HED, a national architecture and engineering firm with offices in Southfield, last week announced the appointment of Tania Van Herle and Enrique Suarez to co-CEOs.
Van Herle and Suarez will take over from retiring Chairman and CEO J. Peter Devereaux, who served as HED’s CEO since 2015. During his tenure, Devereaux led HED’s transformation into a nationally recognized practice – expanding sector expertise, spearheading five mergers and opening three offices.
“Van Herle and Suarez have my utmost confidence as co-CEOs. They are passionate, innovative leaders who will continue to drive HED’s evolution and growth,” says Devereaux.
Known for integrated architecture and engineering services delivered by the firm’s professionals, HED creates new and sustainable design solutions. The new co-CEO model is a manifestation of the firm’s emphasis on collaboration and commitment to diversity.
Tania Van Herle has served as COO since 2017. During her 25 years with the firm, she has participated in all aspects of the practice including project management, business development, technical leadership, operations and corporate governance.
Trained in both architecture and engineering, Van Herle earned multiple degrees at UCLA in civil engineering and architecture. She is a member of the AIA College of Fellows (FAIA). In her career, she has received the Building Design & Construction’s “40 under 40” Award and was a nominee for the Los Angeles Business Journal “Women Making a Difference” award. She also is a founding chair of the Women in Architecture Committee of AIA-LA, served as the president of the AIA-LA Chapter in 2018, and currently is on the Board of Directors for the Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles.
Suarez has served as CMO since 2015. He has won more than 20 design awards in his tenure with the firm. Suarez is an honors graduate of the University of Kansas with a degree in architecture.
In the co-CEO role, Van Herle will serve as the firm’s operations leader, focusing her efforts on further optimizing project delivery, driving workflow efficiencies, and facilitating more pathways for individual and team success. Suarez will oversee client strategy and external marketing efforts, shepherding in a new vision of HED as a tech-based, solutions-oriented consultancy firm.
“As co-CEO, I look forward to challenging and inspiring our people to greater heights. By crafting a human-centered organization, it will allow our teams’ passions to drive us forward” says Van Herle. “I’m honored to work alongside Enrique in continuing to grow the firm so that we can successfully reinvest in our team and communities.”
Suarez says, “Tania is an incredible leader and together we plan to continue to lead our design practice to deliver value and produce work that is on the cutting edge of architecture and engineering. The industry is evolving rapidly, and within that evolution in technology, materials and process there is room for disruption and demand for greater agility in how we deliver design solutions to our clients and partners.””
Van Herle and Suarez began their new roles on March 14. Brett Paloutzian, managing principal at HED, will be taking over from Devereaux as chairman.
