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Explore the latest AEC M&A transactions from the past month. Zweig Group tracks and reports on every merger and acquisition in architecture and engineering to keep you informed.

By Lauren Martin | Effective risk management in A/E firms starts with strong relationships, open dialogue, and engaging the right partners early.

  Zweig Group is the leading advisory firm for the AEC industry, providing expert guidance across the entire M&A lifecycle. With deep industry knowledge and decades of experience, we help firms navigate transactions, maximize value,...

By Will Swearingen | A new era of AEC growth is emerging, driven by value creation and strategic expansion.

By Kraig Kern | When the engine stalls, take the pause to reset, refocus, and get ready for what comes next.

Zweig Group, the leading provider of advisory services, research, and education for the AEC industry, has released its 2025 Fee & Billing Report of AEC Firms. This definitive resource offers a clear picture of today's fee...

By Brandon Pinkerton | When the time comes, the best thing you can do for yourself, your legacy, and your organization is to end the journey well.

Zweig Group is the leading AEC Industry advisory service provider. We blend industry and sector knowledge with experience across the M&A lifecycle to help you capture value for shareholders. Reach our Mergers & Acquisitions Advisory team...

By Lauren Martin | Imprecise, incorrect contract language may leave AEC firms uninsured for professional liability exposures.

By Lindsay Young | Networking is important for your business, but your network can work for you – as long as you stay in front of them and share valuable resources and knowledge.

Zweig Group is the leading AEC Industry advisory service provider. We blend industry and sector knowledge with experience across the M&A lifecycle to help you capture value for shareholders. Reach our Mergers & Acquisitions Advisory team...

Zweig Group is the leading AEC Industry advisory service provider. We blend industry and sector knowledge with experience across the M&A lifecycle to help you capture value for shareholders. Reach our Mergers & Acquisitions Advisory team...

By Renee Richardson | The women heading Atlanta’s Community Improvement Districts  serve as incredible examples of bold leadership – but how do they lead with the greatest impact?

By Janki DePalma | Leadership must communicate work meaning and impact in order to foster employee engagement and understanding of individual contributions.

By Travis White | Effective corporate strategy requires defining a direction, fostering collaboration, and leveraging strengths for diversification.

Zweig Group is the leading AEC Industry advisory service provider. We blend industry and sector knowledge with experience across the M&A lifecycle to help you capture value for shareholders. Reach our Mergers & Acquisitions Advisory team here.   Domestic...

By Lindsay Young | Awards present a great opportunity to market to your clients, prospects, community, and future employees.

By Leisbel Lam | We need to strive for a leadership style that is centered on emotional intelligence and finding common ground, connection, and growth within our teams.

By Houston Matthews | If your team can keep communication at the forefront of all of your projects, you’re sure to be a success.

By Andy Chavez | We’re seeing increasing M&A activity in AEC industry, rising private equity involvement, and growing demand for infrastructure-related sectors.

Bill Mandara of Mancini Duffy, Benjamin Alper of Severud Associates, and Joe Levi of Pavarini McGovern discuss the importance of collaboration in managing large-scale projects and the inherent challenges that come along with tackling a complex...

By Liisa Andreassen | President and partner at Hoefer Welker (Kansas City, MO), an interdisciplinary architecture, planning, and interior design firm.

  Zweig Group is the leading AEC Industry, advisory service provider. We blend industry and sector knowledge with experience across the M&A lifecycle to help you capture value for shareholders. Reach our Mergers & Acquisitions Advisory team here.  ...

By Liisa Andreassen | Principal and chief engineer at Hayduk Engineering, a multidisciplinary consulting engineering firm specializing in civil and wastewater engineering.

By Lauren Martin | It’s important for design firms to understand the potential peril to all parties involved should there be a third-party beneficiary clause in any contract.

By Liisa Andreassen | Co-president and CEO of DB Sterlin Consultants, Inc., a 100 percent minority-owned firm comprised of professional engineers, architects, planners, and surveyors.

By Liisa Andreassen | President of Prairie Engineers, P.C. (Columbia, IL), a firm made up of engineers, surveyors, and scientists focused on solving problems for public and private clients.

By Nea May Poole | If we truly want a diverse community and to provide equitable pathways to the profession, we need to support efforts to broaden the track to licensure.

By Christina Zweig Niehues | AEC professionals have a choice about where they live and work, so what makes them choose their workplace?

