The Zweig Letter

In this episode of the Zweig Letter Podcast, host Randy Wilburn interviews James Garrett Jr., an architect from the St. Paul, Minnesota area who has received several design awards in the past few years. We originally had James on the podcast right after the George Floyd incident in the Summer of 2020. "I always sort of on the front end of sort of actively thinking about what's the next thing is, t...

Mancini Duffy is a Triumvirate of Excellence In The Design Industry  In this episode of The Zweig Letter podcast, we speak with the leadership of NY-based Architectural Design Firm Mancini Duffy.  Christian Giordano, President, Bill Mandara, CEO, and Bolanle Williams-Olley, CFO, offer a great perspective of how successful a design firm can be when the leadership operates in concert with...

Colleen Martindale has built a HOME in the Pre-Construction group at McCarthy while creating a path for other women in the construction industry  In this episode of The Zweig Letter podcast, we speak with Colleen Martindale. She is the Sr. Pre-Construction Director with McCarthy based in Dallas, TX. With more than a decade and a half of experience, Colleen has found success in a historically...

ElevateAEC 2022: How AEC Firms Can Find A Unique Partner in an Increasingly Crowded Private Equity Landscape  In this BONUS episode of The Zweig Letter podcast, we hear from Michael “Mick” Renshaw from Trilon Group and Larry Smith, CEO of DRMP . Tune in to hear this and much more on this BONUS episode of The Zweig Letter Podcast.  Get your FREE Subscription to the Zweig Letter Newsletter...

In this episode of The Zweig Letter podcast, we speak with Scott Harvey-Lewis. He’s the owner and president of Building Mavens, a multi-disciplinary engineering boutique equipped with the knowledge gained from decades of industry experience. Scott has more than 17 years of industry experience and has worked on several public and private-sector projects, providing structural engineering design, con...

On this episode of The Zweig Letter podcast, we speak with Erica Olsen. She’s the COO and co-founder of OnStrategy, where they combine hands-on services with customized software to design great strategies and automate the process for managing execution. Erica has dedicated the last 20 years to growing OnStrategy with one goal in mind—helping organizations from around the globe create and execute t...

On this episode of The Zweig Letter podcast, we speak with Michael Hein. He’s the CEO of the HFW Companies, where he leads, manages, and is accountable for driving the company’s vision and culture, fostering its big ideas, mapping out the strategic plan, and removing obstacles that threaten to disrupt the company’s success. HFW is an AEC industry professional services company investing in architec...

I love watching award shows, especially the Oscars – Will Smith’s antics aside. There is something about witnessing a group of peer individuals celebrating the past year’s achievements.   I remember hearing Mark Zweig tell design firm leaders back in the day that they don’t celebrate their wins enough nor create ample opportunity for most of the people within those successful organi...

In this episode, John Wheaton, CEO of Wheaton Sprague Building Envelope in Stow, OH, shares his origin story and how we came to embrace engineering as a vocation.  John is a man after our hearts because he also has a podcast. He has run the Creating Structure podcast for a couple of years now. Our own Mark Zweig, Chairman of Zweig Group, has been a featured guest on the podcast.  John sh...

In this episode, Justin Smith, Principal with Start 2 Rise in Tampa, FL, sits down with us to discuss how he and his colleagues help AEC Design Firm leaders “build stronger Project Management playbooks to focus on growing their people and their business.”  Justin has teamed up with Zweig Group to offer a groundbreaking Project Management training program to help PMs be more effective and effi...

In this episode, Burke Pemberton, CFO, and Principal with Stok in Denver, CO, sits down with us to discuss how he and his colleagues at Stok focus on the built environment and serving the needs of their client partners.  With offices in San Francisco, Denver, and San Diego, Stok offers Sustainability Consulting, Energy and Performance Engineering, and Real Estate and Workplace Solutions.&nbsp...

We recently did a refresh of the TZL Podcast Brand. To learn more about this and our new look, check out the article we wrote about the genesis of the Zweig Letter podcast. The Zweig Letter Podcast Origin Story Get your FREE subscription to The Zweig Letter.

