Leaving Las Vegas—Friday Recap

Leaving Las Vegas—Friday Recap

Friday kicked off with another networking breakfast and then moved into four concurrent M&A and capitalization interactive panel discussions followed by four “Let’s Get Down to Business” workshops. Here’s a recap of the day:

Friday Panels

Sellers Share Their Stories—Nate Wentworth

This is consistently one of our most popular panels since it provides a “safe” space for folks who are considering a firm sale or merger to learn more about the process and its implications. I was joined by Jerry Aplass, branch manager at MacKay Sposito (Vancouver, WA), and Michael Sanderson, CEO of Sanbell (Billings, MT). Both gentlemen had led the recent sales of their firms. They discussed the different catalysts for selling their businesses. They stressed the importance of cultural fit, noting that financials aren’t the most important factor to a successful partnership—especially in this people-focused industry.

Integration Best Practices— Sarah Thornhill/Stafford Palmieri-Sievert

We moderated a highly interactive panel featuring two awesome and knowledgeable panelists—Brenda Greig, chief human resources officer at Ardurra, and Kate Johnson, vice president and M&A employee experience director at Woolpert (Dayton, OH) (ENR #39). Drawing on Ardurra’s experiences as an M&A Best Practices Award recipient, Greig shared keys that have contributed to their success like honesty, transparency, genuineness, and direct communication. From our Excellence in Acquisitive Growth Awards data, we know that improved employee retention is a hallmark of successful integrations, and both Greig and Johnson underscored that effective change management coupled with an improved employee experience post-transaction are critical to achieving good retention.

Investing in the Industry: A Private Equity Perspective—Brendon Cussio

Signal Hill Equity Partners Managing Director Ahmed Abdel-Saheb and GHK Capital Partners Principal Keith Adcock were happy to share their experience and perspectives in this engaging panel discussion. Since both firms have stood up successful platforms in the AE industry—they brought a real “been there, done that” level of knowledge to the discussion. We explored how private equity’s role in the AE industry has evolved from market entry to platform building, what investors look for in an ideal partner, and how PE-backed firms are creating value through both M&A and internal investment. Our discussion covered topics ranging from sector specialization and leadership readiness to cultural alignment, digital infrastructure, and what’s next for private equity in a more competitive landscape.

Buyers Share Their Market Outlook and Best Practices—Matthias David

For this panel discussion I was joined by Tony Kreis, chief development officer at Stratus Team (Coraopolis, PA) (ENR #214), and Tom Secker, chief corporate development officer with 2025 Most Proficient and Prolific Acquirer Award recipient Trilon (Denver, CO). They shared their views on the current M&A landscape, what they look for in a seller, and the practices that enable them to scale effectively through M&A. The message was clear: Direct communication, transparency, and a well-defined strategy are essential to long-term success!

Friday “Let’s Get Down to Business” Workshops

Seven Ways to Increase Your Firm’s Value in Seven Months—Nate Wentworth

In my workshop, I emphasized seven strategies to increase a company’s value in seven months, including improving financial reporting for better decision-making, an enhanced focus on tracking and monitoring of KPIs, increasing utilization by optimizing resources and minimizing non-billable tasks, reducing overhead by negotiating contracts and shifting to hybrid work environments, and speeding up collections through clear invoicing procedures. I also highlighted the importance of diversifying the business (e.g., new service offerings, end-markets, geographies, etc.) and focusing on specific growth strategies. Lastly, I outlined immediate, medium-term, and long-term action items to ensure sustained growth and value creation as well as exit options for shareholders.

AI for the AE CEO: Making AI a Competitive Advantage for Your Firm—Stafford Palmieri-Sievert

I led an engaging conversation on how to deploy AI in your firm. We went over the basics of AI; concrete ways in which AI can drive efficiency, creativity, and risk mitigation; and how ready a firm is to implement AI models in the first place. We then discussed a scenario—using AI to predict whether projects would go over budget—before identifying how to evaluate the return on investment (ROI) for your data and AI investments.

Ownership Transition Quick-Start—Allie Tepper

I enjoyed leading an intimate discussion for firm leaders, each seeking to jump-start their ownership transitions. We tackled all the critical elements: identifying gaps and assessing the next generation, laying the operational groundwork, structuring and financing transactions, and valuation fundamentals. Thanks to the small group and enthusiastic participation, firm leaders were able to share their ownership transition stories and receive tailored guidance from their peers as well as the formal presentation.

Strategy: Take Time to Work ON Your Business and Not Just IN It—Sarah Thornhill/Rafael Barbosa

During the strategy workshop, we led firm leaders through key distinctions between strategic and operational thinking and facilitated discussions on mission, values, and vision. Participants engaged in a focused PESTLE exercise to assess external factors and identify emerging opportunities and risks. The session concluded with a briefing on market intelligence and research tools that can enhance and inform strategic planning efforts.

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the following partners, sponsors and exhibitors for helping to produce another awesome symposium and for providing such an excellent range of products and services to help industry firms more successful: Deltek, Lockton, BST Global, Full Sail Partners, Fox Rothschild, Lawson & Weitzen, PKF O’Connor Davies, Plante Moran, RSM, Aktion Associates, Joist AI, and ACEC Retirement Trust.

Things are changing fast in the AE industry. To stay on top of the latest developments and to make the connections you need to advance your firm, join over 200 AE industry executives, investors, and experts this October at our last event of the year—the Texas and the South M&A and Business Symposium at the spectacular Post Oak Hotel at Uptown, Houston. Sign up here to be notified when registration opens and be eligible for a special, limited time, early-bird discount.