Word on the Street: Issue 246

Leaving Las Vegas 

AE industry executives, investors, and experts from as far afield as Hawaii to the west, Quebec to the north, and Mexico to the south gathered in Las Vegas from Wednesday through Friday last week for the Western States M&A and Business Symposium.

With the early evening temperatures still sizzling in the low 100s, all the action was indoors at Wednesday evening’s opening reception with next-level networking and early-stage deal-making in abundance. After last call (which always seems to come ridiculously early—where does two hours go?), CEO attendees decamped to enjoy networking dinners with their peers at three of the pretty fabulous on-property restaurants. (Who knew you could get such awesome seafood in the middle of the desert?) 

Thursday kicked off with a networking breakfast (which was totally needed since attendees essentially achieved most, if not all, of their daily steps trekking from their rooms to the conference area) followed by a packed day of presentations, panel discussions, and an Excellence in Acquisitive Growth Awards ceremony. Here’s a quick summary of how Thursday went down. 

State of the Industry—Nick Belitz

Armed with real-world data from full-year 2024 and the first quarter of 2025, Megan Miller (Deltek) and I updated attendees on the “State of the Industry” as represented by the real-world facts and results of the 46th Annual Deltek Clarity Architecture and Engineering (A&E) Industry Study and our proprietary Q1 financial performance intel. Despite the noise and negative drumbeat of national news, the signal is that AE industry firms are doing quite well (to put it mildly), and many firms report 2025 is on track to be at least as strong as 2024 (which was a banner year). While finding and retaining staff remains a primary (some would say existential) concern, market uncertainty does rank a close second. But the outlook is cautiously optimistic, and firms are investing in people, acquisitions, and generative AI to make the most of the opportunities at hand.

Future of the Industry CEO Panel—Mark Goodale

Karen Erger (Lockton) and I hosted a panel of terrific CEOs that included Matt Bissett, president of Atwell (Southfield, MI) (ENR #70); Laura Knauss, president of Lionakis (Sacramento, CA) (ENR #388); and Frank Ricciardi, president of Weston & Sampson (Reading, MA) (ENR #119). The panelists delved into current macroeconomic conditions, government funding, climate-related trends, and how they’re helping clients navigate through uncertain times. The discussion narrowed into many aspects of talent management such as coaching and mentoring, career progression, and handling perceived generational differences and their impact on employee ownership and company culture. In their roles, Matt, Laura, and Frank shared their experiences in a wide variety of markets, services, and geographies. It all made for a well-rounded session.

M&A Best Practices Award Ceremony—Mark Goodale

Our Excellence in Acquisitive Growth Awards series recognizes the industry’s best acquirers. This year, the M&A Best Practices Award was presented to Ardurra Group (Miami, FL) (ENR #75) for its best practice in the area of Acquisition Candidate Courtship and Management. Accepting the award on behalf of Ardurra were Chief Human Resources Officer Brenda Greig and Director of Mergers and Acquisitions Clark Holt. 

2025 M&A Best Practices Award presented to Ardurra 
From left to right: Mark Goodale, Brenda Greig (Ardurra), Clark Holt (Ardurra)

M&A Trends and Valuation—Nick Belitz/Jon Escobar

Volatility, tariffs, and broader economic uncertainty aside, the AE industry has continued to transact at a historically high rate. Through May 2025, deal activity is ahead of last year’s pace, and with supply and demand drivers still very much in play, we laid out the case for continued M&A tailwinds for the balance of the year. Buyers remain focused on locking down expertise in public infrastructure and mission-critical markets. Sellers, meanwhile, are motivated by attractive valuations and the opportunity to join larger platforms with deeper/better corporate resources. These dynamics continue to drive activity, particularly in high-growth markets such as Texas, Florida, and the Western U.S.

1000 Club—Brendon Cussio

I was joined by two fantastic colleagues—George Christodoulo, a partner with Lawson & Weitzen, and David Sullivan, a partner with PKF O’Connor Davies—on the “1000 Club” panel hosted by Morrissey Goodale’s Sarah Thornhill to discuss the key aspects of deal-making from a tax, legal, and business perspective. The panel started with us discussing ways that sellers can get their houses in order prior to going to market, continued with us providing an overview of the main components of a deal and how these have changed given the recent uncertainty in the wider macroeconomic climate, and wrapped up with our best advice for both buyers and sellers to achieve the optimal outcome in a transaction. It was a great panel filled with critical information for deal-makers, whether buying or selling, and how to position themselves in today’s market environment.

Thursday wrapped up with another fun networking reception followed by three more CEO networking dinners hosted by Morrissey Goodale principals and bon vivants Nick Belitz, Brendon Cussio, and Jon Escobar. An early night was had by all.

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.

Weekly M&A Round Up

Industry M&A is up 4% over the past 12 months: You can check out all of last week’s M&A news here.