Lloyd Rosenberg has led DMR Architects as president and chief executive officer since he founded the architecture firm in 1991. But “I’m going to be 81 next month,” he told NJBIZ. “So, I guess at some age it’s time to let the younger people come in and do their job.”

At the start of the year, Hasbrouck Heights-based DMR announced Rosenberg would take on the newly created chairman role. Effective Jan. 3, Pradeep Kapoor, a 23-year veteran of the company and most recently its chief operating officer, took the reins as president and CEO.

As chairman, Rosenberg said his objective is to see the firm flourish and guide it through this transition. He also equates the role with mentorship.

“I still feel I have things to contribute and energy to participate, but I recognize that there needs to be a timeframe for a transition to occur,” he said.

As part of a long-term succession plan, Kapoor, along with Francis Reiner, Kurt Vierheilig and Charles Sarlo, were named partners of the firm in 2017.

Kapoor joined DMR, as he described it, at the entry level. Due to different design standards in India, the four years of experience he already had did not really carry over into his work in the U.S.

“So, I would say, whatever I learned in terms of architecture, in terms of the business, in terms of management, I learned it here. And I would say I learned it under Lloyd’s mentorship,” he said.

Kapoor’s tenure is not unique. Rosenberg said a number of DMR architects started with the firm right after earning their degrees.

“My goal, it continues to be – and I think we’re evident in the company that we have so many people that started here with their first job out of college and are still here – and that’s a result of giving them the opportunity to do, I wouldn’t say whatever they wanted, but almost whatever they wanted,” Rosenberg explained.

“We have a lot of people here that have stayed and have really helped develop the firm into what it is today, which is very successful. I think that’s the leadership that we encourage and it’s the staff that enjoys it. They have a stake in what they do that helps us,” Rosenberg said.

Time to grow

The founder and chairman expanded DMR organically from two people to 45. As the team grew, so did its services. Starting in the educational sector, “Gradually as more people came on board and we had different backgrounds and experiences, we diversified our portfolio and we started capturing the corporate banking industry.

“So, the idea was to grow the firm, make it diverse so that we can attract different types of talent, attract different types of markets,” Kapoor said. That diversity, he added, also served to insulate the firm during economic tumult.

Now that it has the market representation, DMR is ready to extend its reach. The firm made its first regional expansion, DMR NY, in 2022. DMR has done work in New York City, where the new outpost is based, since 2006.

“So now we are looking to expand our geographical footprint … The idea was to diversify more in terms of geography so we can keep growing,” Kapoor said. “We have organically grown in all these last 32 years of the firm and it’s been great. That’s the plan—to continue the momentum we have built in the last two years.”

According to the AIA Resource Center, evaluating leadership development programs to assess and meet short- and long-term needs and strategic goals is imperative to success. That should also include a succession framework.

“Firms must continuously mentor the next generation of leaders, and groom some of them to assume ownership positions, while future leaders must expand their skillsets and stretch their comfort zones,” according to a December 2023 report.

Kapoor became an early LEED-certified professional in New Jersey with DMR, which eventually led to his appointment as director of sustainability for the firm.

“During all these years, Lloyd was mentoring all of us to take on the different roles in the company,” Kapoor explained. “My role became more involved in managing and operations of the firm … so, I moved up to the role of COO in 2021.”

“Part of my goal in the firm was that as I became older, I wanted to see that there was a way that the firm would continue to operate. … So it could be multiple ways to do that,” Rosenberg said. “And I felt because of the people that were here and the things that I’ve given and received from those people, both things that I’ve done for them as well as things that they’ve done for the company, that would be a logical way that leadership could be dealt from an internal basis.”

Kickstarting the transition, over the past couple of years Kapoor said, “Lloyd has been giving me, training me and guiding me with all the stuff I need to learn to take on this role, which I have taken on now.”

Leaders needed

Investing in future leaders can also help companies in the present. According to the AIA report, “Younger professionals, including those on a licensure path, rank opportunities to acquire leadership skills as some of the most important factors in determining where they want to work.

“Some of the most ambitious also want to know that a clear path exists to potential ownership,” the paper said.

As a firm that encourages professional growth, DMR can strike a chord with the next generation workforce in attracting talent.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics projected the number of architect jobs will grow 5% from 2022 to 2032. Faster than the average 3% job growth. Per BLS, many of the openings will come from the need to replace retiring workers or those moving to different professions.

However, the AIA report also warned of a coming dearth of leaders. “The recession of the early 1990s and subsequent economic cycles caused many potential future leaders to leave the profession,” according to the paper. “The Great Recession of 2008 stuck another blow, forcing many boomers to put their succession plans on hold as their firms were financially unable to buy them out, and they subsequently rebuilt their firms during the recovery.”

Looking ahead, Rosenberg expressed optimism that DMR’s legacy of inspiring leaders within the company would continue.

“There are also several associates in the firm that have taken on roles and I hope that some of the younger people in the firm or other staff members will also join in that as time goes by, to grow into leadership roles in the company.”

A pedestrian plaza in New Brunswick? Click here to see DMR’s proposal to transform George Street.