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Immediate past board chair Charles “Skip” Homan, P.E., whose strategic guidance has helped transform Larson Design Group into a nationally emerging architecture, engineering and survey firm, has been elected Director Emeritus of the board. In this role, he will continue to represent and support the firm with special projects and initiatives in alignment with LDG’s purpose, values and goals.
Last month, in recognition of his LDG accomplishments, Homan received the National Association of Corporate Directors Three Rivers Chapter 2018 award for “Leadership in Private Company Governance.” The award celebrates exceptional boardroom leadership, integrity and ethics, standards which the NACD has championed for more than 41 years.
“In all of his actions, Skip has been very caring for people and interested in their success,” said LDG board chair Brenda Nichols, who succeeded Homan. “He understands the importance of culture and the direct connection between values and a company’s success, and he knows that transformation can only occur with a focus on strong, high performance teams. Skip has enabled LDG to focus on enhanced governance, which he believes is more important than culture because governance holds an organization accountable for having a healthy culture. Among his words of wisdom have been ‘You earn the right to grow… Never stop learning … Stay curious… Think bigger’.”
Homan, tapped to be LDG’s first non-employee board director in 2012, was elected chair in 2014 and director emeritus in 2018. He has played a key role in helping LDG to think bigger, articulate vision and values, expand into new markets and regions, and pursue larger and more challenging projects. He also has mentored LDG’s leaders for higher levels of performance and inspired enhanced compensation models for talent recruitment and retention. His successor as board chair, Brenda Nichols, is one of a handful of women leading an architectural/engineering firm in Pennsylvania.
Prior to joining LDG’s board, Homan was CEO and board director of Michael Baker Corporation, now Michael Baker International. He later served as regional director, national division director and president of PBSJ, now known as SNC Lavalin. While with PBSJ, he also served as board chair of its operating company.
Homan is a longtime Robert Morris University trustee where he has served on the Board Executive Committee and as Chairman of the Facilities Committee. In 2016, he helped form the Beaver County Partnership for Community and Economic Growth and chairs its board of directors. He obtained his bachelor of science degree in civil engineering from West Virginia University and has been inducted into the University’s Academy of Distinguished Alumni.