ST. LOUIS – The HFW Companies (HFW), a fast-growing professional services firm with a national focus on the architecture and engineering industry (AE), has hired AE industry veteran Brandi Smith as its new business development director.
HFW hired Smith to lead the launch of a nationally focused business development initiative aimed at pursuing infrastructure design opportunities that would allow HFW’s growing network of AE partner firms to collaborate as a team on large-scale projects.
Smith, who lives in Indianapolis, Ind., has spent the past 18 years serving in national business development roles within the AE industry, most recently as assistant vice president and USACE/Army account lead at WSP. There, she oversaw strategic planning, pipeline development, capture management, teaming, and client relationships. She is a graduate of Indiana University.
Smith also is involved actively as a leader in the Society of American Military Engineers and its National Leader Development Program, and she is a member of the Association of Proposal Management Professionals.
“Brandi is a great fit for HFW as we work hard to maximize the collective expertise of our partner firms across the country and, ultimately, reshape collaborative infrastructure design in the AE industry,” said Scott Williams, PE, vice president of operations for HFW. “She has extensive experience pursuing and winning projects in the federal market sector, which will give our partners tremendous opportunities to pull together our talents, share our expertise, and share new clients. We see this as a strategic investment in fueling the future growth of HFW and our growing number of HFW Partner firms.”
To date, HFW has built a portfolio of seven strategic partner firms with a combined 400-plus employees and collective annual revenues that put HFW at 281 in Engineering News Record’s annual Top 500 ranking of the largest AEC companies.
HFW’s goal, according to HFW CEO Michael Hein, AIA, PMP, is to invest in a growing network of middle-market architecture and engineering firms serving metropolitan infrastructure markets with strong legacy brands and growth potential. HFW’s unique “House of Brands” growth model, Hein explained, is designed to retain and leverage each partnering firm’s own brand identity, loyal employee base, and allegiance to their clients.
“At the same time, we want to invest in and develop new growth opportunities for our legacy network by creating value-added synergies and systems for collaboration driven by national-scale business development,” Hein said. “We look forward to greater collaboration.”
For more information about The HFW Companies, contact Michael Hein at 618.560.4756 or at michael.hein@hfwcompanies.com.