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ON THE MOVE NEWSCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN’S DR. MITRA KANAANI APPOINTED TO ESTEEMED NATIONAL COUNCIL OF ARCHITECTURAL REGISTRATION BOARDS’ EDUCATION COMMITTEE NewSchool of Architecture & Design announced that Mitra Kanaani, professor of architecture, has been appointed to serve on the National Council of Architectural Registration Board’s Education Committee. She currently serves as the Integrated Path to Architectural Licensure Coordinator for NewSchool and was instrumental in the development of the institution’s IPAL program. The IPAL program is a highly-competitive and accelerated program of study which enables students to pursue architectural licensure prior to graduation. This initiative aims to provide students a unique opportunity to complete the architectural licensure

requirements while earning their graduate architecture degree; therefore significantly reducing time to launch their careers as licensed architects. NewSchool is proud to be one of the 21 schools in the nation to be chosen by NCARB to participate in the IPAL program. Kanaani is a practicing architect, a professional member of the International Code Council, and has served on various national architectural boards and committees. She has been recognized for her work locally, statewide, and nationally. In 2015, she was named to the prestigious Academy of Emerging Professionals of the AIA California Council and has been a two-time winner of the Excellence in Education Teaching Award. “It is a great privilege to join the NCARB Education Committee,” Kanaani said.

“Through my experience with IPAL at NewSchool, I’ve coached students and guided them as they worked hard and achieved great success through the rigorous program of education, internships, and the examination of licensure. For the industry at large, NewSchool has become instrumental in creating a great synergy amongst practitioners through this program. In addition, IPAL has created an opportunity for our practitioners to be directly involved in nurturing the next generation of knowledgeable and skilled architects. As an educator, I’m honored to have the opportunity to serve NCARB once more through the esteemed Education Committee, and look forward to helping develop future generations of architects.”

The next step is integrating the two firms and laying out a compelling vision of what a combined firm looks like to the important stakeholders. This won’t happen on day one. There are separate cultures, personalities, skills, and processes to consider and it will take time to manage the transformation. The final step is to look back on your goals and bridge any gaps that might exist. Take a hard look at the skills and capabilities your newly combined firm now possesses and what needs polishing. You may need to fill gaps in hiring, training, and to develop additional skill sets to manage the new firm. You may need to go through a new strategic planning process to ensure buy-in from the newly acquired firms, reset goals, and realign expectations. You may have just opened a whole new world of possibilities that did not exist before the acquisition. The critical point is that you can leverage M&A to accelerate strategic shifts and implement your growth strategy. We exist here at Zweig Group to increase your value and make you successful. If you do it right, M&A is the best the way to make that happen. PHIL KEIL is a consultant with Zweig Group’s M&A services. Contact him at pkeil@zweiggroup.com. “The critical point is that you can leverage M&A to accelerate strategic shifts and implement your growth strategy. We exist here at Zweig Group to increase your value and make you successful. If you do it right, M&A is the best the way to make that happen.”

PHIL KEIL, from page 3

a firm with experience in the M&A process, another option is to find and acquire multiple firms instead of fixating on finding the perfect fit in just one. I would recommend this tactic only for firms that have gone through the acquisition processes in the past. There are plenty of potential pitfalls with acquiring one firm and you compound that risk when acquiring multiples. For this reason, you should build cushions into any revenue projections you have for a combined firm and opt to potentially give the seller a bonus or earn-out if they meet or exceed expectations. This will help you avoid overpaying. Once you’ve solidified your strategy, you must decide how to finance the deal. Cash, equity, and debt are all options, but determining the right combination can be tricky. For instance, if you are looking at an ideal firm in an ideal market, it may be worth paying a premium for access to new skills, clients, and capabilities. While most sellers like to see cash at closing, you could use stock to partially finance the deal. It may dilute your ownership, but 50 percent of a $300 million firm is certainly twice as valuable as 75 percent of a $100 million firm. Any of these options have their own tax, regulatory, and incentive implications, making it critical to build an experienced M&A advisory team you can trust. “Maybe the force multiplier for your firm is expanding services. Would your clients see value in your ability to move from an engineering-only firm to a fully integrated AEC firm?” Congratulations! You’ve found a firm that will help amplify your strategic growth objectives and you’ve closed the deal. But the work isn’t done yet. In fact, it’s just begun.

THE ZWEIG LETTER September 11, 2017, ISSUE 1215

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