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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Pierre Douyon Director of Project Controls
Pierre is HFW’s Director of Project Controls. As a former Project Controls leader at Jacobs, Pierre brings over 20 years of experience in delivering successful projects in AEC. As the Director of Project Controls, Pierre aligns finance and project management teams to oversee earned value management and project forecasting best practices of HFW and its member firms.
During his 18-year tenure at Jacobs, and as a former Company Commander in the US Army, Pierre has demonstrated experience leading teams to achieve strategic objectives. In previous roles, Pierre has provided financial oversight to a wide variety of Civil Engineering projects, including work for clients such as the FDOT.
Pierre received a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Towson University.
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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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Brandi Smith Director of Business Development
Brandi Smith came to The HFW Companies after a business development career spanning nearly 18 years in the AEC industry. She most recently served as assistant vice president, USACE/Army Account Lead at WSP, where she led business development for WSP’s Army and USACE accounts and was responsible for strategic planning, pipeline development, capture management, teaming, and client relationships.
Prior to this role, Brandi served as Federal government lead for Shrewsberry & Associates, where she was responsible for developing the market-entry strategy for the U.S. Federal government sector.
In any role, she strives to create value, connect people, and serve the larger AEC industry.
Brandi is actively involved the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME), serving during her tenure there as a deputy regional vice president for the Tennessee/Kentucky Region, vice president of the Kentuckiana Post, co-chair for the SAME National Leader Development Program, and was a 2023 Leader Development Program graduate. She also is a member of the Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP) and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology from Indiana University.
If you have ever talked with her, then you will know she is a proud mom of a young son who challenges her leadership skills daily. Brandi also played travel soccer for 18 years, including four months representing the United States in Europe. She enjoys spending time with her family and never passes up a chance to soak in the sun on a beach or listen to a true-crime podcast.
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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.”