What AEC Leaders told us in 2025
Over the past year, we sat down with a small group of AEC leaders — clients and friends of Oomph — for candid conversations about how firms are preparing for change that unfolds over years, not quarters.
These included:
Drew Hauser and Matt Bolen (mcCallumSather) on succession, leadership transition, and designing continuity into a firm long before a handover is imminent
Naama Blonder (Smart Density) on growth, visibility, and building a practice outside traditional pathways
Zenon Radewych (WZMH Architects) on innovation, systems thinking, and competing over the long horizon
Ari Bose (Bluewater Group) on ownership transition, institutional readiness, and building firms designed to last
Across different roles, firm sizes, and perspectives, the discussions kept circling back to the same realities:
change unfolds over years, not quarters
growth requires structure, not just opportunity
succession and leadership transition need to be designed, not deferred
marketing, BD, finance, and operations can’t operate in isolation
and culture determines whether any plan actually works
This carousel pulls together the most resonant insights from those interviews — not as predictions, but as practical guidance for leaders thinking seriously about how to run their firms in a more volatile environment.
👇 Explore the key takeaways below
👉 Read the 2025 Year in Review here: and download the 2026 Strategic Planning Framework at here.