By Liisa Andreassen | President of GAI Consultants, an employee-owned planning, engineering, and environmental consulting firm that provides local expertise to worldwide clients.

By John Bray | There is no perfect buyer or seller in the marketplace, but how do you attract the best possible partner?

By John Milano | Through inorganic growth, Hill International has expanded and diversified across Europe – but still has its sights set on working as a cohesive and homogenous unit.

By Peter Atherton | A “lack of time” can no longer be an excuse for not doing what needs to be done or not investing in what needs to be invested in.

By Andy Chavez | What characteristics are highly desirable to buyers in the AEC industry right now?

Zweig Group is the leading AEC Industry advisory service provider. We blend industry and sector knowledge with experience across the M&A lifecycle to help you capture value for shareholders. Reach our Mergers & Acquisitions Advisory team here.  -  Domestic...

By Brian Rice | Starting early with your ownership transition planning provides ample time to position your staff and firm to maximize your firm’s value.

By Rob Hughes | Having a clear understanding of some key insurance concepts can help your firm navigate heightened requirements and hard insurance market conditions more effectively.

By Liisa Andreassen | President and CEO of PRIME AE Group (Baltimore, MD), a firm that creates vibrant communities by connecting people and conserving culture and the environment.

Facility planning, design, construction management and commissioning firm, Salas O'Brien, (Santa Ana, CA) has acquired PCI Skanska (Evansville, IN) from Skanska USA. The acquisition of PCI Skanska adds an engineering team focused on power and...

By WSB | In 1959, Kennedy became the first Black woman to receive an engineering degree from a school in Texas. Here, she reflects on her more than 55 years of experience since then.

By John Bray | Whether you’re an M&A enthusiast, first-time buyer, or an apprehensive seller, it would be naive to disregard these opportunities without understanding the dynamics of the M&A environment.

Engineering News-Record Top 500 firm, Adurra Group, (Tampa, FL) a consulting and engineering services to public and private entities throughout the United States has acquired and merged with Infrastructure Engineering Corporation (Poway, CA). IEC is...

Will Swearingen, an ownership transition advisor at Zweig Group, discusses how leadership in firms big and small are planning out their next steps in the face of continued uncertainty, and how company owners can take...

Industry leader Terracon (Olathe, KS) acquired Sport Environmental Services (Midland, TX), a provider of environmental services and consulting to energy production/oil and gas clients in the Permian Basin. Link to Details Employee-owned engineering, environmental, and...

By Rob Hughes | This subtle but onerous language is becoming fairly widespread in design contracts and, if overlooked, could leave design firms with significant, potentially uninsured exposures.

By Liisa Andreassen | CEO of HEAPY Engineering (Dayton, OH), a leader in sustainability, engineering, and commissioning solutions with a vision to build a more resilient and sustainable society.

Principal and CEO of Enovate, a WBE/DBE/SBE firm that serves as a prime contractor as well as a subcontractor on city, state, and federal public agency and private projects.

President and CEO of Primera (Chicago, IL), a mid-size, full-service, woman-owned engineering design and consulting firm.

President and CEO Arora Engineers, Inc. (Chadds Ford, PA), a firm that meets the evolving needs of its clients through more intelligent, sustainable, infrastructure solutions.

Leaders from Zweig Group’s top five Hot Firms talk about what they attribute their success to.

President and CEO of Integrated CM Solutions (San Antonio, TX), a program/construction management firm that’s had more than $800 million worth of projects since 2015.

For firm leadership, marketing may not always be top of mind. For your marketing staff, it is. Make sure they have a seat at the table.

Chairman and CEO of Mabbett & Associates, Inc. (Bedford, MA), a verified Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business.

PRIME AE Group (Baltimore, MD) entered into a strategic partnership with long-term investment holding firm NewHold Enterprises (New York, NY). The partnership will serve to provide investment in PRIME AE’s long-term growth and success in...

President of DY Consultants, a nationally-recognized aviation consulting firm based in New York City.

Considering a design project in the fledgling cannabis industry? Make sure your professional liability coverage won’t go up in smoke.

President and CEO of Hitchcock Design Group (Best Firm Architecture #7 for 2018), a 35-person landscape architecture firm headquartered in Naperville, Illinois.

Breaking into new markets isn’t easy, but it can be done if you have a long-term, coordinated plan of attack. Following 30 years as an Army Engineer officer, I went to work as a market...

 There are multiple considerations to be made when valuing a privately-held company and the assessment of the many moving parts. The valuation of privately-held firms, including those in the AEC industry, will usually involve discounting...

