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TRANSACT IONS RVI PLANNING + LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE ACQUIRES LVA URBAN DESIGN STUDIO RVi Planning + Landscape Architecture , along with strategic equity partner Atwell, LLC, announced that it is acquiring Tempe, Arizona- based LVA Urban Design Studio . The acquisition furthers Atwell’s investment in RVi’s growth in the southwestern United States and enhances the firm’s client base and expertise. “RVi has a strong national reputation for high quality planning and landscape architectural design. LVA has been the leader in planning and entitlements in the Valley for decades. We are extremely excited to combine our design and planning expertise as we continue to grow our footprint in the Southwest,” RVi President Chris Crawford said. LVA is led by Steven Voss, who will remain with the company as a senior vice president and managing principal of the Arizona region. Voss is joined by Doug Craig of RVi, who will continue his role as vice president and will lead the newly-combined firm’s landscape architecture practice, and Mark Reddie, vice president, who will continue to manage the planning and entitlements practice. “I am thrilled that we found such a great fit with RVi. Both firms have remarkable longevity in the marketplace and a healthy mixture of experienced senior leadership, strong project managers, and promising young talent. We also have a very like-minded approach to relationship building and client service,” Voss said. RVi is a national firm with offices in Arizona,
Texas, and Georgia. Craig has grown the firm’s Scottsdale office with local and regional clients, and the firm is rapidly outgrowing its office space. “I am looking forward to working with Steven and the talented LVA team as we integrate our two offices to create a stronger combined practice. There are many opportunities to leverage our individual strengths and mutual relationships,” Craig said. JENSEN HUGHES ACQUIRES RUSSELL PHILLIPS & ASSOCIATES, EXPANDS SPECIALIZED SERVICE OFFERINGS TO THE HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY JENSEN HUGHES, Inc. , a global leader in fire protection and life safety engineering and consulting services, announced that it has completed the acquisition of Russell Phillips & Associates, LLC. RPA is headquartered in Fairport, New York, and is led by David Hood and Scott Aronson. RPA is a leader in providing fire, life safety, and emergency management consulting services and technology solutions to the healthcare industry. RPA will continue to operate and support their existing client base. This merger enhances the firms’ emergency management and life safety service offerings and provides greater value to clients in the healthcare industry. Raj Arora, president of strategy and business development for JENSEN HUGHES, said, “The combination of JENSEN HUGHES and RPA provides an unparalleled healthcare service and technology offering for our global client base. We are now positioned to rapidly develop new technology solutions to help
advance the science of safety in the healthcare market.” RPA’s technology solutions include the RPA Navigator Emergency Management and Life Safety Modules as well as a Mutual Aid Plan solution for more than 1,400 healthcare organizations. RPA’s premier service offerings and technology solutions allow the combined organization to better serve the global market. “We are excited to merge with JENSEN HUGHES. Their commitment to technology, quality and the integration of our specialized solutions makes them the perfect partner to grow our business model and provide more value to our clients,” said David Hood, president and principal of RPA. RPA and JENSEN HUGHES’ mission, vision, and values align well with a focus on their clients’ needs, technical excellence, and innovative solutions. The combined value will provide clients, such as hospitals, long term care, and other healthcare facilities, with practical and realistic approaches to protect the lives of patients and staff from injury or other disasters while reducing risk and liability. Scott Aronson, principal of RPA, stated, “All our services and programs are designed with interconnection in mind. This holistic approach increases efficiency and effectiveness and underscores our commitment to support healthcare organizations. A focus on life safety, education, and innovative technology enables us to meet the specific needs of the healthcare environment today and stay at the forefront of the industry in the years to come.”
people matters. We get business from coming into contact with firms that we aren’t asking anything of, and treating them in a way that makes them feel valued. Responding instantly. Remembering details. Forwarding articles and information. Taking the time to connect with individuals through hobbies, dogs (oh the dogs I’ve met in this industry!), and personalities, whether they can “do anything” for you or not. Very rarely do clients hire the person who spoke the loudest or bragged the most in the interview. They hire the person and the firm that treated them like they mattered. And guess what? That’s good selling. JAMIE CLAIRE KISER is Zweig Group’s director of consulting. Contact her at jkiser@zweiggroup.com. “What sets you apart is the way you treat people, and the genuine connections you make when you take the time to excitedly explain your work to someone who has nothing to gain from hearing the story. That desire to connect and drive to inspire could be called by another name – selling.”
JAMIE CLAIRE KISER, from page 3
story,” but that qualification instantly makes the veracity of the story suspect!). We were once retained by a seller for an M&A job, and the field quickly narrowed down to three top buyers. I had to “check in” constantly with the prospective buyers to keep them all on the same page and to provide updated information and give our client, the seller, as many options as possible. At the end of the negotiations, a buyer won out, the deal closed, and off we went. A few months later, we received a call from one of the buyers who lost out on the deal. He discretely asked for a proposal to help sell his firm because he said he had never met anyone as “politely pushy and persuasive” as our team, and he wanted us on their side when they went through the same process. I wasn’t sure whether to be flattered or, you know, not flattered. We opted for “hired” and sent over a proposal. The point of the story is that no matter the circumstance, there is always an opportunity to treat people right, and that investment in people is something you do because it is the only way you operate. It’s also an effective way to sell. It sounds so naïve in today’s world, but how we treat
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THE ZWEIG LETTER February 26, 2018, ISSUE 1237
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