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For over 25 years, the Senior Executives Institute (SEI) program has turned effective executives into forward-thinking industry leaders.

In five sessions over 18 months, SEI faculty incorporate lectures and interactions with prominent policymakers and public and private sector clients; group discussions and case-study work; self-evaluation and individual work; presentations and discussions with industry leaders; and extensive reading on cutting-edge leadership and management topics from the best contemporary thinkers.

Lastly, SEI executives build strong new peer networks from which to share new ideas and draw support. The benefit of these personal relationships, forged through hard work and intense self-examination, typically thrive for years beyond the last day of class.

Only SEI focuses on business issues unique to managing and leading engineering companies.

Meet our faculty of engineering business, HR, and IT professionals who regularly work with A/E firms.

Before you commit to this executive intensive, we know you'll have questions - here are a few answers that might help.

What past graduates say

SEI works. Since the program was created, we've sent over a dozen senior leaders through it. Today, the positive impact of SEI on our firm is unmistakable in our organization, profits, and long-term focus. The training in systems thinking paid dividends for me as a leader immediately. Just that one session helped us recover our firm's entire SEI investment within a year through increased operational profits.

Lee W. Slade
SEI Class V

★★★★★

Curriculum

SEI includes five sessions for a total of 21 days over a 24-month period. Class size is limited to 30 executives.

Session 1
6 Days
YOUR VISION & THE WORLD
The Changing Environment
Economic Trends
Public Policy
Global Practice
Leading a Living Company
Washington, DC
Session 2
5 Days
YOUR PERSONAL LEADERSHIP SKILLS
Relationships and Communication
Self-Awareness
Productive Conflict
Stress Management
Personal Mastery
Scottsdale, Arizona
Session 3
5 Days
SITUATIONAL LEADERSHIP, STRATEGY & SYSTEMS THINKING
Situational Leadership & Team Alignment
Forces of Change
Strategic Planning
Balanced Scorecard & Strategy Mapping
Systems Thinking
Organizational Design and Structure
Boulder, Colorado
Session 4
5 Days
ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP ISSUES

New Models for Professional Practice
Lean Thinking & Sustainability
Transformative Work and Profound Change
Team Learning & Dialogue
Scenario Planning & Information Technology
San Diego, California
Session 5
5 Days
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

Creativity & Innovation
Partnering & Alliances
Power & Politics
Coaching and Mentoring
Transitioning from SEI to Practice
Tampa/St. Pete, Florida

Lead Faculty

Rodney C. Hoffman is co-founder and CEO of S & H Consulting, a management consulting firm with expertise in leadership development, strategic planning, change management, and business development/marketing. He is a PE in Colorado and holds a BS in Construction Engineering and an MS in Geotechnical Engineering from Iowa State University.

With more than 33 years of experience, Rod’s expertise ranges from designing small municipal projects to managing large, international airport design and construction work. Prior to starting S & H, Rod was a Senior Vice President with HDR and also served as the firm’s National Director of Strategic Planning & Acquisitions. Rod has served as Lead Faculty for SEI for many of his 17 years teaching in the program. He has served on the ACEC National Executive Committee as Senior Vice Chair, served on the National Planning Cabinet, is an ACEC Fellow, and is past Chair of the Business Resources & Education Committee. He is an active member of ACEC-Colorado, including service as President as well as chairing numerous committees.

Faculty

Barb Smith, Lead Designer, is President and co-founder of S & H Consulting. She has over 30 years of experience designing and presenting leadership development, strategic planning, change management, and organizational development meetings and programs, both as an internal practitioner and external consultant, for A/E/C firms and oil and gas, retail, telecommunications, construction and non-profits companies. Barb is an active member of the Association for Talent Development (ATD), where she has served as President for her local ATD chapter, and currently serves on the national ATD board as a National Advisor for Chapters. She is a member of the International Society of Performance Improvement (ISPI) and Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). Barb holds a BS from Iowa State University and an MS from the University of Nebraska in Industrial/Organizational Psychology.

FAQs

Building an Industry of Excellence, One Leader at a Time

Class 31 of SEI, launching September 2025, is currently full.

Click the button below to join the waitlist for Class 32.

ACEC

1400 L Street, NW, 4th Floor, Washington, DC 20005

Email

Maureen Brown
mbrown@acec.org

Phone