AEC firms must be diligent during design and construction to avoid becoming ‘responsible’ for worksite injuries or death. Although site safety generally is the responsibility of construction contractors and subcontractors, when injuries or deaths occur...

A/E firms are fragile things. When things are going well, they grow and make decent profits. The people who work there generally feel good and the future seems bright. When things aren’t going well, morale...

President and founder of Brudis & Associates, Inc. (Hot Firm #36 and Best Firm Multi-discipline # 51 for 2016), a 90-person firm based in Baltimore. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “While I like to say we’re...

Founder and CEO of GATE (Hot Firm #35 for 2017), a 300-plus person oil and gas engineering consulting company based in Houston. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “When clients/friends see what we post and comment to...

Autonomous vehicles are on the way, and when they arrive, parking decks will increasingly become obsolete, and will need to be repurposed. Cars that can drive themselves, using radar, LIDAR, and other imaging devices will...

By understanding the various risks associated with P3s and taking appropriate steps to manage them, A/E firms can put themselves in advantageous positions. As our nation turns to the urgent need to repair, replace, and...

President and CEO of Wade Trim (Hot Firm #76 for 2017), a 500-person multidisciplinary engineering and consulting firm based in Detroit. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “Organic growth is going to become more difficult as recruiting...

In this episode of the podcast, Randy Wilburn sits down with an M&A consultant with Zweig Group. Zweig Group is the industry leader in helping your firm grow or transition ownership through mergers and acquisitions....

As 2018 approaches, A/E firms may want to revisit professional liability insurance limits, and find optimal solutions for their requirements. As design firms look ahead to 2018, the time may be right to reassess their...

A/E firms with new projects should carefully examine their contracts, or risk expanding overall exposure and adding potentially significant uninsured liabilities. Before inking a deal on a new project, architects and engineers should conduct a...

In this episode of the TZL Lifehacker Series, Randy Wilburn and Sanjay Jenkins discuss their morning routines, the importance of having a routine, and some steps A/E professionals can take to make the most of...

When you think about it, management of the design process for a complex construction project is all about accomplishing things through others. Many different people have to come together to get something done by a...

(HOUSTON, TX – July 28, 2017) WGI is pleased to announce that Jacob Gonzalez, PE joined the firm’s Parking Solutions Division in its new partner, Carl Walker, a division of WGI. Jacob, as Vice President-Parking...

Firms that prepare together find that the investment in time and resources equates to project wins and good relationships. Teaming with other AEC firms is a common strategy to win work that requires different types...

If we want to make this world a better place to live, it’s up to us, and not elected officials, to make it happen. Leadership is the single characteristic of behavior that determines a person’s...

The leading management newsletter for A/E leaders, The Zweig Letter, announced today that its site license, in which entire firms have access to the weekly publication, is available to subscribers for as little as two...

The leading management newsletter for A/E leaders, The Zweig Letter, announced today that its site license, in which entire firms have access to the weekly publication, is available to subscribers for as little as two...

If we want to make this world a better place to live, it’s up to us, and not elected officials, to make it happen. Leadership is the single characteristic of behavior that determines a person’s...

Do whatever it takes to get your foot in the door, and then keep your foot on the gas pedal if you want to compete in a big market. Had I known in 1995 what...

In addition to it being time to renew your Amazon Prime account so you can buy presents for people who don’t actually need a thing, it is also business planning time! One of my favorite...

Move forward in 2017 with Zweig Group seminars across a range of essentials – business development, project management, marketing, and more. For a short while during my undergraduate years, I majored in management. After a...

Alternative collection methods at this time of year, even if it’s something radical, might come in handy if you need to ‘stock the cash coffers.’ As the last quarter of 2016 draws to a close,...

It’s not always the employees’ fault. Improve the quality of your office, celebrate the individual, and watch your staff come alive. Workplaces across the globe are suffering through a zombie apocalypse. These zombies don’t have...

Third-generation leader of multidiscipline firm embraces debate, seeks consensus, and likes anything with bacon. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent It started with his great uncle. Then his father. And now him. Firm president John Hiltz is...

An influx of foreign capital and an acute housing crisis have created a surge in tall buildings, and in an ancient, low-slung city, that’s controversial. By Richard Massey Managing Editor Once dominated by landmarks like...

The act of priming your business for market increases its value, and helps you embrace an assortment of challenges and opportunities. I know what you’re thinking because I hear it all the time. “I’m not...

