Our Team

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Michael Hein, AIA Chief Executive Officer
Michael is a founding partner of HFW and brings 38 years of experience from the AEC industry to the company. As CEO, Michael leads, manages, and is accountable for driving the company’s vision, culture, fostering its big ideas, mapping out the strategic plan, and removing obstacles that threaten to disrupt the company’s success.
He is enthusiastic about problem solving! His approach begins with questioning why a problem requires a solution? This is a “go and see” tactic that does not happen in the board room, but out on the floor where the real action takes place. Once the problem is understood, the next question asks what is the desired outcome? These two empowering questions help address issues leading to successful outcomes.
Michael stays focused on delivering results through operational excellence, promoting leadership development, and engaging in client relationships. Michael has experience in talent acquisition and management, project management, risk mitigation and control and accountability. Michael also has an entrepreneurial mindset with past firm Ownership.
Michael obtained his Bachelor of Science in Geography with an emphasis in cartography and economic development from the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire. He received a Bachelor of Architecture from The City College of New York (CCNY) and a Master of Urban Planning/Architecture from The Graduate Center, City University of New York (CUNY).
“There is a certain time when every problem is large enough to be seen and small enough to be solved. That is the precise time to take action!” Michael Hein, CEO, The HFW Companies
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Matthew Westphal, PE, SE Chief Operating Officer
Matthew is a founding partner of HFW with 24 years of experience leading national, multi-office firms. He brings a disciplined approach to project delivery, exceeding client expectations, structuring firms to maximize production, and preparing for ambitious growth.
Matthew also has past firm ownership experience and an entrepreneurial focus. He has led firms of 150+ employees and managed a project portfolio of over $400M construction cost with individual projects exceeding $300M and participated on project teams for projects exceeding $800M.
Matthew obtained his Bachelor of Science in Engineering with an emphasis on structures from the University of Illinois. He further went on to receive a Master of Science in Civil Engineering and a Master of Business Administration from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
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Daniel Forguson, CVA, CPA Chief Financial Officer
Daniel is a founding partner and serves as Chief Financial Officer, working closely with the corporate development M&A team in evaluating and acquiring member firms, and ongoing portfolio optimization. Daniel also oversees the firm’s financial planning & analysis, accounting and project controls functions. Daniel has 15 years of leadership experience in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction industry. Prior to joining HFW, Daniel served as Chief Financial Officer and Regional Project Controls Director for national AE firms. Daniel ensures exceptional financial performance instituting a culture of decision making based on forward looking metrics and forecasting, strict operational and project controls and hands-on project knowledge.
Daniel received a B.S. in Finance from Southern Illinois University, an MBA from Lindenwood University and a Masters of Accountancy from DePaul University. He is a member of the Association for Corporate Growth and the Construction Financial Management Association.
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Scott Williams, PE Vice President of Operations
Scott Williams, P.E., HFW’s vice president of operations, supports the growth of the firm’s expanding portfolio of strategic partners, developing both shared economies of scale and synergies between HFW Partner firms that will allow them to leverage their expertise across a national AEC footprint built by HFW.
Scott brings to HFW an extensive operational understanding of infrastructure design guided by executable strategic vision and flexible, adaptive business structure. His goal: to help the leaders of HFW Partner firms align their operational visions with one another, identify synergistic growth opportunities and strategies, and then develop shared resources, including expertise, to achieve their visions.
He joined HFW from CRANSTON, an engineering, landscape architecture, surveying, and planning firm based in Augusta, Ga., that became an HFW Partner firm in June 2022. Since 2019, Scott served as president and CEO of CRANSTON, where he drove an aggressive growth strategy that resulted in record net revenue and culminated in the HFW partnership.
A graduate of the University of Georgia in 2002 with a BS in Biological Engineering, Scott dedicated a majority of his more than 20 years at the firm to successfully managing a diversity of civil engineering teams and projects, from municipal complexes, judicial centers, public transit facilities, and major land developments, to stormwater management, roadway infrastructure, dams and levees, and water and wastewater systems.
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Michelle Huber, MBA Vice President of Finance
Michelle is HFW’s Vice President of Finance. She has over 10 years of combined experience in professional service industries. As the Vice President of Finance, Michelle uses her blended AEC and public accounting background to oversee the accounting operations of HFW and its member firms. In her role, Michelle uses both an analytical and strategic approach to provide essential data to leadership to assist with decision-making processes.
Michelle has experience successfully leading multi-entity finance teams and has established accounting best practices for multiple organizations. In her previous roles, she has had complete oversight of accounting and budgeting for AEC industry firms.
Michelle obtained her Bachelor of Science in Accountancy from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. She further went on to receive a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from McKendree University.
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Kimberly “KP” Perryman, SPHR Vice President of Human Resources
Kimberly “KP” Perryman is vice president of human resources at The HFW Companies and brings more than 15 years of experience in talent acquisition and human resources to the role. KP is a dedicated executive with a passion for fostering growth, building strong teams, and creating positive workplace cultures. She excels in fast-paced, rapidly changing environments where she takes a data-driven approach and prioritizes efficiency.
As the VP of HR, KP leads strategic initiatives that empower employees and drive organizational success. Her expertise lies in scaling companies through the development of robust human resources and recruiting functions, supported by high-performing teams. She is committed to enhancing culture, establishing workforce skills development programs, attracting top talent, and designing efficient processes.
With a keen eye for strategy and a talent for project management, KP has achieved significant success over the years while always prioritizing a people-first approach. She thrives on challenges and is dedicated to creating environments where both employees and organizations can flourish.
KP earned her Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Finance & Accounting from American Intercontinental University before going on to achieve her Master’s degree in Business Administration, with a focus on management. She also holds active SPHR (Senior Professional Human Resources) and CMC (Certified Master Coach) certifications.
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Brenda Jimenez Director of Project Controls
Brenda Jimenez is a seasoned business operations thought leader with more than a decade of experience in driving growth and profitability through actionable financial analysis and strategic business insights. As the director of project controls at The HFW Companies, she leads the project controls functions across the organization and its partner firms, ensuring robust performance monitoring, reporting, and financial analysis.
Before joining HFW, Brenda made significant contributions at a global architecture and engineering firm, where she served as a senior project controls manager. There, she developed and implemented financial tools that enhanced visibility into project activities, improved cost performance, and enabled more accurate forecasting for multi-million-dollar projects.
Brenda consistently elevates organizational performance, delivering exceptional results with a strong focus on planning, forecasting, and process improvement. She has transformed operations with her visionary leadership, fostering commitment and accountability within teams and empowering leadership to excel through data-driven decision-making.
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Thomas Parrott, PE Director of Operations

