Partner CEO Selected for LA’s Most Influential 2019 List

JOSEPH DERHAKE MAKES LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL LA500

For the second year in a row, Joseph P. Derhake, PE, CEO of Partner Engineering and Science Inc. (Partner) has been included in Los Angeles Business Journal’s 2019 LA 500 list of the 500 most influential people in the LA business landscape. He is listed alongside notable names such as Mayor Eric Garcetti, Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger and NBA legend LeBron James.

A civil engineer with over 25 years of experience in commercial real estate due diligence, Mr. Derhake founded Partner in 2008. He is also a successful entrepreneur, businessman, real estate developer, and a passionate advocate of active risk management for empowering clients with sound business and investment solutions.

“Joe has fostered an open-door environment at Partner, creating accessibility to him and other leaders, an open flow of communication and a culture of engagement,” says Monique Burrola, COO at Partner. “His encouragement and support to build expertise inspires us to be entrepreneurial within the safety net of the Partner brand and allows us to be the best business partner for our clients.”

Under Mr. Derhake’s leadership, Partner has become recognized as a best-of-brand industry leader within the commercial real estate due diligence space, while providing a collaborative, creative, and entrepreneurial environment. From a startup consisting of eight employees, Partner has grown into one of the fastest-growing small businesses in California, with over 700 employees in 40+ offices across North America and Europe. They have achieved this through several high-profile acquisitions, including ECO Advisors, Nevada Construction Services, Birdsall Services Group, and LandAmerica Assessment Corporation, and the recruitment and development of top talent in engineering, environmental and energy consulting and design services.

Partner has recently been named to Zweig Group’s Hot Firms list, ENR’s Top 200 Environmental Firms and Top 500 Design Firms lists, and Inc. 5000’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies in America list.  Partner has also been ranked a Los Angeles Business Journal Fastest Growing Private Company for seven years in a row.

LABJ editor Anna Magzanyan notes that this year’s list was cultivated as a reflection of the rapid transformation happening across Los Angeles—creating both challenge and potential. Buoyed by a local economy that grew 3% in 2018, businesses, civic leaders, artists, philanthropists and ancillary stakeholders are reshaping the region’s landscape physically and culturally.

“The people who comprise this year’s LA500 are featured players in the city’s development,” Magzanyan noted. “Their vision, energy and resourcefulness are on full display as they bring about changes to Los Angeles that run from the subtle to the seismic.”

Other top construction and architecture professionals listed alongside Mr. Derhake included Skanska’s Mike Aparicio, AECOM’s Michael S. Burke, and famed architect Frank O. Gehry.