Category: SMPS Awards

Beyond AI: The People-First Strategy Your AEC Firm Needs to Win Work Smarter

Kris Boesch Founder & CEO Choose People

Katie Cash SVP of Accounts SMartegies

Dylan Keller, CHC VP of People Warfel Construction

Troy Parkinson Principal SagePresence

Driving consistent growth in the construction industry takes more than flawless execution, it requires a culture rooted in alignment, trust, and human connection.

While AI and automation are transforming how firms handle data, generate proposals, and manage operations, they’re not the whole story. The firms winning work now -and in the future – are those investing in their people & their soft skills. In this session, we’ll explore how leading AEC companies are blending technology with human-centered strategies to create a business development culture built to last.

Through real examples and expert insights, we’ll dive into the soft skills and cross-team alignment that truly differentiate a firm: communication, trust-building, adaptability, and leadership. We’ll also discuss how technology can elevate, not replace , the human side of your brand.

This is not another AI panel. This is about what AI can’t replicate, and why investing in people is the smartest strategy of all.

Key takeaways

1. Why culture, communication, and trust are your firm’s most valuable growth assets (and how they directly impact BD, marketing, and estimating success)
2. How to align marketing, BD, and precon teams to drive a more predictable, people-driven pipeline
3. Ways to pair technology with human storytelling to win interviews, strengthen relationships, and stand out downstream

6 Ways to Cut Your Proposal Time in Half and Win More Work

Eric Liou Chief Product Officer OopenAsset

Rachelle Ray Head of AEC Marketing Innovation OpenAsset

Hillary Zondlak Director of Product Management OpenAsset

Proposals are the driving force behind AEC growth, but the process often feels rushed, repetitive, and reactive. From chasing down boilerplate content to manually managing compliance and scope requirements, marketers and business development teams are pulled in too many directions, and results suffer.

It’s time to set a new standard in proposal management – and swap the inefficiencies and burnout for streamlined processes and higher win rates.

In this session, you will learn 6 key strategies to modernize your proposal planning process and reduce time spent on repetitive tasks so you can focus on positioning, storytelling, and pursuit strategy – the work that truly wins business. We will explore how new approaches to content lifecycle, RFP analysis, and collaboration with technical teams, as well as strategically leveraging AI in the right places, can help you create stronger, more compelling proposals in less time.

Join us and learn how to:

1. Reduce manual work and repetitive searching by organizing and reusing past proposal content effectively
2. Build a comprehensive proposal plan that aligns with client needs and team capacity
3. Capture and track RFP requirements effectively from the start
4. Evaluate fit and focus your time on the proposals most likely to win
5. Collaborate better with technical teams to stay aligned throughout the proposal process
6. Stay competitive by leveraging the right tech at the right time – plus, see how OpenAsset's new proposal management solution Shred.ai alleviates common proposal challenges

Whether you work on proposals daily or collaborate with others who do, you will leave this session with a new approach to proposal management that helps you ease the burdens while maximizing chances of success. Q&A to follow. Register now!

AEC.AI™ Day One Main Workshop

The AI landscape for A/E/C

• Understanding AI’s rapid evolution and its impact on marketing & BD
• AI myths vs. realities: What AI can and can’t do for A/E/C firms

Hands-on AI tools for A/E/C professionals

• Mastering ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Claude for A/E/C tasks
• Practical applications: rewriting, summarization, classification, and question answering
• Interactive exercise: Using AI to refine marketing and proposal content

Automating workflows & boosting efficiency

• Streamlining proposal writing and RFP analysis with AI
• Content creation made easy
• Hands-on activity: automating A/E/C marketing and BD tasks

AEC.AI™ Day Two Main Workshop

AI for competitive advantage

• Using AI for market research and competitor analysis
• Personalization at scale: How AI enhances client outreach
• Case studies: AI success stories in A/E/C firms

Data security & ethical AI use

• Addressing data privacy concerns in AI adoption
• Regulatory considerations and responsible AI practices
• Actionable strategies for implementing ethical AI in your firm

Thank you for your RSVP!

We're looking forward to hosting you at the AEC.AI™ networking reception on XX at XX on level XX of the Sheraton Denver Downtown 1550 Court Place, Denver, CO 80202. We'll see you then!

SMPS Foundation: Emerging Trends in A/E/C Marketing and Business Development

In an era of accelerating disruption, marketing and business development professionals are no longer simply supporting growth—they are driving it. This inaugural SMPS Foundation / FMI research reveals the emerging trends reshaping the way A/E/C firms communicate, compete, and connect with clients across the United States and Canada.

