McCarthy Holdings, Inc. Announces Joe Jouvenal Promoted to Chief Operating Officer

ST. LOUIS (Jan. 11, 2024) – McCarthy Holdings, Inc. (McCarthy), one of the nation’s largest 100 percent employee-owned construction companies, is pleased to announce the promotion of Joe Jouvenal to Chief Operating Officer. In this role he will be responsible for overseeing all operations for the firm and its subsidiaries and will also oversee the corporate human resources, quality and safety departments. Jouvenal will report directly to Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ray Sedey and replaces outgoing President and Chief Operating Officer Scott Wittkop, who is retiring in April 2024.  

Jouvenal began his career with McCarthy Building Companies, Inc., a subsidiary of McCarthy Holdings, Inc., in 1998 as a project engineer and held multiple field and leadership positions, including project manager and project director. He worked on some of the company’s most challenging projects, including for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, a National Emerging Infectious Disease laboratories project at Boston University Medical Center and the Parker H. Petit Science Center at Georgia State University.  

In 2012, Jouvenal joined the Dallas office of McCarthy Building Companies as vice president of operations. He was promoted to senior vice president in 2016, executive vice president in 2018 and Southern Region president in 2019. In these roles, Jouvenal led management and operations while assisting with preconstruction strategy. He was instrumental in helping position the company as a builder of choice for complex aviation, healthcare and education projects. In 2022, Jouvenal became the first chief administrative officer for McCarthy Holdings, Inc., overseeing the day-to-day management of the firm’s corporate departments, including facilitating collaboration across offices and strategy to support the growth and scale of the organization. 

“Joe is an outstanding leader, and I am pleased to announce his selection as our new chief operating officer,” Ray Sedey said. “He has been working with [retiring COO] Scott Wittkop for many months to ensure a seamless transition. Joe combines a comprehensive operations background with a strong willingness to collaborate as a partner.” 

An active advocate for industry and workforce development, Jouvenal is involved in a variety of community organizations, including participating on the boards of Children’s Health of Dallas Foundation and the American Heart Association in Dallas. He holds a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. 

“The work McCarthy does is complex, and I believe we have the best builders and technical experts to bring these projects to life for our clients,” Jouvenal said. “It’s a great honor to take on this leadership role, and I couldn’t be more excited to see where the future takes us together.”  

About McCarthy Holdings. Inc. 

McCarthy Holdings, Inc. (McCarthy) is the oldest privately held national construction company in the country – with nearly 160 years spent collaborating with partners to solve complex building challenges on behalf of its clients, through all phases of the project life cycle. McCarthy Holdings, Inc. is comprised of McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. and Castle Contracting. Repeatedly honored as a Best Place to Work, McCarthy is ranked the 19th largest domestic builder (Engineering News-Record, May 2023). With approximately 7,400 salaried employees and craft professionals, the firm has offices in St. Louis; Atlanta; Collinsville, Ill.; Kansas City, Kan.; Omaha, Neb.; Phoenix; Las Vegas; Denver; Austin, Channelview, Dallas and Houston, Texas; and San Diego, Newport Beach, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose and Sacramento, Calif. McCarthy is 100 percent employee owned.