Jes Pedersen (’85, Construction Engineering Technology)

CEO/President (Retired), Webcor Builders

BS Construction Engineering Technology, Cal Poly Pomona, 1985

For Jes Pedersen, a four-year college wasn’t even a thought in his mind. Instead, from his teens through junior college, he worked with his body, hanging drywall for residential construction with his father. Then, he helped build hiking and horse trails throughout California to help link the Pacific Crest Trail.

Pedersen seemed to follow in his father’s footsteps, but a hang-gliding incident crushed his ankle, prohibiting him from enduring long hours on his feet. With one door permanently shut, another opened—he decided to learn to work with his mind instead by pursuing a construction engineering degree at Cal Poly Pomona.

The transition was difficult. With a five-year gap between completing junior college and enrolling in Cal Poly Pomona, his analytical and creative skills atrophied. “In my first semester, I signed up for five classes and had to drop two so that I wouldn’t fail out of them.” Pedersen says.

After graduation, Pedersen was a project engineer for Dillingham Construction, which started as an internship. Opportunity came knocking when Koll Construction offered the role of senior project engineer, prompting a move. Responsible with roughly $12 million to complete a commercial office, Pedersen was thrilled by the responsibility to budget, manage, hire and pay all subcontractors. All management issues became his to solve, and he thrived.

So, it’s no surprise that he was the CEO of Webcor Builders before retiring in 2023. Starting as project director, he ultimately assumed the leadership role in 2012 where he built the company’s annual revenue from $350 million to a staggering $2 billion.

Looking back, enrolling in Cal Poly Pomona was his most significant life decision as he not only gained a fulfilling career, but met the love of his life in his last semester and in his words, “is living happily ever after.”

“It's never too late to go back to college and get the education you want to better yourself, your career, and life trajectory.”