In this episode, David Shove-Brown, with Design Firm //3877 in Washington, DC sits down with us to discuss how he and his partner, David Tracz built //3877 from the ground up.  David shares his Super Hero Origin story from growing up all over the world to going to school at Catholic University to starting //3877 and serving the needs of clients in multiple verticals including, residential, re...

In this episode, Jamie Claire Kiser – Managing Principal and Director of Advisory Services for Zweig Group – discusses the current state of M&A affairs in the AEC industry.  Jamie Claire originally joined Zweig Group to manage and run the mergers and acquisitions team, and she has a background in business and law.  In just the past seven years, Jamie Claire and her team have witnesse...

We sit down with Architect and Digital Strategist Sara Kolata on this episode of The Zweig Letter podcast. Sara is a part of the new breed of architects that has decided that the old way of being a practicing architect is ripe for change.  She has worked in Third World countries and helped solve First World design problems.  Sara has big goals, and she has indeed broken the mold on how s...

Enjoy this 2021 Best of the TZL Podcast Episode On this episode of The Zweig Letter podcast, we sit down with AllanTsang and Dan Oblinger, professional Negotiators from Oblinger & Tsang. We had a far-ranging conversation about Negotiation and Active Listening for Design Professionals. Dan and Allan go deep in these areas to discuss how to overcome scope creep, telling the client “No!” and maki...

  We recently sat down with Raouf S. Ghali, CEO of Hill International.  Raouf oversees one of the largest “pure-play” Construction and Project Management firms with a global reach.  Hill provides program, project, and construction management services in a wide variety of sectors. Their services include cost engineering and estimating, quality assurance, inspection, scheduling, risk...

We recently sat down with Michael Riscica, RA, Founder of the Young Architect brand, including the Young Architect Academy, ARE Bootcamp, and Young Architect Conference.  Michael is a licensed Architect who took his lumps while getting his design career off the ground. He has experienced many key events in his career that have ultimately led him to a place where he spends a lot of time helping you...

We recently sat down with Brian T. King, CEO, and Founder of A M King, an integrated Design-Build firm in Charlotte, NC.  Brian talked about how he started the business in 2004 and found a niche offering property consulting, design, construction, and facility services in the sectors of food processing, food distribution (including cold storage), industrial manufacturing, and corporate properties. ...

Leanne Baribeau is a talented Architect with Modus Studio in Fayetteville, AR. We got a chance to spend some time with Leanne discussing her career, love of Architecture, and why diversity is essential for the design industry.  Don’t miss the virtual conference, and ElevateHer Symposium, held September 13th to October 7th , is comparable to last year’s event. There will be many FREE sessions...

We recently sat down with Lucas Hayden, Product Marketing Director with Unanet .  Unanet is a leading provider of ERP and CRM solutions purpose-built for Government Contractors, AEC, and Professional Services and a presenter at Zweig Group’s ElevateAEC 2021 virtual event.  The virtual conference and ElevateHer Symposium, held September 13th to October 7th , is comparable to last year’s e...

We sat down with Chad Clinehens, President and CEO of Zweig Group, to discuss the upcoming ElevateAEC 2021 virtual and live event.  The virtual conference and ElevateHer Symposium, held September 13th to October 7th ,  is comparable to last year’s event. There will be many FREE sessions and more than 30 Professional Development Hours (PDH) available to you.  The ElevateAEC live event will be held...

We talk with the newest Managing Director of Zweig Group, Dathan Gaskill. Dathan shared his Super Hero Origin Story and how his career has been a series of challenges and upgrades that find him running a brand new business unit for Zweig Group. This new entity, Zweig Group Risk Solutions,  is dedicated to providing innovative risk management and financial strategies for Architecture, Engineer...

We talk with Mark Zweig about what it takes to become a better Seller in the Design Industry. There is a lot of hard work involved, you have to believe in yourself, be consistent, and build relationships even when there isn't a sale on the line. (Originally Released September 14, 2018) Here is a link to the original podcast . Here is a link to the original show notes and everything referenced in t...

We sat down with Kyle Ahern , Awards Manager, with Zweig Group.  Kyle shared some great information on the Awards process and why Zweig Group created specific awards. He also discussed why Design Firms should consider participating in the awards process and some important data shared with all of those firms.  Whether you are or want to be a Hot Firm, think you should be a Best Firm To Wo...