Thomas Parrott, HFW’s director of operations, supports HFW’s Operations efforts in developing shared resources, processes, synergies, and strategic growth opportunities among the firm’s expanding portfolio of HFW Partner firms. The goal: to facilitate collaborations that will allow the partner firms to leverage their expertise across a national Architectural and Engineering industry footprint built by HFW.

Thomas’s top priorities include the following: optimizing the HFW Partner firms’ multi-office and work-sharing capabilities; fostering a collaborative culture; and enhancing financial transparency for clear decision-making.

Thomas joined HFW from CRANSTON, a civil and structural engineering, landscape architecture, surveying, and planning firm based in Augusta, Ga., that became an HFW Partner firm in June 2022. He served for nearly 10 years with CRANSTON, first as a civil engineering project manager in its municipal engineering department and then as head of civil engineering for the firm’s expanding South Carolina operations. In between, he also served briefly as city engineer for the city of Aiken, S.C.

Thomas was instrumental in driving CRANSTON’s regional expansion efforts, including the launch of the firm’s new South Carolina Midlands office in January 2023.

Thomas is a graduate of the University of South Carolina with a BS in Civil Engineering.

His infrastructure design philosophy: “Being a part of projects that contribute to the improvements within our communities are what make my job great. It’s important to me to see that what we work on has positive impacts to the communities we serve.”

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Drake Hamilton Senior Investment Analyst

Drake is a senior investment analyst on The HFW Companies’ Finance team. Drake has worked in a financial and mergers-and-acquisitions (M&A) capacity his entire career as an adviser with dozens of architecture- , engineering- , and construction-industry (AEC) firms.

Drake’s background in finance and accounting, combined with his experience in the AEC realm, puts him in a unique position to overcome challenges in the M&A space.

His experience includes M&A, valuation and financial analysis, strategic planning, and leading engagements across all these services.

Drake obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Finance and Accounting from the University of Arkansas.

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Hortencia Williamson Talent Acquisition Business Partner

Hortencia Williamson is an experienced talent recruiter and strategist on both a national and international scale, as well as across a diversity of industries, where she has built entirely new departments from the ground up, including executive leadership.

Hortencia’s previous experience includes spearheading the recruitment strategy of companies and managing end-to-end processes, from sourcing top-tier talent to onboarding. Her achievements include building and implementing a custom Applicant Tracking System (ATS) that streamlined recruitment and improved the candidate experience. That initiative resulted in the successful hiring of more than 70 employees in 2 years.

Hortencia excels in partnering with hiring managers to align hiring needs with team objectives, ensuring a seamless and effective recruitment process.

Hortencia holds an HR Generalist Certification and HR Business Partner Certification from AIHR, equipping her with the tools and knowledge to navigate complex HR tasks to add value to the business. Bilingual and adept in data-driven decision-making, Hortencia combines strong sourcing abilities with technical knowledge, communication skills, and a strategic mindset to drive high-performing teams and support individual career growth.