Connection Magazine: The Architecture and Design Journal of the Young Architects Forum Article: “Mergers and Acquisitions, Understanding the Process and Navigating Career Trajectory after Expansion”

In this recent Connection Magazine: The Architecture and Design Journal of the Young Architects Forum article, SSOE’s Laura Morton, AIA, NCARB, Senior Architect, and Betsy Hurner, Vice President of Corporate Development, discuss mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the AEC industry. They share their experience during SSOE’s recent acquisition of the 100-year-old Southeast U.S. firm formerly known as Stevens & Wilkinson. Within the article, Laura offers her viewpoint as an architect at the firm being acquired, while Betsy elaborates on the M&A process at a large A/E corporation.

Laura, who is based in Atlanta, has an architectural career that spans all phases of the design and construction process with predominant work in commercial, urban development, adaptive reuse, and mixed-use projects. She actively serves the architectural community at a local, regional, and national level—currently serving as the young architects’ representative for AIA Georgia and board secretary for AIA Atlanta, from which she received the 2022 Emerging Professional Award.

Betsy works at SSOE’s world headquarters in Toledo and has more than 20 years of experience in the AEC industry. In her role as Vice President of Corporate Development, she oversees and integrates organic and inorganic growth functions, including M&A, marketing, and business development. She brings extensive expertise in strategy as well as involvement in SSOE’s acquisitions dating back more than a decade, has worked closely with our human resources team to refine SSOE’s employment value proposition, and served as chair of SSOE’s Culture Committee.

To read the full article, click here.