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By Becky Carlson | Understanding your firm’s value early can reveal growth opportunities, reduce risk, and support long-term transition planning.

By Elizabeth Nilsen | Successful AEC firms treat succession planning as a strategic priority from the beginning, not a last-minute retirement decision.

By Mark Zweig | A cautionary AEC story about control, delayed succession, and how avoiding transition can undo decades of good work.

By Mark Zweig | For AEC firm owners and top managers who say they care about value but keep acting like they don’t.

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

By Mark Zweig | Implement these specific strategies to set the stage for your firm’s long-term growth and success.

By CJ LaPorta | Retirement plans play a critical role in M&A and should not be overlooked during planning or integration.

By Ezequiel Tovar | These are vital instruments for AEC companies to ensure smooth transitions and business continuity.

By Ezequiel Tovar | Deciding what you will do with your firm, whether you decide to sell internally or externally, will be life-changing.

By Ezequiel Tovar | Neglecting succession planning jeopardizes the future of your company’s internal transition.

By Will Swearingen, Kevin Johns & Alexis Martin | Finding extra deductions or credits will serve you now and when the time comes to transfer ownership.

By Mark Zweig | Owning a firm that will be profitable and grow over time requires a longer term view and a willingness to invest in the people who generate the revenue.

By Adrian De la Garza | Insights and considerations that can help you decide if you’re ready to buy another firm.

By Liisa Andreassen | CEO of Psomas (Los Angeles, CA), an employee-owned firm providing engineering, environmental, construction management, and survey/geospatial services.

By Chad Clinehens | With both a virtual and an in-person conference this year, ElevateAEC has something for everyone.

By Liisa Andreassen | President of Line Scale Form (Birmingham, AL), a firm with a goal of providing clients with designs that are exceptional and practical – visually, fiscally, and functionally.

By Mark Zweig | There are many variables to consider when planning for an ownership transition in an AEC firm.

By Jon Parrish | Getting everyone to think and act like an owner will result in more of your people making day-to-day decisions with the best interest of the company in mind.

By Will Swearingen | Management incentives can be used to motivate key staff and to build capital and liquidity for individuals in the event of a transition.

If your firm has the following characteristics, the more likely an ESOP is a good and viable option for your firm.

By Will Swearingen | Don’t let the concept of treasury stock cloud your transition strategy.

President and CEO of Ramey Kemp & Assoc. (Raleigh, NC), a transportation engineering, planning, and design firm founded in 1992.

By Christina Zweig Niehues | A good incentive compensation program needs to be carefully matched with the specific goals of your firm.

President and principal-in-charge at Taylor Design, an architecture and interior design firm headquartered in Irvine, California.

The effort to chart a new path should begin long before firm founders retire, and should be exhaustive.

President and co-founder of ADC Engineering, Inc., a multidisciplinary firm based in Hanaham, South Carolina.

President of JBCI, a small, but venerable, repair and restoration firm based in Philadelphia.

CEO of TLC Engineering Solutions, an Orlando, Florida-based firm pushing its way into the future.

For S-corps and C-corps, ESOPs offer different, but significant, tax benefits to both the selling shareholder and the surviving company.

CEO of SSOE Group (Hot Firm #44 for 2018), a global project delivery firm for architecture, engineering, and construction management based in Toledo, Ohio. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “All key positions within the company are...

CEO and founder of Partner Engineering and Science, Inc. (Hot Firm #9 for 2018), a 700-plus person engineering and environmental due diligence consulting firm. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “There’s no boundary between entry-level and senior-level...

Employee stock ownership plans are rewarding for your staff, allow for continuity, and can enhance a firm’s culture and legacy. Editor’s note: Wintrust Commercial Banking is a sponsor of the 2018 Hot Firm + A/E...

Each week, The Zweig Letter features commentary from top-flight leaders of AEC firms. Here is a compilation of their thoughts on maintaining the leadership pipeline. By The Zweig Letter Staff Nic Andreani, president with W&M...

President and CEO of SEPI Engineering & Construction, Inc. (Hot Firm #74 for 2017), a 350-person firm based in Raleigh, North Carolina. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “People need to feel like their work life is...

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...

Co-founder and president of BHC Rhodes (Hot Firm # 15 for 2017), a 130-person civil engineering firm based in Overland Park, Kansas. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “Profit centers go against the dynamic of a team...

An acquired firm can double your size, elevate your design reputation, and give you a foothold in a new market – if the cultures fit. Editor’s note: Design Organization was acquired by Shive-Hattery in 2012....

There are a few ways to transition out of your firm. The internal transition is popular because it has great value and keeps the firm going. At some point in every A/E firm owner’s business...

Comprehensive Environmental, Inc. (Best Firm #1 Geotechnical, #3 Environmental, and #13 Civil for 2017), a Miami Lakes, FL, based 80-person engineering and contracting firm. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “I’ve never termed any event in my...

A Note from Jamie Claire Kiser Director of Consulting Highlights from 2017 In 2017, we helped clients across the country close deals, taking our mergers & acquisitions team everywhere from Texas to Michigan, Minnesota to...

Keeping up with the latest and greatest in marketing is tough, but it’s easy to see what techniques need to be left behind. If you’re still doing the same kind of marketing you were doing...

This post first appeared as an article in The Zweig Letter, Issue 1223 Besides the fact that an external sale will typically provide the greatest financial return for A/E owners who want to transition out...

Besides the fact that an external sale will typically provide the greatest financial return for A/E owners who want to transition out of their firms, a solid majority of principals still prefer internal ownership transition....

