ARCO Design/Build, a commercial design and construction firm, announced that company president CEO Jake Stefan and CEO Rob Steigerwald are retiring at the end of the year. Nick Hasapes and Joe Matthews have been promoted from their current positions as division CEOs to serve as co-CEOs, effective Jan. 1. Stefan and Steigerwald will join company founders Mark Mummert and Rick Schultze on the ARCO DB Cos. Inc. Board of Directors, according to a press release.
“This transition reflects what Rob and Jake have built: an organization with the leadership depth to promote from within and the foundation to support continued growth,” said Schultze, co-chairman of ARCO DB Cos. “They’ve positioned ARCO Design/Build for its next chapter.”
Steigerwald and Stefan have more than 50 years of combined leadership experience. Both joined the company in 1999. Together, they’ve led ARCO Design/Build through more than two decades of strategic growth, expanding the organization to 20 regional offices supported by 34 operating divisions. The ARCO Family of Companies has consistently been recognized as the No. 1 warehouse builder in the U.S. by trade publication “Engineering News-Record.”
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Stefan was named president in 2023. He built the operational foundation that enabled organizational growth. A civil engineer by training, he developed the project-management systems and field operations that became the company’s competitive advantage. Under his leadership, ARCO Design/Build expanded its vertically integrated capabilities, adding concrete, electrical and mechanical services that give clients single-source accountability, the release stated.
Steigerwald was named CEO in 2023. During his tenure, he led the company’s geographic expansion from a regional presence to a national footprint, growing from 13 offices to 20 nationwide. His early leadership of the Philadelphia office drove ARCO Design/Build’s expansion into the Northeast, establishing operations in Baltimore; New York; Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, and Richmond, Virginia.
“Rob and Jake created something remarkable—a company where talented people can build careers and clients can count on results,” Hasapes said. “Joe and I are honored to lead ARCO Design/Build into its next chapter. The foundation is strong, and that strength gives us the opportunity to grow with greater intention, deepening our expertise, expanding into new markets and continuing to invest in the people who make this company what it is.”
Hasapes and Matthews have a combined four decades of experience with ARCO Design/Build. Hasapes joined the company in 2006 and currently oversees operations in New York, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh as well as Raleigh-Durham and Wilmington, North Carolina. He led the development of the company’s architectural, structural and civil-design capabilities, strengthening the company’s integrated design-build model. Hasapes earned a degree in architectural engineering from The Pennsylvania State University.
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Matthews began his tenure at ARCO Design/Build in 2003. He manages operations in Mobile, Alabama; Jacksonville, Florida; Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Charleston and Greenville, South Carolina. Matthews also oversee the company’s ARCON and General Services Charleston divisions. He expanded the company’s geographic reach and built the internal capabilities that support its vertically integrated approach. Mathews earned a degree in construction management from Clemson University.
“ARCO has been about building leaders,” Steigerwald said. “We hired the best people, gave them the tools to succeed and watched them create extraordinary results for our clients. Nick and Joe represent exactly what this organization produces: Leaders who understand our business, our clients and our culture.”
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“The systems we built were never about processes for its own sake; they were about delivering for our clients and developing our people. We created guidelines that allow our highly skilled teams to make decisions at the right time, building an environment of trust between the company and the associate,” Stefan said. “What excites me most about this transition is knowing that Nick and Joe will continue building on that foundation. They’ve been doing it for two decades already.”
ARCO Design/Build is 100% employee-owned through the company’s Employee Stock Ownership Plan. It has completed more than 300 self-storage projects and delivered more than 30 million square feet of space across the U.S. It’s a sister company to ARCO/Murray, a design/build general contractor established in 1992 that delivers projects across multiple industries.
ISS Staff
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