Every year (except 2005), Gambit solicits nominations from the public, then honors 40 people under the age of 40 for their accomplishments and the contributions they have made to New Orleans.   This year Ryan was so honored.

Ryan Gootee, 38

Owner, Ryan Gootee General Contractors

In the fall of 2005, 14 years after graduating from Jesuit High School in New Orleans, general contractor Ryan Gootee was able to restore his alma mater so it could welcome students home the Monday after Thanksgiving. Jesuit was the first school in Orleans Parish to reopen after the storm.

“A lot of the work we had done there in the past was destroyed,” including a complete renovation of the auditorium, Gootee says.

The accomplishment came about a year after Gootee, a graduate of Louisiana State University, decided to spin off from his father’s company and create Ryan Gootee General Contractors (RGGC). Gootee and his workers have completed many projects since then, including renovations of Second Harvest Food Bank, Jesuit High School Athletic Complex, the New Orleans district attorney’s office, Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts, the American Red Cross office, the Eisenhower Center at the National World War II Museum, Sucre and the Audubon Zoofari Cafe. Current projects include building the Julia Street Cruise Terminal to serve a Norwegian cruise line scheduled to open this month and constructing a new baseball stadium for Jesuit.

RGGC was named as the fifth-fastest growing business on the inaugural LSU100, which recognizes the 100 fastest-growing businesses in the world owned by or led by LSU alumni. Gootee also serves on the boards of Kingsley House, the American Red Cross, Metropolitan Crime Commission, Jefferson Business Council and the Little School at St. Martin’s Episcopal.

“We are staying true to our values and taking care of our clients,” Gootee says, adding the company will continue to try and grow at a conservative pace. “We are trying to build on a good reputation.” — Jewson