TZL 1358

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

BEST FIRM SNAPSHOT ❚ ❚ 92% of permanent staff received a pay raise in 2019 ❚ ❚ No firms administered pay cuts ❚ ❚ Firms paid out an average of more than $8,500 in bonuses per employee last year ❚ ❚ Average of just under 20 PTO days per year ❚ ❚ Average of 9 paid holidays per year HOT FIRM SNAPSHOT ❚ ❚ Average dollar revenue growth from the end of fiscal year 2016 to the end of fiscal year 2019 was $31.5 million, $2.6 million higher than the average for 2019 winners ❚ ❚ Average percentage growth rate held steady year over year at 81% ❚ ❚ Average gross service revenue per FTE was up slightly over 2019 at $204,500 BILL MCCONNELL, CEO, THE VERTEX COMPANIES McConnell rose through the ranks from a union construction worker during high school and college summers, to a project engineer at a top 50 construction company, to a senior executive at VERTEX. Since the inception of VERTEX in 1995, McConnell has led the organization by example. Under his leadership, VERTEX has seen consistent year-over-year growth of more than 20 percent. Twenty-five years later, in addition to setting strategy and leading VERTEX, McConnell works on billable projects while also contributing as an active teacher and student in academia.

PHIL BERNSTEIN, ASSOCIATE DEAN & PROFESSOR ADJUNCT, YALE SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE Bernstein is an architect, technologist, and lecturer at the Yale School of Architecture, where he has taught since 1988. He was formerly a VP at Autodesk, where he was responsible for setting the company’s future vision and strategy for technology and cultivating and sustaining the firm’s relationships with strategic industry. Bernstein was the executive responsible for Autodesk’s Waltham AEC Headquarters project, which received more than 14 architectural awards.

PHIL HARRISON, CEO, PERKINS & WILL As CEO, Harrison is responsible for Perkins and Will’s strategic focus and business performance. He is directly involved with the firm’s quality initiatives including design excellence, sustainability, and technical delivery; he oversees firm growth, diversification, and development; and he defines the firm’s business objectives for performance, collaborative operations, and staff development. Harrison joined the firm as an architect in 1993, working with science and technology, education, healthcare, and corporate clients.

GABRIELLE BULLOCK, PRINCIPAL, DIRECTOR OF GLOBAL DIVERSITY, PERKINS & WILL Bullock oversees Perkins & Will’s Diversity, Inclusion, and Engagement program, which works to support and strengthen a firm-wide culture that embraces a diversity of people, colors, creeds, credos, talents, thoughts, and ideas. Her unique role as an award- winning principal and the firm’s Director of Global Diversity enables her to combine her passion for architecture and social justice to effect positive change at a micro and macro level.

KYLE AHERN, from page 3

that there is real growth going on in the industry, helping to create and retain good, high paying jobs. I think that is something we can all celebrate right now. “Even though the way we celebrate may look a bit different in 2020, celebrating our accomplishments may be more important now than ever.” Zweig Group’s awards program – including Hot Firm, Best Firms To Work For, Marketing Excellence, Rising Stars, Top New Venture, and Jerry Allen Courage in Leadership – offers a wide variety of ways for firms in the AEC industry to honor and celebrate their achievements. I wish I could go through all of the impressive data that we get through the awards, but I am glad I can celebrate some of the highlights from the 2020 winners. Things are certainly very tough right now, and we recognize and appreciate that. But don’t let that stop you from celebrating what makes your firm so great! KYLE AHERN is awards manager at Zweig Group. Contact him at kahern@zweiggroup.com.

This year has presented a number of unique challenges including the COVID-19 pandemic. Firms have had to completely adjust how they conduct business and how to best take care of their employees. There is a silver lining given these challenges, though. Ninety-two percent of employees have been satisfied or very satisfied with their firm’s COVID-19 response. This shows that our industry has been able to adjust well to such a unique challenge. Another good sign is that employees ranked communication as the least challenging aspect of working remotely. Normally, communication is considered a weakness for firms in the AEC industry. Hopefully, we can keep up good communication once we transition into the new normal. We did see some very impressive growth from our Hot Firm winners this year. The average dollar revenue growth from the end of fiscal year 2016 to the end of fiscal year 2019 was $31.5 million which is $2.6 million higher than the average for 2019 Hot Firm winners. The average percentage growth rate held steady year over year at 81 percent. The average gross service revenue per FTE is up slightly over 2019 at $204,500. This is great news. It shows

THE ZWEIG LETTER AUGUST 24, 2020, ISSUE 1358

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