New CEO Steers Clayco Toward Complex Projects
Date Posted: August 21, 2025
Posted In: Organizations, People,
From St. Louis Business Journal: When Anthony Johnson arrived at Clayco’s St. Louis headquarters as a prospective employee, he was certain he wouldn’t leave his home state of Minnesota to work for the construction and design-build real estate firm.
But in January, 17 years after the longtime Clayco executive initially moved to St. Louis to work for the firm, he was named its CEO.
“I distinctly remember the very first day walking through the doors at Clayco, like you just feel the culture and the vibe within the space. And that moment that I walked in was honestly the moment that I knew I wanted to be here,” Johnson said. “When you walk around the office and you see people that are passionate about what they’re doing, and they’re the best in the industry at what they do, that’s just a very fun environment to be a part of.”
The new CEO can still find a version of that original feeling walking into Clayco, and credits that for keeping him in St. Louis long past the five-year deadline he originally gave himself to return to Minnesota. Today, when a potential employee or client flies into St. Louis to meet with the company for the first time, the Clayco experience can start while they’re still on the plane. The company’s rooftop logo, painted on top of the firm’s new consolidated St. Louis office at 8640 Evans Ave. in north St. Louis County, can be seen from flights arriving and departing at nearby St. Louis Lambert International Airport.
The rooftop logo can make a splashy impression on people and companies that Clayco wants to impress with the new $50 million St. Louis office, but it’s also a sign of the company’s national trajectory, which continues under Johnson, only the third CEO in Clayco’s 40-year history. The company was founded and led for most of its history by original CEO Bob Clark, now its executive chairman, who shifted the company headquarters to Chicago in 2013.