“Being in the right place at the right time, with our eyes open, has enabled us to take advantage of those opportune moments and to go where our passion is. We build an entrepreneurial spirit that fosters personal growth, creativity, and excitement for what we do each day. After 25 years at Becker Morgan Group, I can’t imagine wanting to do anything else.”
Ernest W. Olds, AIA
Ernie leads Becker Morgan Group’s public safety, government, and military sectors, as well as commercial, corporate, and retail projects. He also drives the firm’s growth in North Carolina and South Carolina across all markets, looking for opportunities that allow the firm to continue to expand its reach and inspire its employees.
Ernie joined the firm in 1987 as an Associate, when the firm was just 16 people. In 1992 he was promoted to Principal, much due to his expertise in technology. Ernie standardized and integrated all technology processes across the firm’s offices, setting the stage for growth in multiple regions.
Predicting a consolidation of firms over the next decade, Ernie believes that investments in technology play a significant role in who grows and who withers. He also sees an industry where more projects are focused on adaptive reuse, rather than pure expansion. “This will define how we need to approach design and what we will need to do to accommodate our clients. Where we used to demolish and make new, our existing stock of infrastructure has become a lot more valuable.”
Ernie earned his Bachelor of Architecture degree from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 1980. He is the former president of the AIA Chesapeake Bay Chapter and is currently on the Board of Directors for the AIA Wilmington North Carolina Chapter. He is also a member of the Association of Public Safety Communication Officials (APCO), National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), and a member of the Association for Learning Environments (A4LE), formerly Council for Educational Facilities Planners International (CEFPI).
“Being in the right place at the right time, with our eyes open, has enabled us to take advantage of those opportune moments and to go where our passion is. We build an entrepreneurial spirit that fosters personal growth, creativity, and excitement for what we do each day. After 25 years at Becker Morgan Group, I can’t imagine wanting to do anything else.”