said, reflecting on his early days. “I went from being an individual contributor to a project leader, to starting and leading a team and office in Omaha, Nebraska, to what was essentially a turnaround project in our Kansas City office.”
It was then that McCarthy sent Sawall to Tuck for the Leadership and Strategic Impact program, soon followed by the Advanced Management Program—a move that proved pivotal for Sawall’s continued growth.
“I had learned a lot from experience by the time I came to Tuck,” Sawall explained, “But the programs really helped me pull all of it together and frame the puzzle.”
Ryan Sawall (left) with McCarthy Senior Superintendent Tim Scott and Project Manager Nate Elting on site at the SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital, under construction in St. Louis.
Framing the Future of Construction
Following his participation in the Tuck programs, Sawall moved to St. Louis to oversee six business units before assuming the role of Regional CEO. Thanks in part to the lessons he’d learned at Tuck from professors like VG Govindarajan, Ron Adner, and Paul Argenti, Sawall quickly saw that changes in the industry meant that McCarthy couldn’t reach its goals of rapid growth by maintaining the status quo.
“Our approach tended to be, ‘Okay, this is the playbook that worked in the past, and so to get to where we want to go, we just apply that playbook,” he explained. “Tuck helped me to understand that your business strategy can be based on incremental change, or in thinking outside of the box and looking at things in a new way.”
This distinction has since driven major internal initiatives at McCarthy. For example, Sawall is currently seeking procurement experts outside the construction industry to help the company better leverage its buying power.
Sawall is also acutely aware of the forces transforming the construction industry, which he notes is historically "very far behind." He views technological change as inevitable and is focused on internal preparation for disruptive forces like AI.
“We’re preparing our teams to be able to adapt and think differently,” he says. “That’s really one of the biggest leadership drivers that I’m trying to push.”
“Tuck helped me to understand that your business strategy can be based on thinking outside of the box and looking at things in a new way.”
The Time Investment: Prioritizing Strategy and People
Sawall’s most immediate and practical takeaway involved managing his most precious resource: time. Like many senior executives, he often found himself consumed by urgent business challenges, leaving less time to focus on long-term strategy and talent development.
Following his Tuck experience, he implemented a rigorous scheduling system based on advice about ensuring time is actually scheduled. His calendar is now color-coded, allocating time for four key areas: Business, Strategy, People, and Reflection. He delegates the management of this calendar to his executive assistant, who serves as a crucial partner in maintaining focus.
Sawall set explicit goals, such as dedicating 10% of his time to reflection and 30% each to strategy and people. “You can get to a week where you’re 90% or 100% on the business, and you’re not focusing enough on people or strategy,” he notes. By making reflection and strategic oversight mandatory calendar items, he ensures his time investment directly reflects his executive priorities.
Aligning Teams, Spending, and Priorities
Sawall brought a specific challenge to Tuck: how to maintain consistency and alignment across a business rapidly approaching $10 billion in revenue years ahead of projections. He found clarity in an unexpected place – a team-building exercise on the river. “It’s a really simple concept: if you’re not all rowing together, you’re not going to go anywhere,” he recalls. This visualization underscored his focus on consistency across his rapidly expanding region.
Ryan at the bow with teammates during a leadership training on the Connecticut River, where 32 participants rowed in four boats of eight to practice consistency and teamwork.
Tuck also helped him address financial and strategic alignment, ensuring that the company’s balance sheet matches actual investments—a concept he and his team actively monitor.
Today, Sawall notes, his leadership isn’t focused just on hitting revenue targets but on ensuring his vast organization moves in unison toward the future – whatever it may hold for his industry and the economy at large.
