Lance K. Josal FAIA has been named President and CEO of RTKL Associates Inc., the international planning, design and engineering firm. Josal succeeds RTKL’s current President and CEO, David C. Hudson AIA, who is retiring from the firm. The changes will take effect on 1 September 2009.
Josal is a 30-year veteran of RTKL and for the last seven years has directed the firm’s Commercial Practice Group, which accounts for more than 30% of the firm’s gross revenue. Throughout his career, Josal has played an integral role in keeping RTKL at the forefront of the industry. He has been instrumental in RTKL’s expansion into new and emerging markets and in navigating the firm’s core business lines—retail, hospitality and residential—through challenging economic times.
“RTKL has always been one of the most stable and successful firms in the design industry,” says Josal. “And I look forward to building on Dave Hudson’s success. As we move out of this recession, my energy will be focused with an emphasis on design quality and continued international expansion while growing the new generation of leadership for the future of the firm.”
Josal was selected through an internal search that involved interviews with senior members of the practice. The process, coordinated by RTKL’s parent company, ARCADIS, has driven other management changes, including a new Executive Committee and series of Leadership Teams which will be comprised of representatives from RTKL’s diverse disciplines, regions and administrative services. Josal will work with the Executive Committee to announce his Leadership Teams in the weeks ahead.
“We are pleased with the outcome of our search,” says Michiel Jaski, a member of the ARCADIS Executive Board who oversees the Buildings business line, of which RTKL is an integral part. “We know Lance will lead RTKL through the economic downturn and continue the expansion of the firm’s global reputation for design excellence. We also know that Lance is building on the solid foundation that Dave Hudson has built, so we owe Dave our thanks and appreciation. We are nothing but optimistic and supportive about future opportunities and synergies.”
Josal will officially assume the role as President and CEO on 1 September 2009 and will become a member of the ARCADIS Senior Management Committee.
Lance Josal joined RTKL in 1979 and over the years he has been involved in some of the firm’s largest and most complex projects. A frequent speaker on project management and mixed-use development, Josal was elevated in March to the American Institute of Architects’ College of Fellows for his contribution to the profession of architecture. He holds Bachelor Degrees in both Art and Architecture from North Dakota State University in Fargo, North Dakota.
About RTKL:
RTKL is a worldwide architecture, engineering, planning and creative services organization. Part of the ARCADIS global network since 2007, RTKL specializes in providing its multi-disciplinary services across the full development cycle to create places of distinction and designs of lasting value. RTKL works with commercial, workplace, public and healthcare clients on projects around the globe. www.RTKL.com