TORRANCE, Calif. and EATONTOWN, N.J. (Feb. 12, 2021) – Partner Engineering and Science, Inc., the country’s leading third-party engineering, environmental, and energy due diligence consulting firm for the real estate industry, today announced its growth in 2020. Despite an economic slowdown that caused contraction across many sectors of the business world, Partner continued its decade-long expansion, hiring several of the industry’s most well-regarded professionals, increasing headcount by 8%, and bringing the company to a total of more than 1,000 employees.
After being founded in 2007 with eight employees, Partner has grown rapidly into the country’s largest and most active due diligence consulting firm, providing commercial real estate investors throughout North America and Europe with a broad range of services. By utilizing a dual-pronged expansion strategy — fostering a collaborative, positive work environment to support recruiting and pursuing strategic acquisitions — the company has consistently added talented engineering and due diligence professionals to its team, which, in turn, has attracted a large and growing client base.
“While 2020 was a challenging year for much of the business community, Partner was fortunate enough to weather the storm well, and to actually grow many of our practice areas, particularly in the second half of the year,” said Partner’s CEO Joe Derhake, PE. “With the goal of providing the highest level of service to our clients, we are constantly looking to add to our bench of talent, and this was an unmatched year for Partner in this regard. When the 2008 recession hit, we were a fledgling one-year-old company, and our disciplined approach enabled us to not just survive that downturn, but to grow our capabilities markedly by adding seasoned industry professionals to our team. By following the same script in 2020, we were once again able to expand significantly, adding more than 70 talented members to our team and broadening the services we offer to our clients.”
“Our job as a trusted advisor to our clients is to listen and understand their needs, and then tailor a team to address those specific needs. I came to Partner because I saw an opportunity to better fulfill that mission – there’s a real team culture and nimbleness to pull the right resources and approach together for the client,” said Greg Souder, who joined Partner in December as a Senior Managing Director – Integrated Facilities Solutions. “With Partner’s broad, multidisciplinary team, I can offer my clients a more integrated approach to assessing risk and managing their real estate. Partner already had a great platform and the trust of many of the top investors and financial institutions in the business. Now with so many industry veterans joining recently, the momentum is exciting going into 2021.”
Due its rapid growth and industry impact, Partner has received a wide range of awards and accolades. In addition to numerous regional fastest-growing business recognitions, the company has been included on Inc. 5000’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies in America list five times and has also been listed among ENR’s Top 200 Environmental Firms and Top 500 Design Firms. Partner stands out as a premier firm offering Phase I Environmental Site Assessments throughout the commercial real estate market.
Some of the most prominent of Partner’s new hires include:
Construction Services team:
- Bob Barone, Director of Construction Services, a highly respected industry pioneer in architectural, engineering, and construction consulting. Previously, Barone held executive roles at CBRE Assessment & Valuation Service and IVI International.
Architectural and Engineering team:
- Gary Cohn, Director of Institutional Architectural and Engineering Services, an experienced architect with nearly 40 years in the real estate design and construction industry. Previously, Cohn worked at Gabilan Group and Marx/Okubo.
- Justin Lia, Managing Director, who brings more than 20 years of diverse experience in construction, engineering, and commercial real estate as a broker and consultant with firms including Nova Consulting Group, CBRE, and IVI International.
- Elizabeth Ruggles, Technical Director – Accessibility & ADA, a seasoned accessibility consultant for commercial real estate clients who previously worked for CBRE Assessment & Valuation Service and Marx/Okubo.
Integrated Facilities Solutions team:
- Greg Souder, Sr. Managing Director, a veteran facilities engineering consultant with a solutions-oriented approach. Formerly, Greg worked at CBRE Assessment & Valuation Service, Nova Consulting Group and Terracon Consultants, Inc.
- Michael V. LaFalce, Jr., Managing Director, who brings over 20 years of experience in facility condition assessments, building design, construction management, building evaluations, and forensic investigation. Previously, LaFalce worked in CBRE’s Advisory Services group and at IVI Assessment.
- Michael Bock, Director of Roof Management, a respected building envelope consultant with 20 years of experience saving clients millions of dollars in roofing expenses, who was previously with CBRE, Nova Consulting Group and Terracon.
- Nathanael Benton, Managing Director, who comes to Partner with more than 15 years in mechanical engineering, planning and analytics with a focus on due diligence consulting. Prior to joining Partner, Benton worked in CBRE’s Valuation and Advisory Services group, at energy consulting and software firms Nexant and EMI, and at facilities consulting firm Terracon.
ALTA Land Title Survey Team:
- Robin Rednose-Lewis, Director, a seasoned professional in commercial due diligence focused on land survey coordination, customized client scopes, and operational excellence. Previously, she served in various management roles at BBG Inc., CBRE, and First American Title Insurance.
Environmental and Industrial Hygiene team:
- Scott Pritchard, National Client Manager, an environmental professional and seasoned client manager. Previously, Pritchard worked at CBRE Assessment & Valuation Service and IVI Environmental Inc.
- Steve Luzkow, Technical Director, a seasoned environmental risk manager with over 30 years of consulting experience. Before joining Partner, Luzkow worked at CBRE Assessment & Valuation Service and Capital One.
- Paul Hitchings, Managing Director, an experienced environmental consultant. Prior to joining Partner, Hitchings worked at CBRE Assessment & Valuation Service and ATC Group Services LLC.
- David Lutz, Sr. Environmental and Engineering Advisor, who brings a diverse background in environmental consulting and commercial due diligence. Previously, Lutz held environmental consulting roles at CBRE Assessment & Valuation Service and Stantec.
- Dave Hunter, Sr. Managing Director, who brings more than 30 years of diverse experience in environmental, infrastructure, and engineering consulting. Previously, Hunter worked at CBRE Assessment & Valuation Service and ATC Group Services LLC.
Client relationship team:
- Amanda Horan, National Client Manager, a seasoned sales executive with nearly 20 years in commercial real estate. Before joining Partner, Horan worked at CBRE Assessment & Valuation Services and as a real estate broker for @properties.
- Ronnie Harrell, Relationship Manager, brings more than 20 years in commercial real estate investment, management, and consulting. A former Sr. Vice President at CBRE Assessment & Valuation Service, Harrell also worked at Passco Companies, LLC.
- Peter Biolchini, Client Manager, a veteran environmental consultant with 25 years of experience at CBRE Assessment & Valuation Service and IVI International.
