2025 Shareholder Announcement

We are excited to announce that PE has added four new shareholders this year: Ahraaz Qureishi, Andy Blau, Ryan Neumann, and Tim Winter.

Ahraaz, a Senior Structural Engineer and Technical Leader in our Madison Office has been with PE for 10 years. He has played a pivotal role in optimizing internal processes, software, and workflows to increase design quality and efficiency. These changes have allowed PE to bring more innovative designs and solutions to projects and challenges of all sizes and types. His unique skillset of technical ability, creativity, practicality, and flexibility makes him an indispensable resource to any project team. His expertise is highly sought after by our team to work on a variety of highly technical, challenging projects. Ahraaz has helped on some of our most challenging projects over the last 10 years including:

• UW Health's D2 Addition in Madison, WI

• A 22-story apartment tower in Miami, FL

• Rise at Riverfront Crossing, a 12-story hotel and a 14-story apartment building in Iowa City, IA 

• 340 E Paces, a new 22-story luxury apartment building in Atlanta, GA

Since joining PE, Andy has established himself as a leader within the firm, serving as co-leader of our internal Wood Standards Committee. Andy uses his vast project experience to efficiently design structures with the most economical materials while providing sound recommendations that address building performance, architectural considerations, and constructability. Andy shares his expertise by providing continuing education opportunities for clients and actively training new and existing team members. Some of Andy's projects include: 

• The Sylvan, a 22.5-acre housing development with 300 residential units made up of two-story single-family houses and three-story townhomes and apartments in Woodlands, TX 

• Ciel of Cedar Mill, a complex assisted living facility on a challenging site in Portland, OR

• District1860, a 6-story multifamily residential project and a 1-story grocery building in Lincolnwood, IL

Ryan leads all cold-formed metal framing (CFMF) projects at PE, which include a wide range of residential, retail and hospitality projects across the country. Pushing cold-formed projects to new heights, Ryan has completed high-rise projects with up to 11 stories of load-bearing cold-formed walls above podium structures. Finding unique solutions to architectural challenges such as cornice framing, curved walls, and hidden lateral systems keeps Ryan in high demand with clients. Similar to PE as a whole, the CFMF group has built long-standing client relationships that have grown from Midwest roots to projects across the country. Ryan's dedication to continuing education for our team, new hires, and existing staff, and staying current with CFMF standards has allowed PE to become a go-to CFMF design group. Ryan's knowledge is continuously tapped into by our entire team to ensure all of our projects adhere to CFMF best practices. Ryan has grown his department to increase our ability to serve our clients as CFMF demands grow across the country. A few of Ryan's project highlights include:

• Seven07, a 14-story student living apartment with 11 levels of CFMF over a three-story steel podium in Champaign, IL 

• AC Hotel, a 12-story hotel with extensive views of the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, WI

• Westin Atlanta Gwinnett Hotel, a 9-story luxury hotel located in the bustling Gas South District in Duluth, GA

Tim, a Senior Project Manager in our Chicago Office, has contributed to unique projects across the country and around the world, collaborating with design teams to develop structural systems holistically while supporting a project’s architectural vision. His passion for structural engineering evolved from a love of architecture and the way good design shapes the connections we make to people and places. In his time at PE, Tim has helped to build our Chicago office, investing in mentorship and formation of our young and growing staff. He is committed to helping his team grow, offering technical expertise and nuanced support to all team members, especially new and emerging professionals. Some of his recent projects include:

• Chapter Madison, an 11-story student living community as part of the South Campus Plan, blocks from the University of Wisconsin Madison

• Farm Foundation's Innovation and Education Center, a dynamic food and agriculture campus in Libertyville, IL

• Wilderness at the Smokies Addition, a destination waterpark resort and family adventure center in Sevierville, TN

The Executive Leadership Team is excited to welcome this group of shareholders. This group is passionate about the growth and development of our entire team. Each of them is dedicated to delivering high-quality projects, providing great service to our clients and leading as mentors and resources to our entire team.

We asked the group to share a few of their thoughts about PE:

What excites you about becoming a shareholder?

