What inspires you most in your new role as Houston executive?

I have always had tremendous respect for ArchTam as a leader in the global marketplace and especially admire the diversity of our workforce as a large global company. Houston’s client base and workforce are exceptionally diverse and embody an innovative culture that continues to be a growth engine for our region. My goal is for our two local offices to mirror the diversity and inclusion of Houston, which is one of the most diverse cities in the country.

The competition for talent isn’t showing signs of slowing. What sets ArchTam apart as the employer of choice in Houston?

ArchTam’s Houston office is growing. We currently have 28 open requisitions in a variety of disciplines and job levels. As the world’s premier infrastructure firm, our planners, designers, engineers, consultants and construction managers work with visionary clients, partners, colleagues and mentors and our people have access to the largest network of professional expertise in the industry. The variety of our cross-disciplinary work, coupled with the places you can go, make for a dynamic career experience. ArchTam offers talented professionals a scope and scale of opportunities that other firms cannot match. We are proud to employ more than 9,000 military veterans on projects around the world, across professions, disciplines and markets. Their leadership, team-building and analytical skills, coupled with an unwavering commitment to a job well done, are critical in making decisions in the face of uncertainty and ensuring safe operations in high-risk environments.

You’ve been at the forefront of developing revenue growth strategies for a wide range of multi-discipline industries. What strategy delivers consistently, even in unprecedented times?

A successful revenue growth strategy is multi-faceted; it’s the execution of best practices resulting from listening to our clients and applying innovative solutions to overcome their most complex challenges. We are currently advising our government and private clients during the coronavirus pandemic to help prepare for the anticipated economic stimulus. Now more than ever, if I’m doing my job as a leader, I must spend as much time with our customers as I spend mentoring our employees. When our clients are successful, we are successful, with growth being a byproduct.

The city continues to experience rapid growth. How is ArchTam addressing Houston’s changing infrastructure and helping cities ensure they are choosing the right solution at the right time?

ArchTam has been part of the Houston community for 50 years. While we are a global firm, our local employees are Houstonians and experience the changing demands of Houston’s infrastructure. We understand the need to develop smart and sustainable infrastructure. Our teams can leverage advanced technology and shared learning throughout the company to uniquely address infrastructure challenges. ArchTam’s designated Cities practice draws on our diverse expertise from across the company to help make cities better places for the future. As we continue our pursuit for the METRONext Program, a plan of 500 miles of travel improvements to ease traffic congestion, it will be critical to deliver future mobility enhancements spanning multiple ongoing projects that create a universally accessible built environment for Houston.

What does the future hold for the city of Houston over the next 5-10 years?

Based on the past decade, Houston will remain on a growth trajectory into the foreseeable future. The population is projected to reach 10 million in the next 15 to 20 years – the equivalent of adding the combined city population of Dallas and San Antonio to the Houston metro area. Developing the infrastructure to support Houston’s strategy to meet the growing demand is paramount and improving connectivity through innovations in mobility will provide a strategic advantage to Houston to retain and attract new businesses. ArchTam is at the forefront of developing solutions to address these challenges and excited to be part of the future of Houston.

Who inspires you most as a leader?

For me, my inspiration comes from within. It’s triggered by my sense of responsibility to others. I do best in team environments that are fueled by determination and desire to see the invisible and accomplish the impossible, which in turn embodies my passion for leadership.

Staying safe on and off the job is a top priority at ArchTam. What is our company doing to address concerns during this current climate?

In the U.S., ArchTam has quickly and effectively pivoted our global workforce to deliver work remotely in accordance with nationwide mandated stay-at-home orders. Our interpretation of government orders, including in Texas, is that the work we perform is “essential” so our physical office locations remain open for designated employees. We still maintain a considerable number of staff who are working in the field to deliver on projects. In every case, we maintain adherence to CDC guidelines as we prioritize the safety of our people while maintaining business continuity on vital client projects.

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What makes a city “smart?” What makes it “fast” (in terms of economic growth)? What are the comparative benefits of each? How can a smart city get fast and a fast city get smart?

Reading this article from Fast Company about the 10 “smartest” cities in North America reminded me of this article in Forbes from a few months ago about the fastest growing cities in the U.S. I couldn’t help thinking of the children’s fable about the tortoise and the hare.

Forbes’ list of the fastest was driven by financial indicators alone, not taking into consideration some of the social and infrastructure lenses that Fast Company’s smartest list calibrates.

The most striking observation is that the three fastest-growing cities on Forbes’ list are all in Texas while the “smartest” lists don’t recognize any of these cities. Perhaps that is because the “smartest” list includes Canada. And what about Utah and Arizona? What makes fast-growing Provo and Salt Lake less “smart”? While we cannot predict booms and busts it made we wonder if part of the reason to be smart verses fast is so that a city’s growth is smooth and sustained.

The two cities that are common to both lists are Seattle and Portland—both cities in the U.S. Pacific Northwest with a high focus on sustainability and driven by a significant tech sector economy. Portland is famous for being the first city in the United States to eschew federal transportation dollars for urban highway improvements. As a result they now have one of the most transit-rich urban cores in the world. Portland has also seen an uptick in manufacturing (Streetcars and Bicycles) as well as white collar jobs associated with the Portland sustainability brand.

Houston, a city I called home for six years, is famous for its sprawl. Since recruiting a sustainability director, Laura Spanjian, from San Francisco, there have been advances in major policy initiatives. Yet the lack of comprehensive planning (the city still operates with “super neighborhood area planning” or SNAP) results in a disjointed development pattern in which the large development areas are not aligned with connective transportation infrastructure. The resultant traffic and decaying urban fabric separating the improved SNAP neighborhoods would suggest that it will be wise to focus on growing smarter.

San Francisco is one of the top 10 “smart” cities yet it sits at number 14 on the “fast” list. Efforts at fast tracking pro-business tax policies have catalyzed a rapid influx of technology to downtown San Francisco, which should speed the city’s rise on the fast list. Meanwhile its challenges with affordability could challenge its standing as the #2 “smartest” city.

“Top Ten” lists are always fun to read, but comparing different methods of ranking makes for thought-provoking analysis. Like the slow and steady tortoise, the long-term-looking city may see the more sustainable growth. Yet the tortoises will need to get more agile in the short term to stay competitive.

Stephen Engblom (stephen.engblom@archtam.com) leads ArchTam’s Design, Planning + Economics practice in the Americas.

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