The Zweig Letter

"AI is definitely raising the ceiling and making things possible that were not possible before... We need to increase the ceiling of what is possible going forward and reward people putting the effort into increasing those judgment layers." -Pusker Regmi Episode Summary Pusker Regmi is the vice president and wastewater sector leader at Stantec, as well as an award-winning engineer honored with the...

“ Say yes as much as you can when you’re young so that you can balance things a little better when you’re older.” Sondra Rotty Episode Summary: Sondra Rotty is the newly elected president and COO of Tarlton Corporation, one of St. Louis's largest general contracting and construction management firms. Since joining the company in 2005 as a project engineer, she has left her mark on a range of high-...

“ An infinite arc of success requires stewardship, purpose, and a relentless focus on people.” Mike Carragher, CEO of VHB What does it actually take to build a firm that lasts generations—not just decades? Mike Carragher has lived that question. As the leader of VHB, one of America's best-managed private firms, Mike took the stage at the ElevateAEC Conference to pull back the curtain on nearly 50...

“ We keep iterating on an old construct—let’s stop and start over. How do we want to do things differently? Let’s get back to first principles.” KP Reddy Episode Summary: In this special ElevateAEC 2025 edition of The Zweig Letter Podcast, we're sharing KP Reddy's keynote from the main stage—a straight-talk session about where innovation in AEC is actually heading. Drawing from real conversations...

“ I hope you continue to be extremely intentional in choosing to be exactly where your feet are every moment that you are. ” Lynn Wong Episode Summary: In this keynote episode from Zweig Group's ElevateAEC2025 Conference, Lynn Wong delivers a powerful talk on what it takes to thrive—both personally and collectively—in the architecture, engineering, and construction world. Drawing from her global l...

“ If you're going to be an entrepreneur and you're going to accomplish anything and you're going to grow your business in spite of a lot of negative things happening, you've got to be positive. So it's absolutely essential. ” Mark Zweig Episode Summary: In this episode of The Zweig Letter Podcast, host Randy Wilburn sits down with Mark Zweig for a candid conversation about leadership, optimism, an...

“ Vernacular is what you do when you can’t afford to get it wrong. ” Carley Chastain Episode Summary: This episode of The Zweig Letter Podcast, hosted by Randy Wilburn and joined by marketing co-host Luke Carothers, traces Carley Chastain's unique path through the architecture profession. Carley, an emerging architectural professional at Marlon Blackwell Architects in Northwest Arkansas, shares ho...

“ Whatever is the hardest path is probably the path we should be on. The hardest path is also the least traveled. ” Robert Yuen Episode Summary: In this episode of The Zweig Letter Podcast, host Randy Wilburn is joined by Robert Yuen of Monograph and Mark Zweig of Zweig Group for a candid conversation around the future of A/E firm management. Together, they explore the recent industry benchmarks r...

ElevateAEC 2025 Preview: Growth, Innovation, and Networking Opportunities in San Antonio “Proximity is a place of power. If you are a design firm leader or design firm owner and you’re trying to take your firm to the next level, sometimes it means you need to get around other people that have actually already done it.” Randy Wilburn Episode Summary: Randy Wilburn and Luke Carothers deliver an excl...

“I think the employee experience—and we've seen over the last five years how important the employee experience has been with how tight the labor market has been and how everybody is competing for the same people… To ensure good retention, you must survey your employees to see what they think of your firm.” Kyle Ahern About our Guests: Keith Sequeira serves as Senior Director of Analytics and Techn...

"Mistakes are not fatal, but don't keep them to yourself.” Mike Makris About our Guests: Originally from Washington, Duncan Robertson has spent the past six years honing his marketing and public relations expertise and now brings those skills to the design industry . After earning a Communication degree with a business emphasis from Boise State University, he dove straight into his career, channel...

"Every time we give an award to someone, there is one of our six values that's tied in with the citation." Don Young In this episode of the Zweig Letter Podcast , we share a panel session from the Zweig Group's 2024 ElevateAEC event. We delve into the evolving landscape of modern work environments and the importance of maintaining a thriving culture in the architectural, engineering, and construct...