Ahraaz: I’m honored to join the shareholders and be part of such a forward-thinking and successful group. Their willingness to continually add more team members is a testament to the company’s employee dedication and ability to reward hard work. With that in mind, what I find most exciting is having the opportunity to help with the growth and success of individuals at PE, which in turn leads to success for the firm. 

Andy: This opportunity is truly an honor. It’s exciting to be part of a growing collective of strong leaders who all believe PE’s best asset is the people that make up the company and who all share a passion for engineering excellence.

Ryan: The current shareholders are some of the best and brightest minds at Pierce Engineers. It is truly a humbling experience to be associated with those individuals.

Tim: The second most gratifying part of the work we do is walking into a new space after months and years of hard work. But the most gratifying part is experiencing these places we design and build with our partners and friends. From the simple to the extraordinary, coming to work every day with colleagues that take pride in what we produce together is inspiring and strengthens our collective sense of ownership not only on our projects but also the company we are building. I’m excited to keep building!

What do you like most about PE?

Ahraaz: The company culture and coworkers, by far. We are part of a fulfilling but challenging industry, and the laid-back, collaborative environment is what makes my job enjoyable. No one is too busy to help or brighten your day, and it’s clear we’re all on the same team. There’s an ‘always learning’ mentality adopted by everyone, including principals, that naturally fosters growth and sharing wisdom. The knowledge we have as a collective group makes me very proud to be at PE. 

Andy: PE’s commitment to continuously developing a wide range of expertise in structural engineering. This range allows the company to pursue any type of project and also provides growth opportunities in many different directions to fit each employee’s interests. Giving employees freedom to explore their interests starts a snowball effect, further increasing the company’s abilities. 

Ryan: I joined Pierce at a time when the Madison and Milwaukee offices were about half the size they are now, and the Chicago office didn’t exist. It has been amazing witnessing the changes and the growth of the company from that time until the present day. While we have lost some great people along the way, we have gained many more, forming a talented, diverse, and experienced team. And it is that knowledge and experience that forms the backbone of the company.

Tim: I’m immensely grateful for smart, creative, constructive colleagues with a diverse collection of experience and expertise. We have a deep bench of excellent engineering talent that, critically, has the ambition to reach for opportunities and the agility to exceed expectations. It’s a joy to work with wonderful people on fun and challenging projects, both of which we have in abundance.

What has been your favorite PE project so far? Why?

Ahraaz: Residence 27 is a 22-story, post-tensioned residential building located in Miami. Despite my affinity for concrete design, this project took me out of my comfort zone in many ways. Designing for Miami’s hurricane winds and working with wind tunnel consultants was a first for me. Fortunately, it wasn’t new for some of my coworkers, who helped me understand the wind tunnel process and offered guidance in designing for the high loads. I was also exposed to the Miami construction market, which required revisiting a lot of our typical details and design philosophies. This was a particularly fascinating and significant learning experience that made me grateful for the wide range of knowledge at PE. Internal collaboration on Residence 27 reminded me how fluidly we can work as a group and adapt to new, wildly different markets.

Andy: The Palladium. This Class A office building in Milwaukee was designed to mimic the look of old load-bearing multi-wythe masonry structures with a nearly complete steel structural exoskeleton just to support the large cast stone veneer elements. The project offered me a chance to grow my structural design range earlier in my career. It was also a little atypical from our typical design process in that it ended up being more of a design-build operation, working with the cast stone fabricator and the erecting contractor to produce connections that accommodated the heavy cast stone weights and erection means and methods.

Ryan: You never forget your first, so First Choice Dental in Waunakee will always hold a special place in my heart. Aside from that one, the AC Liberty Hotel in Cincinnati stands out. Unique architectural features combined with a variety of different structural systems made for an engaging experience.

Tim: The Farm Foundation’s Innovation and Education Center in Libertyville isn’t the largest project, but it’s among the most compelling, I think. The design vision challenged our creativity to find an ambitious yet cost-effective structural solution for a soaring cathedral ceiling over a flexible workspace below. Working closely with our architectural design partner and pulling from our technical expertise, we were able to find simple solutions that form an inspirational space. The project brought together technical challenges and thoughtful design synthesized into a beautiful result.