Brian Vitale and Todd Heiser Appointed Co-Creative Directors of Gensler Chicago

CHICAGO (January 9, 2018) — Gensler, the global design firm, announced today that Brian Vitale and Todd Heiser, both longtime design leaders within the firm, will now join the North Central Leadership Team as Co-Creative Directors of the Chicago office. Joining Co-Managing Directors, Grant Uhlir and Sarah Bader, Brian and Todd align excellence in design and architecture with world-class project delivery and operations expertise — allowing our client and design teams to explore their goals and passions — inspiring each other through innovative design and solutions, and connecting and delivering for our teams and projects in ways only Gensler can.

As an influential design and community leader, Brian continuously builds on his decades of experience with an inspirational and innovative approach to the built world and how what Gensler delivers as architects and designers influences our cities. Brian’s passion for design can be seen in award-winning projects like Gratz Center at Fourth Presbyterian Church, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, Kohler Communications Building, University of Kansas Capitol Federal Hall and the upcoming Columbia College Chicago Student Center. He brings an expertise in thoughtful and disruptive design innovations and supports the industry through community mentorship and support. He is a forward-looking leader and thinker with the ability to combine traditional architectural rigor with a creative vision for the future of excellent design.

A returning Chicagoan, Todd arrives back to the city after his time in Washington, D.C. managing Gensler’s Consumer Goods practice area. Named Contract magazine’s 2016 Designer of the Year and Interior Design magazine’s 2015 HiP Leader for Workplace, his leadership and design expertise have elevated the firm’s regional and national profile. Todd’s 20 years of experience in next-generation design is at the cutting edge of workplace strategies and his projects are widely recognized and knows for their high level of inventive design solutions. His signature design process champions client partnership and is evident in his work for award-winning and world-renowned clients, including: 1871, Matter, Google, Kohler, Fourth Presbyterian Church, Wanda, Le Meridien Hotels, Nickelodeon, and is a major design voice in reimagining Chicago’s iconic Willis Tower. His established architectural background and experience-based interiors shifts the paradigm of design — integrating materials, planning, and unique, client-focused detailing. His energy is infectious and his leadership style is the same.

Throughout the office’s 20-year history, Gensler Chicago’s ambition has always been to push ideas further, to bring together people that expand what we can achieve, and to evolve the way design impacts our clients, our partners, and our communities. Grant and Sarah have set a firm foundation for growth as Co-Managing Directors in Chicago the past two years. Brian and Todd now join them as the office continues to see upward momentum in new projects and services needed across the city. Our expanded office leadership is a remarkable outcome of this momentum and is an expression of our steadfast commitment to activate all of our talent and resources to realize extraordinary results.

About Gensler

Gensler is a global architecture, design, and planning firm with 53 locations and more than 7,000 professionals networked across the Americas, Europe, Greater China, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East. Founded in 1965, the firm works globally with more than 4,000 clients across 33 practice areas spanning the work, lifestyle, cities, and health sectors. We are guided by our mission to create a better world through the power of design, and the source of our strength is our people. By leveraging our diversity of ideas, our research and innovation, our shared values, and our One-Firm Firm culture, we are working seamlessly as a borderless firm in 140 countries and making the greatest impact on our communities as we continue to tackle the world’s challenges.