1263

ON THE MOVE EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP TRANSITIONS ANNOUNCED O’Connell Robertson announced leadership changes within the company, completing the management transition program that began in 2016. Supporting the firm’s vision to continuously elevate its design and expertise, Jarrod Sterzinger was named director of architecture. In this role, he will lead the architectural vision for the firm across all project types, markets, and regions. He will be responsible for fostering the design process, ensuring that quality and service exceeds client expectations and are executed at the highest level of professionalism. He will lead the development and implementation of a corporate design vision for more than 20 architects and designers in the firm’s Austin and San Antonio offices, guiding all to provide the best design potential on every project. “Jarrod’s design expertise and ability to lead a very thoughtful, organized and collaborative process on projects of all types and sizes have achieved outstanding results for our education clients,” said President Amy Jones. “We are excited about the impact his new leadership role will have on achieving every project’s mission.” Since joining O’Connell Robertson in 2008, Sterzinger has led the design for numerous award-winning K-12 and higher education projects, including Round Rock ISD’s Success High School, Austin Community College’s Elgin Campus, and the UT Pickle Research Center Texas Advanced Computing Center. Additional executive transitions include the move toward a co-CEO leadership structure for the firm as Rick Burnight leaves his position as CEO to focus on key client relationships, new business development, and special projects within the firm. Under Burnight’s leadership, O’Connell Robertson achieved unprecedented revenue growth, increases in project scale and scope, and development of staff expertise. Building on their two decades of working together at O’Connell Robertson, Jones and

COO Kim Cochran will each assume the responsibility of co-CEO while continuing in their existing roles. “Amy and I have been part of the executive leadership team with Rick over the past several years, so we understand the role and the responsibilities involved. We look forward to continuing O’Connell Robertson’s mission to positively impact all who experience and interact with our work,” said Cochran. “We have always strived to have a greater impact on our clients, community, and the built environment - and that focus will not change.” The co-CEO structure was planned to take advantage of the skills and strengths of the firm’s two leaders. Jones joined O’Connell Robertson in 1997 and became the firm’s fourth president in 2016. She will continue to focus on client relations, business development, strategic partnerships, and community engagement while overseeing the communication and implementation of the firm’s vision, mission and strategic plans. Cochran has more than 35 years of experience in the design and construction industry and became COO in 2016. He will continue to focus on the firm’s operations and infrastructure, including financial planning, business activities, organizational performance, and the daily operations of the firm’s offices. Both Jones and Cochran will continue to serve in project leadership positions as well. “These announcements complete a final step in a corporate leadership transition that began over 24 months ago,” said Burnight. “Identifying, developing and keeping future leaders is a tremendous challenge for any business in today’s AEC industry. I’m pleased with the plan we developed to ensure O’Connell Robertson will continue to grow and thrive, building on the strong foundation of nearly 70 continuous years in business in Texas. I am confident that Amy and Kim, along with Jarrod and the other principals, will lead the firm successfully into the future.”

1200 North College Ave. Fayetteville, AR 72703 Mark Zweig | Publisher mzweig@zweiggroup.com Richard Massey | Managing Editor rmassey@zweiggroup.com Christina Zweig | Contributing Editor christinaz@zweiggroup.com Sara Parkman | Editor and Designer sparkman@zweiggroup.com Liisa Andreassen | Correspondent landreassen@zweiggroup.com

Tel: 800-466-6275 Fax: 800-842-1560

MARK ZWEIG, from page 1

Email: info@zweiggroup.com Online: thezweigletter.com Twitter: twitter.com/zweigletter Facebook: facebook.com/thezweigletter Published continuously since 1992 by Zweig Group, Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA. ISSN 1068-1310. Issued weekly (48 issues/year) $250 for one-year print subscription; free electronic subscription at thezweigletter.com/subscribe Article reprints: For high-quality reprints, including Eprints and NXTprints, please contact The YGS Group at 717-399- 1900, ext. 139, or email TheZweigLetter@ TheYGSGroup.com. © Copyright 2018, Zweig Group. All rights reserved.

4)You HAVE to be creative to be successful as a specialist. Just because you work with the same types of clients or facility types doesn’t mean you want to do the same thing or do it the same way every time. Do it better. Do it so that it differentiates you and demonstrates your real value to the client. Creativity is lacking in our business but not because of specialization. 5)Everything is going to get a lot more efficient when you specialize. Doing some- thing over and over – working with the same clients repeatedly – that’s how you learn what people really want, and that’s how you can get to where you can anticipate prob- lems before they occur. That makes life easier and makes your projects much more ef- ficient. There’s nothing wrong with these things, either. If you hear people talking around the coffee pot that your services are or are becoming a commodity – you’d better think long and hard about why that’s the case. I’ll bet you’ll find that a lack of specialization is at the core of your problem! MARK ZWEIG is Zweig Group’s chairman and founder. Contact him at mzweig@zweiggroup.com.

THE ZWEIG LETTER September 10, 2018, ISSUE 1263

Made with FlippingBook Annual report