Henderson Announces New CEO/President and New Structure

Kevin Lewis assumes top role as national firm reorganizes vast expertise into five sectors

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LENEXA, Kan. — Henderson is proud to name Kevin Lewis as the next CEO & President of Henderson Engineers, and the President of Henderson Companies, the parent company of Henderson Engineers and Henderson Building Solutions. Lewis becomes the fourth CEO & President in Henderson’s 52-year history and succeeds Rich Smith, who will remain with the company as President-Emeritus and a board member. As part of this leadership transition, the firm also unveils a new company structure that aligns Henderson’s vast nationwide engineering and construction experience across building types into five sectors: Business, Community, Health, Retail, and Venue.

A licensed professional engineer with more than 20 years of AEC-industry experience, Lewis has held a variety of leadership roles at Henderson since he joined in 2004. His vast knowledge of the business has brought him success as a project manager, project engineer, venue practice director, director of practices, and most recently as the company’s chief sector officer.

“I am humbled and proud to be selected as Henderson’s next CEO and am excited to lead our firm into the future,” said Lewis. “Henderson has been known for our people-first culture, technical innovation, and focus on client relationships for more than 50 years. In that time, we’ve added new services, new offices, new vertical markets, and the best employees in the industry.”

“We are now aligning our design and construction expertise across vertical markets into five specialized sectors,” Lewis added. “Through this structure, we offer clients and partners a single source for engineering and turnkey construction management services. Our goal is to lead the industry with our approach to client experience.”

Henderson’s new sectors include nationwide experts from both Henderson Engineers and Henderson Building Solutions who specialize in the building types within that sector. Henderson named an executive to lead each sector who will work collectively with firm’s executive leadership team.

  • Business Sector
    • Practice expertise: Core & Shell, Mission Critical, Mixed Use, Warehouse, Workplace
  • Community Sector
    • Practice expertise: Civic, Culture, Higher Ed, K-12, Recreation, Science & Technology
    • Julie Pierce, Community Sector Executive
  • Health Sector
    • Practice expertise: Behavioral Health, Infrastructure, Hospital, Medtail, Medical Office Buildings, Senior Living
    • Mark Chrisman, Health Sector Executive
  • Retail Sector
    • Practice expertise: Automotive, General Merchandise, Grocery, Luxury, Restaurant, Specialty
    • Jason Wollum, Retail Sector Executive
  • Venue Sector
    • Practice expertise: Aviation, Convention Center, Entertainment, Fitness, Sports
    • Ryan Starkovich, Venue Sector Executive

Henderson also selected industry veterans Tony Welter and Vince Masilionis to lead sectors dedicated to two of Henderson’s largest clients.

“When you’ve been in business as long as we have, you’ve worked in almost every building type in every market,” said Lewis. “We understand that good engineering design requires great building partners to bring it to life, which is why we provide both through Henderson. I’m excited about our move to specialized sectors as it lets us double down on great client service and provides even more career opportunities for employees who are passionate about working in these markets. We’re still the same Henderson; these changes are simply the latest evolution of the people-first, client-focused firm we’ve always been.”

Lewis steps in for Smith, who served as Henderson’s CEO & President for the past nine years, helping transform the company from a small, local firm into a national engineering and building systems design powerhouse with 12 offices across the country. Henderson experienced some of its highest employee and revenue growth years in company history under Smith’s leadership. He was passionate about fostering a people-focused company culture known for creativity, flexibility, and diversity. He played a pivotal role in helping Henderson land some of the largest projects in company history and was a founding member of KC Global Design, a collective of design firms and leaders focused on elevating Kansas City’s reputation in the world of design.

“I am thrilled Kevin was selected as Henderson’s next CEO and am confident the firm is in good hands,” said Smith. “He is a strategic leader known for his technical knowledge, innovative mindset, and strong industry relationships. He’s also a friend and someone I’ve worked closely with for almost two decades. We made an intentional decision to choose our next CEO from within Henderson to protect the legacy started by Fran Henderson more than 50 years ago. Kevin understands what we stand for as a company. His vision for the future of Henderson builds on that legacy as we continue to enhance our client service and employee experience.”

In addition to naming a new CEO and sector leadership, Henderson also named a new Board of Directors for Henderson Companies, the parent company. Lewis joins the Board, which is led by Robin Broder as the newly elected Chair of the Board. Additional members of the Board of Directors include Dave Haake, Shane Lutz, Drew Rimmer, Vince Masilionis, Andrew Bennett, and Smith. Steve Hancock was also named as the new president of Henderson Building Solutions as part of these changes.

Photo of Kevin Lewis
Kevin Lewis, CEO & President of Henderson Engineers
Group photo of Henderson Engineers Executive Committee, nine people with Kevin Lewis in the middle
Henderson Engineers Executive Committee
Photo of Rich Smith and Kevin Lewis standing together
(L-R) Rich Smith, President Emeritus and Board member, and Kevin Lewis, CEO & President

ABOUT HENDERSON

Henderson Companies, Inc. is the parent company of Henderson Engineers and Henderson Building Solutions. Henderson Engineers is a national building systems design firm with a wide array of engineering design services and a project portfolio organized into five sectors: Business, Community, Health, Retail, and Venue. Henderson Building Solutions is a construction management and commissioning services firm that provides a seamless bridge between design, construction, and ongoing maintenance. As Henderson, we combine engineering knowledge with in-the-field construction expertise to provide single-source design-build solutions for any project.

Founded in 1970 and 2013 respectively, we’re licensed in all 50 states (plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and British Columbia) and bring buildings to life through our 980+ employees and 250+ PEs across 12 offices, including New York, Philadelphia, Tampa, Nashville, Bentonville, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City (Lenexa, Kansas, and downtown Kansas City, Missouri), Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles. Our vision is to be the firm that builds a better world. We’ve diligently cultivated an inclusive, best-in-class work environment where people can reach their full potential. Our core values drive us to deliver unrivaled service and solutions that make us the team you want to partner with.

To learn more, visit our websites at www.hendersonengineers.com and www.hendersonbuilding.com. Henderson Engineers: Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Henderson Building Solutions: Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.