Global architecture firm HKS is redesigning its firm from the top down, with a new leadership structure to help solidify its spot as the second-biggest architecture firm.
The Dallas-based company that trails only Gensler as the largest firm of its kind by revenue has split the leadership role of president and CEO, held by Dan Noble for the past decade, into two positions. Moving forward, Noble is CEO and chairman of HKS, and longtime Chief Financial Officer Sam Mudro is taking on the additional role of president.
"When I was first named as president and CEO, we had 800 people and now, after a decade of growth, we have 1,500 people in 27 offices," Noble told CoStar News. "We have gotten too big for one person to manage the growth, and for us to continue to spend time on innovation and strategy. We did a little research and found it wasn't uncommon to separate the president and CEO role in large companies in the design industry."
With Mudro having held a C-level title at HKS for nearly a decade, Noble said there wasn't much of a handoff. It was more a formalized way to showcase what he has already done at the firm and give some leadership responsibility to a tenured executive, he said. Mudro said he agreed with Noble, adding that the realignment of responsibilities and the "little bit of a dance that goes along with it" keeps them from stepping on the other's toes.
For Noble, there's a feeling of "letting go" that he's had to deal with internally. That's part of his "ENTJ" personality type, known as a commander personality. ENTJ stands for having extroverted, intuitive, thinking and judging traits. Noble and Mudro — as well as the firm's entire leadership team — took the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator test that assesses personalities ahead of the leadership change.
"I've been doing this for a while and it's a little bit difficult for me at times to have Sam meet with people and make decisions," Noble said. "I'm not part of making the sausage anymore. It's been an adjustment because I want to solve things, but I'm learning to step back and let others figure it out."
The new leadership setup will speed up results on the client side and help the firm build its research capabilities in a changing real estate environment, Noble said.
“We are aware that the industry we work in today will not look the same tomorrow, next year, or five years from now,” he said.
Noble said the firm spoke at this year's SXSW in Austin, including offering insight into creating optimal environments for healthy aging.
"We are innovating and investing in changes that will position our business for long-term resilience and give our clients a true value proposition for years to come," he said.