Architect Jared Nesje, 44, will take over the top position at TSP on October 1. Nesje, a Principal and senior architect with the group, previously guided TSP design teams as a project manager and discipline lead. Nesje will be only the fifth CEO to lead the firm, and the first architect in the position since Harold T. Spitznagel founded the company, in June 1930.
Nesje’s team of 100+ employees across five states will include two former lead executives in the local office. Current CEO Dick Gustaf joined the firm in 1977 and has served in his present role since 2004. His predecessor, Ronald Mielke, joined the firm under Spitznagel in 1969 and took the CEO post in 1982. It’s an anomaly in the business world for senior leadership to continue in daily professional roles—and a strong testament to TSP’s people-centered culture. Gustaf and Mielke, both Principals and mechanical engineers, will remain highly engaged in project-based work and client relations at the firm they’ve helped build.
Under Nesje’s direction, the firm will pursue a strong design focus while staying true to its identity as a client-centered practice. Just a couple of projects under construction with some long-term TSP clients include the Froiland Science Complex at Augustana College and Spellerberg Aquatic Center with the City of Sioux Falls. TSP’s relationship with Augustana College dates to at least the 1940s, and the firm’s ties to the City reach back to 1932, when Spitznagel started design work on City Hall.
Nesje respects the relationships the firm has region-wide and hopes to continue fostering those connections internally and externally. “We have a legacy of relationships at TSP, and that’s really the foundation of everything we do,” he says. “It’s about servant leadership, and that’s critically important right now in business.”
About TSP
TSP is a fast-paced, full-service design firm that successfully integrates architecture, engineering, interior design, and planning. Since 1930, TSP has been discovering facility design solutions that truly match the vision and mission of our clients. Our collaborative approach explores opportunities, addresses concerns, and defines design to achieve goals that create a balance between function and form. TSP is passionate about design and even more passionate about our clients. The firm serves clients throughout the Midwest, with offices in Marshalltown, Iowa; Marshall, Minnetonka, and Rochester, Minn.; Omaha, Neb.; Rapid City and Sioux Falls, S.D.; and Sheridan, Wyo.