Wadman Corporation has been delivering great builds for 75 years, but company leadership are most proud of the people-building legacy created in the process.

By Taylor Larsen

Early Days Emphasize
Company Values

After serving in the Navy from 1944 to 1948, Jay Wadman brought a military discipline back home and founded Wadman Corp. in Ogden, delivering small tenant improvements and repairs before securing vital contracts throughout Utah.

David Wadman remembers times visiting his father at the yard, in the office, or when Jay would arrive home exhausted from a hard day’s work, pouring over blueprints on the kitchen table late at night. 

“We could feel how much energy was poured into getting this thing off the ground,” he said.

When David was ready to join the crew as a teenager, he cleaned job sites, set concrete forms for foundations, and ensured materials and equipment were ready for future jobs. But he wasn’t certain that construction would be his career.

“[Dad] built the company from scratch and he wanted us to find our own way and figure out what we actually wanted to do,” said David.

But the energy he felt, and the physical reality of going home tired and accomplishing something real and tangible, made all the difference as he officially joined in 1979, participating in retail, hospitality, federal, and K-12 work across Utah and the West.

David credited the incredible, seasoned tradesmen and superintendents who showed him the value of craftsmanship, building job site camaraderie, and working with integrity as he came of age in the industry. 

“Those men took immense pride in what they built; that was invaluable,” he continued. “They didn't just teach me how to build; they taught me the value of a day's labor and how to treat people in this industry.”

When David became Wadman Corp.’s President in 1984, he said the entire industry was still grappling with the economic slump that made construction even more difficult. 

“It was like we were starting over,” he said. 

Even with all of his experience in the field and office, David said his confidence wasn’t near as high as it would be in future years, but he believed that Wadman Corp. would emerge successfully on the other side, saying: “I knew we had a team that worked well together.”

Throughout that time, David credited his father and his work ethic for keeping the firm alive.

“He didn’t cut corners,” said David of Jay. “He taught us that your word is your bond in this business.” 

Wadman Corp. formed relationships with LaQuinta Hotels, building hotels all over the western U.S. while continuing to work with Smiths, Albertsons, and Walmart in retail. K-12 work continued in Weber, Davis, and Box Elder counties as the firm expanded its reach. Federal work flew beyond Hill Air Force Base to serve USPS and the National Park Service. Even religious work entered the project pipeline as Wadman Corp. began building facilities for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Building People Building People

The projects are memorable, but leadership emphasized the focus is on their people.

"At our core, we are a company of builders,” said Dave Hogan. “We don’t just push paper; we build projects that better the communities we live in.”

Hogan, President of Wadman Corp. since 2007, said that outlook is a testament to David Wadman, who has empowered Hogan and the rest of the Wadman Corp. team while serving as a counselor with a profound trust in company leaders to execute their respective roles and responsibilities.

“Construction is an industry full of daily fires and market swings, but David is steady, solid, grounded, and principle-driven,” Hogan said, complimenting the CEO as an incredibly stabilizing force, especially with David’s disciplined financial mindset and instinctual understanding of people. “[David] knew how to calculate risk, protect the firm, connect with the employees, and make sure Wadman was built to last.”

Building something that people want to be a part of for the long haul—something built to last—David said, “starts with the basics: you treat them with respect and important team members, pay them fairly, and give them a place where they know the doors aren't going to close the second the market dips.”

Construction involves building, but it’s a relationship business at heart—the Wadman Corp. culture reflects a deep understanding of both. “Building people,” as David called it, starts with creating a “genuine family environment” that extends from job site to office.

“When you actually invest in your employees, care about their growth, and treat them like they belong to a family, they aren't just punching a clock,” David said. "They take absolute pride in the work and stay with you for the long haul.”

That embodiment comes from a deep respect for people—exemplified by David—according to Ryan Wadman, an 11-year team member and third-generation Wadman at the company.

“My dad’s greatest strength is that he truly cares about and loves people,” Ryan began, crediting his mother, Ronda Wadman, and his father for their stellar examples of selflessness that naturally extends into Dave’s business dealings. “He wants others to be happy and is always looking for ways to help them. He is generous, hard-working, and a great example to me.”

Surviving to Thriving

During the Great Recession, Wadman Corp.’s conservative growth strategy and penchant for serving repeat clients well kept the gears moving. While many companies were at a crossroads, Hogan said the firm refocused on the basics that had kept the company in business for over 50 years.

“On the client side, we didn't burn bridges; we just focused on getting the job done right so owners would want to hire us again,” he said. 

Company survival wasn’t a top-down initiative. 

“Our dedicated team continued to show up every single day and do incredible work,” Hogan added. "Their dedication and refusal to drop our standards is really what kept us alive during those years.”

For Spencer Bradley, VP of Business Development and Wadman Corp. teammate for nearly 30 years, what sets the company apart goes beyond great projects. The 75-year history of building, knowing the ins and outs of construction, and focusing on solutions make all the difference. It helps that he is another executive with experience across the construction scope; he worked as a carpenter before entering the office and taking on roles in estimating and business development.

“The clearest proof of how we operate is that we have a 75-year history with zero litigation against our owners,” said Bradley. Disagreements and tough situations may be inevitable, but Wadman Corp. isn’t interested in “lawyering up”. Instead, he said, “We sit down with the client, we stick to our word, and we figure out a solution. For us, preserving that relationship is always the priority, and that reputation for workability is really important to us.”

