ST. LOUIS – The HFW Companies (HFW), a fast-growing professional services firm with a national focus on the architecture and engineering (AE) industry, has recruited AE industry veteran Steven Summers, CEng, MIMechE, as its newly created vice president of project excellence & delivery.
Summers, who has spent the past 33 years serving the AE industry in project execution and delivery, brings to HFW a caree
r defined by his leadership in developing and implementing effective project management systems, processes, teams, and professional development, according to Matthew Westphal, co-founder and chief operating officer of HFW. HFW has hired Summers, Westphal said, to lead the development of a best-in-class project management platform that includes standardized project controls, innovative project delivery processes, quality assurance, professional development for project managers, and an elevated client experience. The goal: a network-wide platform that accelerates growth consistently across its fast-expanding national portfolio of partner firms. The HFW Partner Network currently includes 10 AE firms.
“Strong project delivery and execution are foundational to the long-term success of our Partner firms and to the entire HFW Partner Network,” Westphal said. “We’ve reached a critical mass that necessitates a greater investment in project excellence and delivery. “Steve has been recognized internationally for his ability to build and lead high-performing AE teams that drive consistent, high-quality project delivery and client experiences, with predictable and consistent outcomes,” Westphal added. “We look forward to his leadership in driving this important effort at HFW.”
Previously, Summers served in leadership roles with Jacobs, WSP, and TruGrid, championing project excellence and delivery and, at times, overseeing major projects in the transportation, buildings, water and wastewater, and energy sectors globally. Summers, in his new role, said he will focus initially on creating a project management “playbook” for HFW Partner firms to adopt that covers the entire project lifecycle, including project controls, risk management, and quality assurance, with an emphasis on increased utilization and workshare across the network, as well as reducing profit erosion. “This will be good for all our Partner firms and good for the collective,” Summers said. “I don’t want just more work, but better work. I feel completely energized by this opportunity.”
To date, HFW has built a portfolio of 10 strategic partner firms with a combined 700-plus employees and collective 2024 annual revenues that put HFW at No. 203 in Engineering News-Record’s annual Top 500 ranking of the largest AEC companies.
For more information about The HFW Companies, contact Daniel Bates at 412.310.3167 or at daniel.bates@hfwcompanies.co.