From Specs to Stories: Cherise Lakeside's Podcasting Adventure! "A lot of architects are rather introverted as well, so it takes some work to pull that out. And for me, my win is, did I get you out of your shell to share your passion for what you do for a living and what you create?" Cherise Lakeside About the Guest: Cherise Lakeside is a seasoned Senior Spec Writer at RDH Building Science. With a...

ElevateAEC - How we Inspire and Transition Ownership to the Next Generation "The ownership transition is not just about percentages; it's about value and creating a legacy." John R. McAdams About the Guest: John R. McAdams is the founder of McAdams, a leading engineering, planning, and design firm that has shaped communities for over 40 years. Known for his entrepreneurial spirit and dedication to...

"You never know where you are going to learn information that is going to potentially be game-changing for you." Justin Smith About the Moderator: Justin Smith is a renowned expert in project management strategies and tactics, providing strategic consulting and training for the Zweig Group. With an impressive track record in business growth and leadership, Justin brings a wealth of knowledge to th...

Bridging Design and Construction: A M King's Collaborative Success Story "25 years ago when I graduated the term design build, it wasn't unheard of, but it certainly wasn't something that we talked about." Dan Crist About the Guest: Dan Crist is the President of A M King, a prominent design, construction, facility services, and property consulting firm based in North Carolina. With a background in...

Exploring Avail's Impact on AEC Content Management with Randall Stevens "I've really spent the last 25 years building software technology products that are being used in the architecture engineering construction market." Randall Stevens About the Guest: Randall Stevens is a long-time veteran in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry, boasting over three decades of experienc...

Riding the AI Wave: From Fear to Opportunities "AI is evolving every single second. I am begging you to start to use it today, just to see what it's like." Kristin Kautz Download the Presentation to Follow Along About the Guest: Kristin Kautz is a seasoned SMPS Fellow and AI enthusiast who specializes in integrating marketing and artificial intelligence into business strategies. Known for her dyna...

AI Transforming AEC: From Design to Recruitment and Beyond "So I think AI will give an opportunity for people that maybe are less technical to use these tools to really execute more work." KP Reddy About the Guest: KP Reddy is the founder and CEO of Shadow Ventures , a visionary venture capital firm specializing in tech startups within the AEC (Architecture, Engineering, Construction) and real est...

Innovative Startup Pirros Revolutionizes Detail Management for Design Firms "We saw a lack of new software being developed for the design industry specifically." Peter Johann Randy Wilburn sits down with Peter Johann, COO of Pirros, on the Zweig Letter podcast to explore the innovative intersection of technology and the design industry. Peter reflects on his career path that transitioned from stru...

Reg Prentice on Simplifying Data Management for Design Firms "The two most valuable things people have a design firm has is its people, number one. Right. That's obviously always going to be the case, but number two is really its history and its institutional knowledge, which primarily exists in the form of the information that's stored." Reg Prentice About the Guest: Reg Prentice is the CEO of To...

We’re thrilled to bring back one of our most downloaded episodes on the Zweig Letter Podcast! In this popular episode, Scott Harvey-Lewis, a seasoned professional in the AEC industry, shares his unique perspective on leadership, innovation, and the power of resilience. Episode Summary In this episode, Scott delves into his career journey, highlighting the pivotal moments that shaped his approach t...

We’re thrilled to bring back one of our most downloaded episodes on the Zweig Letter Podcast! In this popular episode, Justin Smith, a distinguished leader in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry, joins the Zweig Letter Podcast to share his profound expertise on leadership and business development. Episode Summary In this episode, Justin dives deep into the key strategies...

We're thrilled to bring back one of our most downloaded episodes on The Zweig Letter Podcast! In this popular episode, host Randy Wilburn sits down with Burke Pemberton, the Chief Financial Officer of Stok, a company dedicated to integrating sustainability into the built environment. In this episode, Burke shares invaluable insights on Stok's innovative approach to "Working Out Loud," a practice t...

Mastering Recruitment in the Design Industry: Strategies and Insights "Being progressive and open-minded in how you define the roles that you need is critical to successful recruiting." Jeremy Clarke About the Guest: Jeremy Clarke : Jeremy Clarke is the Director of Recruiting and Retention at Zweig Group. He boasts a rich background as a combat veteran in the U.S. Air Force, followed by significan...