Jeremy Laster, the president of Rancho Mission Viejo LLC, said his company is more than just a developer of home lots.
What matters most to him, his colleagues and his boss is to properly maintain the thousands of acres of land they oversee and treat each other like family.
The company traces its roots to 1882 when family patriarch Richard O’Neill Sr. helped buy a 200,000-acre ranch—a portion of which it developed into the communities of Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita and Ladera Ranch where about 225,000 people live in 75,000 homes.
In 1969, Rancho Mission Viejo donated the land where Providence Mission Hospital now stands.
In March, the company made a $50 million donation to Providence Mission, which is spending $712 million to expand its operations in south Orange County. It’s the largest gift in the hospital’s history.
Today, the company is about halfway through developing its last big parcel, 23,000 acres destined to include 14,000 homes and 5.2 million square feet of commercial space when completed in the next 15 years. The company’s effort to make this newer development resistant to fires was the subject of a Business Journal front page article in late April.
Some 143 years after its founding, Rancho Mission Viejo won the Longevity Award at the Business Journal’s 26th annual Family-Owned Business Awards, held at the Irvine Marriott on June 12.
Laster said everyone who works at Rancho Mission Viejo treats each other as if they are family members more than co-workers. In fact, Chairman and Chief Executive Tony Moiso, a descendant of the O’Neill family, is Laster’s father-in-law.
“Tony is such a wonderful leader. No one leaves here. Everyone retires from here,” Laster said, adding most people stay with Rancho Mission Viejo for 20 or 30 years or longer.
“If you hang around long enough you start to go to the top.”
A Work Culture That Values Family
Laster said Moiso set the tone for a work culture where family is prioritized.
“It all comes back to Tony and the culture he sets from the very top. It’s really hard at Rancho Mission Viejo to be anything other than the best version of yourself or a good person because the guy above you is doing that,” Laster told the Business Journal. “You can’t be a jerk, you can’t be mean, you can’t cut corners, you can’t look to screw somebody because he would never have it.
“He tells everybody, every day, your real life comes first. He’ll walk the office at 5:01 p.m. and if you’re still in your office, he’ll reach in and turn your light off,” Laster said.
Laster continued that Moiso insists his employees never miss their children’s sporting events. And Monday holidays such as Memorial Day are actually four-day weekends for the staff as Rancho Mission Viejo gives them the Friday before off, as well.
The Ranch’s Mission
What helps Rancho Mission Viejo stand out as a business is the company’s vision. Moiso likes to see Rancho Mission Viejo as a ranch management business, as opposed to being a land developer. About 17,000 acres of Rancho Mission Viejo won’t be developed.
“We’re not developers. We’re not taking our show on the road. We’re not going to buy property somewhere else and develop more stuff,” Laster said. “We’re ranch managers, and we’re taking care of this family piece of property, and when it’s done, we’re done. We’re not out to make money. We’re out to take care of this place.”
Legacy is also a top priority.
“We recognize the importance of what we’re doing, and it needs to withstand the test of time,” Laster said. “We’re not here to put 50,000 units on our property. We want to develop responsibly.”
Laster, who joined the company in 2011, said working at the ranch management firm was a career decision.
“This wasn’t a job. I’m here for the rest of my life.”
