RESHAPING COLLABORATIVE INFRASTRUCTURE DESIGN - Legacies. In a word, this sums up what the founders of The HFW Companies set out to sustain in 2020, taking on the Architecture and Engineering (A-E) industry with an investment model that defies the consolidating approach of traditional mergers and acquisitions and fosters strategic growth. Traditional M&A models, they contend, often result in the trimming of the ranks of professionals, major disruption of organizations and their leadership, and struggles with cultural integration, leading to a dismantling of legacy brands. The founders’ goal: to create an A-E-based professional services company that invests nationally in the continuing success of a growing portfolio of strategic growth partners and their own legacy brands, all the while leveraging the partners’ collaborative strengths to support one another and the greater good. Legacies, indeed. Central to HFW’s investment approach is its “House of Brands” philosophy. That is, HFW’s success depends on two things: • The continued strength of the regional legacy brands that make up the HFW Partner Network. • Their ability as HFW Partners to share best practices and collaborate across a national footprint. Our vision: To build a preeminent network of A-E legacy partners that provides a gateway to accelerated growth and leverages our partners’ collaborative expertise to support one another and the greater good of clients on a national scale. Our founders: CEO Michael Hein, AIA, COO Matthew Westphal, PE, SE, and CFO Daniel Forguson, CVA, CPA, are veteran A-E industry professionals with extensive company leadership experience and industry investment success. Together, we’re reshaping collaborative infrastructure design.