Even minor changes in contract language can create major liability and insurance issues for design firms, so be aware of what’s out there and act accordingly. Today’s contracts involving design firms and owners, project managers...

The use of video in your recruiting campaign might be what it takes to create buzz for your firm, and in the end, land great employees. This summer movie season is going to be pretty...

Competition can be a good thing, especially if it stimulates others to make themselves better; survey data shows that now is the time to think about your competitive edge. I’ve spent most of my career...

Six suggestions for firms seeking to work with the largest buyer of A/E and environmental services. Let’s face it: The government – be it local, state, or federal – is the biggest buyer of A/E...

Several organizations have found that bringing financial management staff onto the project management team results in heaven-sent synergies. In Zweig Group’s consulting practice, we see many firms grapple with the interface between project managers and...

Allowing late payments because ‘this is the way the client has always paid us’ is a cash-flow killer. Accounts receivable is, for most of our clients, the source of all the cash that fuels the...

Mark Zweig offers 13 lucky suggestions on how to be closer to your clients. How you manage your clients is a big part of success in the A/E or environmental consulting business. And these skills...

The valuation of privately held firms, including those in the A/E/P and environmental consulting industry, will usually involve discounting to arrive at a concluded value of the subject interest. Readers who have been through the...

Press Release: April 5, 2011 Lack of Ownership Transition Plan Puts Design Firms in Peril FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (April 5, 2011) – A crisis could descend upon many design firms because aging baby-boomer owners have not...

Press Release: February 1 , 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, AR — Anyone who is—or wants to be—a leader in the architecture, engineering, planning and environmental-consulting fields will benefit from an MBA-style crash course offered by ZweigWhite experts...

Frank Fickleheimer had to do something different. His firm, Fickleheimer Enginee-ring, did not have the operating capital it needed. Fifteen good years of solid growth and profits had left them with a lot of mouths...

Orville Honstater was starting to sweat a little for the first time in a long time. His company, Honstater & Associates, had enjoyed a long run (more than 10 years) of profitability and good, if...

The design and construction industries have enjoyed an unprecedented period of growth and prosperity. We have had a few hiccups along the way, but for the most part, the last 15 years or so have...

I have been in business long enough to know that there’s one rule everyone should follow if they’re smart— “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours.” It always drives me mad when certain people...

Just about everyone in the A/E or environmental business thinks that they have strategies. I don’t think many really do because most people don’t even know what strategies are. “Strategies” are philosophies— your core philosophies...

I’m getting ready to start teaching a course at The Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville this spring semester. It will be a class on entrepreneurship— more specifically,...

Everyone in the A/E or environmental consulting business wants to turn their technical people into sellers. Not a week goes by that the desire to do this isn’t mentioned to me by someone in this...

Many firms are becoming increasingly aware of the fact that they don’t know how much to spend on marketing. On the one hand, it’s harder than ever to get work, there’s downward fee pressure resulting...

“God, it smells good out here,” Bob Trunkwater thought to himself as he started out on his early evening walk around the neighborhood. Trunkwater had just recently made the decision to start his own company....

“What goes around comes around.” “The harder I work, the luckier I get.” “You reap what you sow.” “To get love, you need to give love.” These adages (and many more) all reinforce the thinking...

“You’re only as good as your reputation.” Somebody wise must have said that somewhere along the line! It’s certainly true. When your reputation is good, the phone rings with new work opportunities, your competitors’ staff...

No doubt about it, all of us who are managers in an A/E/P or environmental firm have to face some tough situations from time to time. They aren’t usually “fun” decisions, or situations that give...

You’re all aware of it. The “circular theory,” otherwise known as “what goes around comes around.” It’s one of nature’s laws that seems to hold true as much as the laws of physics. If you’re...

It seems that our readers in A/E/P and environmental firms can’t get enough on project management. No one out there appears content with how he or she is handling it. Although my treatise a few...

There is simply no excuse for rudeness— in the A/E/P business, or in any business for that matter. Rude people turn off, or even worse, visibly upset clients, contractors, vendors, consultants, and employees. I like...

For most A/E/P and environmental consulting firms, working with a bank is a necessary part of being in business. Very few companies can get by without some sort of credit line to finance receivables or...

TQM (Total Quality Management) for A/E/P firms is nothing more than a fad. I’d be willing to bet right here and now that in two or three years, you won’t hear anything about it. TQM...