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TRANSACT IONS WESTWOOD COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF SITE CONSULTANTS, INC. Westwood Professional Services Inc. (#9 Hot Firm and #24 Best Firm Multidiscipline for 2016), announced that it completed an acquisition of Tempe, Arizona- based engineering and surveying firm, Site Consultants, Inc. The acquisition expands Westwood’s local operations and commercial and residential market presence with the addition of the well- established expertise from Site Consultants. Gary Stocker, PE, LS, president of Site Consultants notes the advantage to both firms, “Being diversified in markets and geographies,

Westwood expands our reach and increases opportunities for the Site Consultants team. At the same time, our local experience and established relationships support Westwood’s efforts to expand business in the Southwest.” Stocker appreciates Westwood’s internal support system, “Westwood has a very strong internal corporate service team, which is a great benefit as it frees up our time to focus entirely on our clients and ensure them the best project solutions.” Site Consultants’ vice president, Michael Caylor, PE, commented, “Adding our current impressive client base to Westwood’s national

clientele is an excellent go-forward business strategy. Our management team, staff and associates are excited to provide assurance to our clients that we are better together, as one team – agile and better able to meet their growing needs.” Westwood’s CEO and president, Paul Greenhagen, is excited to welcome the team as well. He says, “The group at Site Consultants values integrity and excellence in all they do, which makes them a great fit. We are very excited to work with them and are focused on providing a seamless transition for the team and their clients.”

MARC FLORIAN, from page 11

their governing bodies, which mandate just how heavily weighted their investments can be in terms of equities, bonds, cash, etc. When one of these mandates or ceilings is reached, the trusts’ investment managers are required to re-balance the funds. Such policies provide a disciplined process designed to hedge the risk of overinvestment in a particular fund or sector. The operative word here is “disciplined.” Now, re-read the preceding sentences in terms of how the application of a similar concept might help drive diversification in your organization. If your firm is doing exceptionally well in a particular market, stick with it, but consider what might happen if things suddenly changed. The sky might not fall and there might be time to plan tomorrow, but the likes of the recent “Brexit” vote and the impact it had on global markets reminds us just how sudden the impending political season could bring winds of change. Is your firm prepared to tack, or will you be forced to stay the course? MARC FLORIAN is vice president of Environmental Consulting & Technology, Inc., a professional consulting, engineering, and scientific services organization.

leadership in every A/E firm should be encouraged to view their organizations as they probably do their personal investment portfolios, and avoid becoming over-weighted in a particular sector. As any financial advisor will tell you, a balanced portfolio provides upside potential and a hedge against downside risk. “Senior leadership in every A/E firm should be encouraged to view their organizations as they probably do their personal investment portfolios, and avoid becoming over-weighted in a particular sector.” In the A/E industry, having a balanced portfolio requires the diversification of revenue streams across multiple service lines, and never becoming overly dependent on a single client sector. I know that it’s an easy thing to say, but often difficult to put into practice – particularly when you’re making money. However, consider this: Most large financial trusts are guided by policies established by

THE ZWEIG LETTER August 8, 2016, ISSUE 1163

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