Biographies

Tom Iovino

Founder, Iovino Family Foundation

Tom Iovino is a successful entrepreneur and life-long philanthropist, with over 40 years of experience as a visionary leader in the construction industry and as the founder and principal supporter of two family foundations.

Tom grew up on Long Island and went to public high school. He then attended RPI, where he obtained Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Civil Engineering. After graduation, Tom became a licensed Professional Engineer and started his own construction company called Judlau Contracting in 1981. Judlau enjoyed tremendous success and, in 2010, Tom sold a controlling interest to OHL Group, a major multinational construction firm, and continued as the Chief Executive Officer of OHL North America. After retiring from OHL in 2017, Tom turned his full-time attention to several specialty contracting companies he had co-founded, including J-Track, TC Electric, and Welkin Mechanical. In 2018, Tom started a new heavy construction firm, MLJ Contracting. Tom continues as the Chairman of Iovino Enterprises, the holding company of all four firms that perform track, signal, mechanical, and general contracting work.

Tom’s industry and professional relationships include the World Presidents’ Organization, the Chief Executives Organization and the Construction Industry Roundtable. He is also a member of The Moles, a fraternal organization of the heavy construction industry and has been a recipient of its prestigious Moles Member Award for outstanding achievements in construction. Tom is also a patron of the arts and served on the Board of Directors of the Norton Museum and now serves on the Board of the Four Arts, both in Palm Beach.

Tom has been actively involved in community and philanthropic activities throughout his life.  At the same time that he founded Judlau, he also devoted a significant portion of his time as an active volunteer at a community hospital for 20 years and supports numerous other local community organizations. He formed his first family foundation in 2002 to support various domestic and international NGOs that promote child and family welfare. These efforts grew to include partnering with community programs in Bangladesh, Haiti, Nicaragua, Ethiopia, the Sudan, Zambia and Ghana focused on disease prevention through the construction of local clean water projects. In 2013, Tom then founded the iF Foundation with the mission of reducing food insecurity for families living in Haiti through agricultural development, nourishment for children and the promotion and education of healthy lifestyles. The iF Foundation has grown since its founding and continues to have significant impact by implementing interventions in partnership with the community that foster sustainable local agricultural resource development. Tom brings the key watchwords from the iF Foundation of “Development, Opportunity and Hope” to the workforce development focus of the new Iovino Family Foundation. With the 2024 launch of this foundation and the Iovino Prize, Tom strives to support economic prosperity in the United States by helping to build an empowered and diverse pipeline of skilled workers.