Ryan said that principled leadership that started with Grandpa Jay very much continued into the new generations of Wadman Corp. executives. 

“Dave Hogan is an excellent leader. He always seems to have his finger on the pulse of each unique situation and is very good at explaining what needs to be done,” said Ryan, adding that the Wadman Corp. President excels at emphasizing the human side of the industry, managing people, expectations, trust, and complex relationships with aplomb. Sharp conversations are softened with honesty, transparency, and solutions, Ryan said, adding: “It’s that steady, relationship-first approach that turns a one-time client into a twenty-year partner.”

Many of the same clients and markets that have helped Wadman Corp. demonstrate its construction expertise have remained stellar for the firm as it has aged, with multifamily and hospitality work growing in importance more recently.

For David Wadman, the extension of that relationship with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints led to one of the general contractor’s most significant projects: the Payson Utah Temple. 

“That was the first temple we completed, and it was a massive milestone for Wadman Corp.,” said David. “It proved that we had the high-end craftsmanship, precision, and dedication required for that caliber of work, and it really set the stage for the temple projects we’ve taken on since

Sadly, Jay Wadman passed away in 2013 before the company he founded and its trade partners put the finishing touches on the religious icon that stands tall above its pastoral surroundings in warm, precast concrete cladding. But, David said, reaching new heights in the next generations of leadership may have meant more to his father than completing such an intricate and detailed project. 

“Jay was very happy with what we were doing and the growth we were having in all sectors that we are working in,” said David.

Ownership Evolves into 4th Generation

As third-generation leadership nurtures the fourth, Wadman Corp. continues at the steady pace that has led the firm to this significant milestone, entrusting the great people at the company to build while elevating them into new or expanded positions to continue the firm’s 75-year legacy of building people, relationships, and projects.

Hogan mentioned how Spencer Bradley has been an integral member of the ownership team for how he uses his time in estimating to speak to a variety of owners about the numbers and constructability behind their respective projects. 

Bradley came aboard 28 years ago as a laborer on a hotel remodel and has never looked back. He joined the contractor’s newly formed estimating department before becoming Chief Estimator in 2003. Estimating experience was instrumental as he took the reins to lead Wadman Corp.’s business development efforts, working with owners and architects to realize their visions.

Bradley echoed the thoughts of the other executives in what’s most important: the people. He credited both Davids—Hogan and Wadman—as exemplary leaders with profound respect and care for everyone at Wadman Corp. 

“What really stands out about David Wadman is his genuine care for the people who work here,” said Bradley.

Bradley said that Hogan has continued that people-first mentality, one informed by the firm President’s wealth of construction knowledge from working across all levels of Wadman Corp, to be a relatable and effective leader steering the company forward.

“Having been a superintendent himself, Dave [Hogan] has the unique ability to truly relate to our field personnel,” said Bradley. "He speaks their language and motivates them better than anyone I’ve ever seen.”

Bradley was also complimentary of Ryan Wadman, having watched the younger Wadman join the family business and grow into his role over the last 11 years, following great examples before him to become “an irreplaceable member of our executive team.”

Ryan, Wadman Corp.’s CFO, has a similar story to many of his fellow executives, especially those who share his last name. David gave Ryan the same treatment that David received from Grandpa Jay when it came to joining the family business: it had to be Ryan’s personal choice.

“I think my dad wanted me to decide my own path without feeling any pressure from him,” Ryan recounted. “Instead, he taught us to work hard and treat people right through his own
example.”

Like father, like son, Ryan took to the family business when he joined Wadman in 2015, putting in the work as an estimator to learn how to bid jobs before becoming a project manager that learned how to run them. Operational experience increased as he learned the financial side of the business, slotting into the accounting department while earning his CPA; Ryan has been the firm’s CFO for the last five years. 

Was he ready for the role when the opportunity arose?

“I don’t know if anybody is ever truly ready for a position like this, and those who think they are might be in for a rude awakening,” he added. Work in the field, office, or classroom only goes so far to make someone ready to oversee the finances of a complex business that employs around 150 teammates, generating $305 million in 2025 revenues.

“Ryan is in leadership today because he understands this business from every angle,” said Dave. “He knows how a building gets built, and he knows how the numbers work.”

New Milestones to Reach

Revenues are up, but many Wadman Corp. leaders are more focused on taking care of the people who have built their careers there. Much has changed over 75 years of construction, but growth for growth’s sake has never been the Wadman way, and it isn’t changing; preserving what has been cultivated since 1951 is too important.

Bradley added, “Our focus is on organic growth that happens naturally when you take care of your people, deliver excellent work for your clients, and stick to your word.”

Reflecting on the Wadman Corp. foundation laid down and built upon over so many years, Hogan takes immense pride in what it has allowed everyone in the company to do: build.

“One of the most rewarding things for me is being able to drive across the state and point out all the incredible buildings our people have constructed over the years,” he said. The reward from the toil, sweat, problem-solving, coordination, and teamwork it took to get them from blueprint to ribbon-cutting is sweet. “That sense of pride in what our people accomplish and how we grow together—that’s what keeps me coming to work every day.”