Executive search and
consulting for leaders shaping
the built environment.
Our Focus
Executive Search
Strategic Discovery & Alignment
Organizational Readiness & Market Positioning
Targeted Market Intelligence & Candidate Identification
Rigorous Assessment & Cultural Evaluation
Strategic Decision Support & Offer Orchestration
Seamless Integration & Partnership Continuity
Leadership Roles Across the Built Environment
C-Suite & Executive Leadership
Senior executive roles that define organizational direction and drive firm-wide performance. We specialize in CEO, COO, CFO, VP and other executive-level searches for leaders who shape culture, execute strategic initiatives, and position firms for sustainable growth.
Practice, Market & Design Leadership
We lead searches for visionary leaders who excel in design excellence and market positioning. From Global Market Leaders and Sector Heads to Design Directors and Practice Area Leaders, bridging creative vision with business strategy, steering firms toward new opportunities and design innovation.
Business & Operational Leadership
Critical functional roles that enable organizational success and growth. We connect firms with leaders in Business Development, Operations, People & Culture, IT, Finance, and Marketing – the essential functions that enable teams to thrive and organizations to scale.
Market Sector Expertise
Adaptive reuse rewards design intelligence that works with constraint rather than against it. We place leaders who bring both preservation literacy and creative confidence to these projects, and who understand that working within the existing fabric of a building is often harder, and more interesting, than starting from scratch.
Select Search Engagements:
- Principal – Adaptive Reuse
- Conservation Design Principal
- Preservation Studio Lead
- Principal Architect – Historic Preservation
- Project Architect – Adaptive Reuse/Modernization
- Preservation Architect
- Director of Historic Preservation
- Senior Architect – Building Restoration
- Project Manager – Historic Preservation & Adaptive Reuse
- Architectural Historian
- Senior Managing Architect – Adaptive Reuse
- Director of Business Development
Few building types carry more consequence than ones moving people at scale. We are engaged with leaders who navigate the layered stakeholder complexity of transit and aviation projects, spanning client bodies, public agencies, and political timelines, while keeping design quality at the forefront.
Select Search Engagements:
- Director of Aviation Planning
- Head of Transportation Architecture
- Transportation Design Principal
- Senior Project Architect – Aviation & Transportation
- Director of Aviation Architecture
- Regional Leader – Aviation + Transportation
- Principal – Aviation Planning
- Practice Area Leader – Aviation + Transportation
- Design Manager – Aviation
- Transportation Systems Design Principal
- Senior Aviation + Transportation Change Manager
- Senior Aviation Planner
AI is rapidly evolving from experimentation to full integration across the built environment. Firms are no longer just exploring tools; they are defining how AI integrates into practice, project delivery, and business strategy. We engage leaders who drive that transition and understand both the technology and the built environment.
Select Search Engagements:
- Chief Technology Officer
- Head of AI Strategy
- Director of Digital Strategy
- AI Implementation Leader
- Design Technology Director
- Computational Design Director
- Head of Innovation & Design
- Data & Analytics Director
- Firmwide Leader, BIM
The most successful mixed-use projects shape how people actually inhabit a district, not just how it photographs. We understand the development cycles, tenant relationships, and market pressures that define this sector, and we secure leaders who can work fluidly across all of them.
Select Search Engagements:
- Managing Principal – Commercial Architecture
- Senior Project Director – Mixed-Use Development
- Director of Retail & Commercial Design
- Practice Leader – Commercial Architecture
- Mixed-Use Development Executive
- Planning Leader – Commercial Architecture
- Principal – Commercial Architecture
- Senior Development Manager – Mixed-Use
- Workplace/Corporate Interiors Principal
- Tenant Improvement Director
- Retail Design Director
- Development Director – Commercial/Residential
Public buildings carry obligations to communities, to longevity, to a civic dignity that’s harder to define than to recognize. We recruit leaders who take those obligations seriously and who know how to deliver on them within the real constraints of public procurement.
Select Search Engagements:
- Director of Civic Architecture
- Principal – Cultural Projects
- Museum Design Principal
- Library Design Principal
- Justice + Courthouse Architect
- Performing Arts Design Leader
- Senior Architect – Public Sector
- Project Director – Government Facilities
- Cultural Facilities Design Leader
- Director of Business Development
- Theater Acoustics Consultant
- Civic Practice Leader
Educational environments are among the most consequential spaces we design, shaping how students experience learning long before anyone articulates why. We collaborate with firms across the full spectrum, from campus master planning to district-wide K-12 programs and complex university buildings, engaging and securing leaders who understand both the pedagogy and the politics.
Select Search Engagements:
- Principal – Higher Education
- K-12 Studio Director
- Senior Project Architect – Educational Facilities
- Director of Campus Planning
- Educational Facilities Director
- Principal-in-Charge – PreK-12
- Director – Student Life Environments
- Director of Project Delivery
- Higher Education Market Leader
Healthcare architecture operates at the intersection of evidence-based design, regulatory complexity, and genuine human urgency. We place leaders who bring clinical fluency alongside design intelligence, people who understand that getting it right saves lives.
Select Search Engagements:
- Principal, Healthcare Design
- Head of Medical Planning
- VP Design & Construction
- Director of Facilities
- Behavioral Health Design Principal (a major growth area)
- Medical Equipment Planner
- Senior Interior Designer – Healthcare
- Capital Projects Lead
- Healthcare Practice Leader
- Senior Project Architect – Healthcare
- Healthcare Design Director
- Director of Medical Planning
Hospitality projects live or die on atmosphere, and atmosphere is one of the hardest things to hire for. We engage with leaders who understand the guest experience from the inside out and who can work within the fast-moving demands of owners and operators without losing the design thread.
