From Startup to Regional Powerhouse: RNGD's Story Takes Center Stage with Biz New Orleans

Biz New Orleans July 2025 cover story showcases our distinctive people, culture, and new headquarters campus

We’re honored and grateful to Biz New Orleans Magazine for choosing to feature RNGD as its July 2025 cover story.

The eight-page article highlights our journey “from startup to regional powerhouse,” including our new $25 million Jefferson Parish headquarters that connects all of our New Orleans-based team members on a single connected campus.

It also showcases the distinctive “Renegade culture” that drives everything we do as we invest in our people and challenge the status quo of the construction industry.

“RNGD's always been a place where if you take ownership and get results, you'll grow,” shares Steel Operations Leader Tramel Smith, who joined the company as superintendent in 2015, in the article. “That's what kept me moving forward.”

Our new campus not only serves as a central hub that enables our teams to collaborate more efficiently than ever, but it also serves as home base for Renegade Academy, RNGD’s award-winning training and leadership development program. This new state-of-the-art training environment opens up new opportunities to expand on our commitment to developing our people at every level of the organization.

“We’re not teaching how to swing a hammer,” said RNGD Chief Operating Officer Nick Moldaner, in the story. “We’re teaching how to think, lead, and continually improve.”

For Project Engineer De’Jon Collier, who joined the company in 2014, Renegade Academy opened up immediate growth opportunities for him. “The Leadership Lab has been instrumental in enhancing my leadership skills,” he said. “At RNGD, I feel like there are no limits to responsibility or tasks that I am allowed to manage due to my title.”

The piece also weaves in perspectives of other team members, including Prefab Design Manager Julia Hodgins, who was drawn to RNGD’s integrated approach to design and construction. “RNGD has a diverse group of team members, from many different professional backgrounds,” she noted, “all working toward a unified project delivery.”

As the article aptly summarizes: “What started in 2013 as a scrappy startup looking to challenge construction norms has grown into one of the Gulf South’s fastest-rising construction firms. …But even then, the ambition was clear: challenge the industry’s traditional playbook by moving at an unconventionally fast pace.”

Thanks to the Biz NOLA staff, including Editor Kim Singletary, Writer Sam Hindman and Photographer Edmund Fountain for their thoughtful approach to sharing the RNGD success story.

As we continue to expand our footprint and influence across the Gulf South, we’re proud to call the New Orleans region home and truly excited for what the future will bring.

Please check out the full article and photos at Biz New Orleans.