Through a mix of surveys and in-depth interviews with industry leaders, and analysis of transformative trends from sectors like tech, finance, and consumer marketing, this study answers critical questions: How are client expectations evolving? What strategies are helping firms win work in tighter markets? How should teams be structured for the future? And what innovations from outside the industry deserve our attention now?

This session will share findings from the SMPS Foundation sponsored report and ideas on how to use these trends to transform business. Attendees will gain practical, future-focused insights into how firms are adapting to change—both inside and out—and walk away with fresh ideas to elevate their strategy, storytelling, and client engagement in the months and years ahead.

Making AI Work for Marketers: Lessons from Real Life

Rachelle Ray Head of AEC Marketing Innovation OpenAsset

The current adoption of AI tools in AEC marketing has largely focused on efficiency and using tools to automate and optimize existing workflows. But as AI capabilities evolve, are we simply accelerating outdated processes? Rather than fitting AI into traditional workflows, should we be rethinking workflows altogether?

One of the biggest challenges in AEC marketing is collaboration with subject matter experts (SMEs). And this is a pain point AI alone won’t solve. No matter how much we optimize workflows, many SMEs remain resistant to marketing efforts and learning new technologies. If we can’t get them to collaborate with us now, how do we get them to engage with AI-driven processes? Should we rethink the way we collaborate altogether?

This session will explore how AI is reshaping collaboration, strategy, and execution in AEC marketing. It will challenge attendees to move beyond AI-powered efficiency and start considering AI-driven transformation, to rethink workflows, collaboration, and even the structure of AEC marketing teams.

Prepare to learn about:

• Leveraging AI to Improve Collaboration: AI won’t magically make SMEs more engaged. So how can we adjust our approach with SMEs and then integrate AI to improve outcomes?
• The Impact of AI on Marketing Workflows: What does a marketing workflow look like when AI is deeply embedded as a partner in the process? How does this change the roles and responsibilities of your team?
• The ROI of Using AI in the Proposal Process: Many firms are using AI to generate more proposals than ever, but has this actually improved results, or just increased workload?

Redefining Our Value Proposition: How Learning & Development, Knowledge Management, and Marketing Drive Growth and Attract Talent at Shive-Hattery

Shive-Hattery is redefining its value proposition by placing expertise at the heart of its growth and recruitment strategy. By aligning learning and development, knowledge management, recruiting, and marketing, the firm accelerates business development while positioning itself as a destination employer.

In this session, Marketing Director Greg Kanz and Amy Anderson, Knowledge Manager, will share how Shive-Hattery is leveraging initiatives like Shive-Hattery University, AI-powered internal search, and firmwide knowledge-sharing efforts to scale expertise and deepen collaboration. They’ll also highlight programs like the Emerging Professionals Program, designed to engage early-career staff in meaningful, hands-on learning.

Attendees will learn how this integrated approach supports business growth and talent attraction, creating a culture where learning fuels long-term success.

About Greg S. Kanz
Greg Kanz, APR, CPSM, is marketing director at Shive-Hattery. His integrated corporate marketing team includes recruiting, knowledge management, visual communications, digital marketing, and public relations. Greg serves as a “dean” of Shive-Hattery University and helps with learning and development initiatives across the 600-person firm.

About Amy Anderson
As Knowledge Manager at Shive-Hattery, Amy is committed to cultivating a culture of knowledge sharing and continuous learning. In this role, she leads efforts to exchange, organize and surface knowledge across the firm, empowering employees to engage in meaningful conversations and drive strategic initiatives. A natural connector and systems thinker, she blends empathy with curiosity to create solutions that help teams work smarter and more effectively.

From Insight to Impact: Benchmarking the Future of Client Experience (CX) in the AEC Industry

Client Experience (CX) is no longer a buzzword—it's becoming a core business function reshaping how AEC firms grow, compete, and thrive. For example, firms that measure ROI of CX are 94% more likely to have above-average growth and 113% more likely to have above-average profitability.

Until now, industry-wide benchmarks and best practices have been elusive. This session unveils findings from a landmark SMPS Foundation research conducted by Client Savvy, a Clearly Rated Company. Drawing from responses across the AEC landscape, this first-of-its-kind initiative explores how firms are structuring, funding, and operationalizing CX initiatives—and more importantly, what the most successful firms are doing differently to achieve measurable results.

Join us as we dive deep into the report and extract the most impactful trends and benchmarks from the research.

Learning Objectives

• Understand what top-performing AEC firms are doing with CX to set them apart.
• Benchmark your firm’s CX maturity across leadership, structure, budget, and technology.
• Discover how CX efforts directly impact revenue, profitability, and client retention.
• Learn best practices and common challenges in implementing effective CX programs.
• Gain data-driven insights to build the case for stronger CX investment and integration.