SSOE Group’s Acquires Stevens & Wilkinson, Appoints Six New Principals
TOLEDO, Ohio, January 14, 2021 – SSOE Group (www.ssoe.com), a global project delivery firm for architecture, engineering, and construction management, announced today the appointment of six new Principals as a result of their recent acquisition of Stevens & Wilkinson (S&W), a 100-year-old architecture, engineering, and interior design firm with offices in Atlanta, Georgia and Columbia, South Carolina. The acquisition was finalized on December 31, 2020, expanding the firm’s geographic footprint in the Southeast U.S., market expertise in the general building arena, and overall portfolio.
Chair of SSOE’s Board of Directors and Chief Operating Officer Catherine Myers, PE, commented, “As COO overseeing the Building Design Group at SSOE, I am excited for the addition of these new Principals to our leadership team. Each of these individuals have made significant contributions to the success of S&W and have distinguished themselves as some of the best in their field. With their active daily involvement in project work for the group and their continued focus on client relationships, we envision further success and growth for the Building Design Group”.
SSOE’s Board of Directors named the following professionals as officers of SSOE:
Ron Stang, AIA, LEED AP, Building Design Group Manager — As former Chairman of S&W, Ron has taken on the role of Senior Vice President and Strategic Business Unit (SBU) Manager for SSOE’s Building Design Group. In addition, Ron will serve a one-year term as an SSOE Board Director. He has over 40 years of professional experience with a passion for planning and design of urban architecture as well as higher education, adaptive reuse, mixed-use, and hospitality projects. Ron’s stellar leadership capabilities combined with an invaluable keen insight are a recipe for delivering the best practical project and design for clients. He holds a Master in Architecture from the Georgia Institute of Technology and is actively involved in many community planning groups and design review committees including Downtown Atlanta’s Development Review Committees (DRC).
Robby Aull, AIA, ACHA, LEED AP, Senior Vice President — Responsible for oversight of all architectural design staff within SSOE’s Building Design Group SBU, Division Manager Robby Aull emphasizes the development of forward-looking practice groups and expert teams across all market segments. He has 31 years of experience in an architectural career focused on the operational understanding and subsequent architectural design of facilities to meet both the client’s goals and occupant needs. Robby is exceptionally skilled at fostering client relationships, front-end planning, and problem-solving for various types of facilities, and holds a Bachelor of Science in Design and a Master of Architecture from Clemson University. His graduate educational program focused on the programming and design of healthcare facilities, and he has a significant portfolio of outstanding work within the healthcare design industry. As a founding member of the American College of Healthcare Architects (ACHA) and former Board Member of the AIA-Academy of Architecture for Health, Robby is recognized as an expert in the design of healthcare facilities.
Kirk Marchisen, AIA, LEED AP, Architectural Department Manager — A seasoned senior architect with over 30 years of experience, Kirk is an Architectural Department Manager for SSOE’s Building Design Group SBU. His experience, primarily in K-12 educational facility design, includes campus master planning, new school design and complex renovations, additions, and reconfigurations of existing facilities, as well as being part of the ongoing conversation among educators and facility planners regarding non-conventional learning environments to better accommodate the variety of learning modes and teaching styles. Kirk holds a Master of Architecture and a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from Georgia Tech.
Todd Dolson, AIA, Architectural Department Manager — Todd serves as an Architectural Department Manager for SSOE’s Building Design Group SBU. He has over two decades of architectural experience in higher education and civic practice and has a passion for creating places and spaces that address client goals and objectives. He specializes in the design of academic and public libraries, classroom and learning environments for higher education, museums, and other civic projects. His expertise is backed by a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from Georgia Tech. Todd is an active member of the Society for College and University Planning (SCUP), serving as a Council Member and as the Associate Convener of the Campus Planning Academy. Todd is also on the board of the Georgia Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.
Keith Branham, PE, LEED AP, Engineering Department Manager, Vice President — With over three decades of professional experience, Keith is a Vice President and Engineering Department Manager within SSOE’s Building Design Group SBU. He is responsible for managing the engineering disciplines, which include mechanical, electrical, structural, and civil engineers. Keith graduated cum laude from the University of South Carolina with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. Keith is a member of several engineering affiliations including the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE), South Carolina Chapter, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), and the Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
Ken Daenecke, PE, RCDD, LEED AP, Engineering Department Manager, Vice President — Ken serves as a Vice President and Engineering Department Manager for SSOE’s Building Design Group SBU. He has over three decades of professional experience and provides project leadership and design expertise from project inception through completion. He is an expert in creating electrical engineering design for security systems including CCTV and access control, as well as fire alarm, power, grounding, lighting, and lightning protection. Ken received his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Texas A&M University and his unique registration as an RCDD allows him to provide engineering design for voice / data cabling.
Vince DiPofi, PE, President and CEO of SSOE Group remarked, “The depth of experience this leadership team brings to SSOE strengthens our ability to fulfill our mission of making clients successful by saving them time, trouble, and money. These individuals share a common goal of enhancing the experience for clients—demonstrated through their ability to listen, complete tasks on our clients’ schedules, and find forward-thinking design solutions that drive cost out of their projects. I look forward to working with this group as they integrate with SSOE’s leadership team moving forward.”
