Tutor-Saliba Co-Founder Passed Away

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Naseeb Michael Saliba, co-founder of L.A. construction company Tutor-Saliba Corp., has died. He was 93.


Saliba died at Encino-Tarzana Hospital on May 22 of heart ailments and old age.


Saliba began his career in the construction industry a few years after graduating from Los Angeles High School in 1932 when he took a management position at his uncle’s company.


He founded his own construction firm, N. M. Saliba Co., in 1942. The company grew into a successful heavy construction business with operations in California, Nevada, Idaho, Arizona and Utah.


Saliba retired from N. M. Saliba Co. in the mid-1950s to spend time with his family. In 1970, he merged his company with Ron Tutor’s construction firm Tutor Co. Inc. to form Tutor-Saliba Corp. The company is one of the largest general contractors in the country with over $15 billion in complete projects. Some of its notable projects include San Diego Convention Center, Tom Bradley International Airport Terminal and the Los Angeles Metro Rail System.


“He was a wonderful man. He was very kind, trusting and loyal and he was like a second father to me,” said Ron Tutor, president of Tutor Saliba Corp.


Saliba was involved in many charitable organizations including Saint Joseph Francis Medical Center in Lynwood, Desert Hospital in Palm Desert, Pepperdine University and USC. He is also the recipient of Antonian Gold Medal, the highest award given by the Antiachion Orthodox Church of North America.


“He was truly a man of men, a wonderful human being,” said Tammy Holguin, Saliba’s former assistant at Tutor-Saliba Corp.


Born on Nov. 3, 1914 in Ozark, Ala., Saliba was the son of Lebanese immigrants, Thomas and Maleki Saliba. The Salibas moved to Los Angeles in the mid-1920s. Naseeb Michael Saliba is survived by his two daughters, Debra and Janet, his brother Leon, his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

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