Besides the fact that an external sale will typically provide the greatest financial return for A/E owners who want to transition out of their firms, a solid majority of principals still prefer internal ownership transition....

You can leverage M&A to accelerate strategic shifts and implement your growth strategy, but there are plenty of risks along with the reward. While M&A is not a strategy in and of itself, it is...

Here is the full transcript of a great conversation that we had with Mark Zweig. He gave us a history lesson on AECWorkforce and the importance of an effective job board for the Design and...

Here is the full transcript of a great conversation that we had with Mark Zweig. He gave us a history lesson on AECWorkforce and the importance of an effective job board for the Design and...

President of Environmental Partners Group, Inc. (Hot Firm #22 for 2017), a 55-person firm based in Quincy, Massachusetts. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “Their problems need to be your problems,” says Gabriel, referring to the client-firm...

CEO of HGA (a multiple Hot Firm award winner), a national, 750-person integrated architecture, engineering, and planning firm based in Minneapolis. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “Our most successful proposals help the client visualize the journey...

The decision to pursue an M&A growth strategy can benefit your firm, but it helps to know what you’re doing on the front end. At our annual Hot Firm and A/E Industry Awards Conference in...

When recruiting big talent, don’t let little details in the benefits package get in the way of making a winning offer. I’m amazed at the need that exists out there for great talent. Firms in...

Avoid these common M&A mistakes, which happen a lot when firms try to close a deal without the guidance of a seasoned pro. When we talk to sellers in this industry, we often find that...

It is a good to be to be a principal, partner, or owner in the architectural, engineering, planning, and environmental consulting industry! In its 2015 Best Jobs rankings, U.S. News & World Report lists Architect...

Search outside the firm or groom from within? To this author, the answer is obvious. I wrote last month about a position description for an office leader. But where do you look for the talent...

By W. Hobson Hogan Principal, ZweigWhite Consulting In today’s environment, many firms believe that they must become more diversified and larger to compete. In most cases, firms turn to mergers and acquisitions as a way...

This article first appeared in The Zweig Letter (ISSN 1068-1310) Issue # 991 Originally published 1/28/2013 When the sky is a different color on the other side, the likelihood of coming to an agreement is...

Press Release: November 8, 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (November 8, 2011) – Take cue Apple. Holding on to too much cash can be perilous for business enterprises, not the least design firms. An article in the...

1. Buy-Side Representation ZWEIGWHITE has been focused on business management services, research and information for architecture, engineering and environmental consulting firms since 1988. As such, we are uniquely qualified to find the right business(es) to...

Until 2004 Ravi Maniktala ruled supreme at ME Group (Omaha, NE), a 60-person mechanical and electrical engineering, building simulation, and lighting design firm. At that time, however, Maniktala, still the firm’s president today, decided to...

Probably no one warned you before you started your A/E/P or environmental consulting firm about the slipperiest of slippery slopes— one you don’t want to go down— that of not paying your bills on time....

As the economy gets worse, and panic sets in amongst the management of too many A/E/P and environmental firms, mistakes will be made that are difficult to recover from. I’m referring to decisions such as...

More and more design and environmental firms are adding outsiders to their Boards of Directors. There are many reasons for doing so but that’s not the point of this article. Instead, what I want to...

Human resources management has long been criticized and undervalued by top management in A/E/P and environmental firms. Evidence of this fact is pay. According to ZweigWhite’s 2007-2008 Management Compensation Survey of Architecture, Engineering, Planning &...

Rupert Stanchion was the founder and only CEO Stanchion Associates had ever had from its founding in 1980. Now nearly 60 years old, he was beginning to get the idea that some people thought it...

I got up this morning to an e-mail from one of my old clients and friends, Kit Miyamoto, CEO of Miyamoto International (Sacramento, CA), a fantastic structural engineering firm. He sent it at 4-something a.m....

It’s hard to grow if you can’t keep the people you already have working for you. Every time someone leaves you have to replace them. And it’s as hard or harder than ever— as well...

Let’s face it. The economy of the last couple of years has led to diminished expectations and in some cases, declining values, not just in our 401(k) plans and stock portfolios, but also in terms...

I am sitting here this morning, in our Natick office, staring at my computer. I need to write a talk for our upcoming Zweig Letter Hot Firm 2002 Conference and Celebration in Boston. I am...

If you look at the effect the events of September 11 had on everyone in this country, it’s really pretty amazing. The collective funk that ensued hurt businesses of all types in an unprecedented way....

When I worked inside an A/E firm as a human resources director, I would occasionally have someone in my office telling me that they wanted to be an associate. And I have to tell you,...

Denise Jones, CADD technician and seven-year employee at DEF Associates, was fed up with the complainers at her firm. What was wrong with these people? All they could do was gripe about one thing or...

Is your firm a compassionate firm? Do you choose what’s humane over what’s best financially in certain situations? And what difference does that make, anyway? Business is business. And we all know that to be...

With all of the employment-related pressures that firms face today, it’s getting harder and harder to figure out what you really need to pay somebody to do a given job. There are so many ways...

I had a 56-year-old client say to me the other day that he just isn’t having any fun anymore. He wants to change his life, and he had decided to sell his firm so that...

I just got back from the annual business planning meeting with the board of directors of a client of ours that underwent a significant turnaround in the last couple of years. They went through everything...

I had a revelation the other day: I don’t know of a single top manager in an A/E/P or environmental firm who is completely thrilled with every one of his or her partners, shareholders, or...

What’s the best way to motivate staff people? When faced with that question, most firm principals think about what to give them. The experts tell us to pay spot bonuses for an effort that goes...