Select Search Engagements:
- Director of Hospitality Design
- Principal – Hotel & Resort Design
- Hospitality Practice Leader
- Spa + Wellness Design Director
- Branded Residences Principal
- Senior Project Director – Hospitality
- Interior Design Director – Hospitality
- Director – F&B & Guest Experience
- Studio Director – Hospitality
- Director of FF&E – Hospitality
Interior design and interior architecture increasingly operate at the intersection of brand, experience, and spatial performance. We partner with firms and clients seeking leaders who can move fluidly between concept and execution, shaping environments that are both visually compelling and expertly planned, across sectors.
Select Search Engagements:
- Interior Design Principal
- Director of Interior Architecture
- Chief Creative Officer
- Interior Design Studio Lead
- Workplace Interiors Practice Leader
- Hospitality Interiors Director
- Residential Interiors Director
- Retail Experience Design Director
- Senior Interior Architect
- Head of FF&E
- Director of Experiential Design
Landscape and urban design leaders today are shaping human interaction, climate resilience, ecological systems, and the social fabric of cities. We recruit principals, directors, design and practice leaders instrumental in the design and management of complex projects globally.
Select Search Engagements:
- Principal, Urban Design & Planning
- Head of Landscape Architecture
- Regional Planning Director
- Ecological Design Principal
- Climate Resilience Planner
- Urban Planning Studio Leader
- Director of Project Management
- Senior Landscape Architect
Mission Critical + Industrial projects are defined by performance specifications, and finding leadership talent requires in-depth knowledge of the sectors. API has cultivated an exceptional network across data center, advanced manufacturing, and industrial facility practices, and we understand the technical expectations that come with each.
Select Search Engagements:
- Director – Data Center Design
- Mission Critical Practice Leader
- Senior Project Manager – Mission Critical
- Industrial Facilities Director
- Advanced Manufacturing Design Lead
- Critical Environments Principal
- Director – High-Performance Buildings
- Industrial Architecture Practice Leader
- Data Center Practice Leader
- Data Center Development Director
The best owner’s representatives are translators: between design intent and development reality, between architect and contractor, between vision and pro forma. We place leaders who’ve earned credibility on both sides of that table.
Select Search Engagements:
- Director of Real Estate Development
- Owner’s Representative – Capital Projects
- Development Executive
- Design Manager
- Director, Design Engineering
- Senior Project Director
Faith-based projects carry profound cultural and community significance, often requiring sensitivity to tradition alongside contemporary design thinking. We place leaders who understand how to navigate stakeholder groups, honor spiritual intent, and deliver spaces that foster connection, reflection, and shared identity.
Select Search Engagements:
- Principal, Architecture
- Design Leader – Faith-Based Projects
- Senior Project Architect – Religious Facilities
- Director of Community & Faith-Based Development
- Project Manager – Faith-Based Projects
- Cultural + Religious Practice Leader
From custom residential studios to large-scale multifamily practices, residential projects reward leaders who combine design sensibility with an acute understanding of the human condition. We work across the full range, boutique to large development, and engage talent in all environments.
Select Search Engagements:
- Managing Partner – Multifamily
- Director of Interior Design
- Market Leader, Multifamily
- Design Director – Multifamily
- Director of Residential Design
- Multifamily Practice Leader
- Senior Architect – Multifamily
- Design Manager – Multifamily
- Practice Leader – Custom
- Residential Interiors Principal
Laboratory and research facility design demands a rare combination: deep technical knowledge of the scientific process, and the design intelligence to create environments that elevate science. We work closely with S+T leaders designing, managing, and developing projects ranging from Advanced Nanotechnology Labs and Biomedical Research Facilities to High Containment Research Environments, serving the spectrum of global Academic, Pharma, and Technology organizations.
Select Search Engagements:
- Principal: Science + Technology
- Director: Science + Technology
- Director of Laboratory Planning
- Vivarium Planner
- Cleanroom Design Principal
- Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Facility Designer
- Principal Laboratory Planner
- Laboratory Programmer/Planner
- Senior Laboratory Engineer: Mechanical
- Senior Architect: Science + Technology
Senior living environments demand a nuanced understanding of how design supports dignity, independence, and care. From active adult communities to highly specialized memory care facilities, we engage leaders who can balance operational realities, regulatory frameworks, and deeply human-centered design, creating environments that are both functional and emotionally attuned.
Select Search Engagements:
- Principal – Senior Living Design
- Senior Living Practice Leader
- Director of Senior Living Architecture
- Memory Care Design Specialist
- Healthcare + Senior Living Studio Director
- Senior Project Architect – Senior Living
- Interior Design Director – Senior Living
- Senior Living Development Director
Sports + Entertainment projects involve some of the most complex stakeholder environments, with ownership groups, leagues, municipalities, and media partners all at the table alongside genuine design ambition. We place leaders who can manage that complexity without losing sight of the investment, social and urban planning impact…and enjoyment of the fans.
Select Search Engagements:
- Design Principal: Sports Architecture
- Studio Director: Sports Architecture
- Aquatics + Recreation Facility Director
- Entertainment District Planner
- Director of Arena Oversight and Development
- Senior Sports Facility Planner
- Director of Stadium Planning
- Senior Sports Architect
Sustainability has moved from credential to core competency, and firms that treat it as the latter are leading the market. We recruit leaders who are advancing that work, professionals integrating climate performance, material honesty, and long-term resilience into practice at every scale.
Select Search Engagements:
- Chief Sustainability Officer
- VP of Sustainability and Innovation
- Director of Sustainability
- Senior Construction Manager – LEED
- Decarbonization Programs Lead
- Lead Mechanical Engineer – Sustainable Buildings
- Carbon Reduction Strategy Lead
- Resilience & Adaptation Director