Tony Raya has been promoted from senior project architect to technical principal, joining Margaret McDonald, Angelo Arzano and Eli Hoisington on the St. Louis office leadership team.
Since joining the St. Louis studio 21 years ago, Raya has played a key role in many of its largest, most challenging projects. He has excelled at leading teams through documentation and construction and bringing technical excellence to each project. In recent years, he has helped lead technical reviews and served as a resource for the entire studio.
Raya joins a tight-knit St. Louis leadership group that, over the past four years, has collaborated to share many of the traditional responsibilities of a managing principal. This team remains intact and, with Raya’s added support, will work to help the studio grow and expand in the coming years.
Angelo Arzano, technical principal in St. Louis since coming to HOK in 2012 and part of the current leadership team, has taken on the role of managing principal.
Over the past four years, Arzano has taken an active role in all project and market performance reviews and contract negotiations. Going forward, he will focus on St. Louis studio operations, partnerships and collaboration opportunities. He also will help with business development and positioning for large-scale project pursuits.
“We’re thrilled to draw on our own pool of talented people to fill these positions from within the firm,” said HOK Chairman and CEO Bill Hellmuth.
HOK has just been named a Top Workplace by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, moving up from 19th last year to No. 10 in the 2021 Mid-Size Business category. In its most recent rankings, the St. Louis Business Journal named HOK both the area’s largest architecture firm and largest interior design firm. Earlier this year, the St. Louis studio picked up a Fast Company “world’s most innovative companies” award for its commitment to long-term urban development at the Cortex Innovation Community.
“We’re fortunate to have such a strong leadership team, so many talented people and a thriving practice doing award-winning work in this important office,” said Hellmuth.
