he returned to complete his bachelor’s de- gree in business operations management and technology at Cal Poly Pomona—en- couraged by Griffith leadership, who saw his potential early.
“I was doing double duty while attend-
ing Cal Poly—bidding and managing work while I was there—which made it much easier to attend classes,” he recalled with a laugh. In 2010, Aukerman earned his degree and was promoted to Regional Manager of Griffith’s Southern Region, which was and still is the company’s largest business unit. He became Executive Vice President in 2015 and was elevated to company President in 2024.
Leading Growth-Based Initiatives at Griffith
Reflecting on more than two decades at Griffith, Aukerman said he is especially proud of the key initiatives he has helped champion to drive the company’s growth and success. One major focus has been the embrace
of alternative delivery methods, including progressive design-build and CMGC—an evolution reflected in Griffith’s work at LAX and on the California High-Speed Rail program. “Trough my involvement in AGC of
California owner liaison meetings and the legislative program, I saw the industry
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CALIFORNIA CONSTRUCTOR MARCH/APRIL 2026
Some recent Griffith Company projects include, from left, the Cogswell Dam and Reservoir Post fire Emergency Restoration Project in Azusa; the State Route 57 project in Los Angeles County; and San Diego Airport Airside Expansion project.
trending toward alternative delivery years ago,” Aukerman noted. “We’re still in the early stages, but we’re tracking well, and we’re proud of the successful projects we’ve delivered through these models.” He also led Griffith’s geographic ex- pansion, including re-establishing an office presence in the San Diego region, and guided the company’s re-entry into vertical construction, complementing its long-standing heavy civil foundation. Aukerman has played a key role in
growing Griffith’s business volume to approximately $570 million in 2025 across nine business units, while expanding its workforce to nearly 1,000 employees. About 350 are employee-owners through the company’s employee stock ownership program, with the remainder representing its highly skilled craft workforce. Griffith remains distinguished by self-performing approximately 70% of its work. He has also doubled down on the com-
pany’s commitment to safety, highlighted by a record 557 consecutive days—more than 2.7 million worker hours—without a lost-time incident as of the end of 2025. Finally, Aukerman has helped reimag- ine and expand Griffith’s now-thriving summer intern program. Between 2016
and 2026, Griffith hired 164 summer in- terns and has steadily converted more of them into full-time professionals in recent years.
Winning Company Culture While these initiatives have fueled Griffith’s growth, Aukerman says the true “secret sauce” behind its long-term success is its culture. “I’m probably a little biased, but I think
we have one of the best cultures in the in- dustry,” he said. “We’re employee-owned, and inherently that makes people care more deeply about the company’s success.” “We’re also very family-oriented and
genuinely care about each other,” he added. “We’ve worked hard to maintain that small-company feel with open-door leadership, so anyone can access our executives at any time.”
Family-Oriented Career and Life Tat culture mirrors Aukerman’s own life journey. He and his wife Kate—AGC of California’s 2026 First Lady—share a large blended family of seven children ranging in age from 9 to 30. Both longtime fitness enthusiasts, they plan to compete in the global indoor fitness competition Hyrox
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