The DLR Group is an integrated architecture, design, engineering, and planning firm with over 1000 employees across 21 offices around the world. They have expertise in a variety of building types including commercial, civic, education, science & technology, hospitality, sports & recreation, healthcare, transportation, and urban planning projects. In terms of organizational structure, the DLR Group has a matrix reporting structure across geographic regions and market expertise.
Global Structure and Leadership
At the global level, the DLR Group is led by Chairman and CEO Griff Davenport based out of the headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska. There are 8 other executives on the global leadership team covering areas like operations, people, finance, and business development. Underneath the global leadership, there are 8 geographic regions each led by a Regional Principal. The regional structure allows DLR Group to have local leadership in key markets while facilitating collaboration across offices. The regional offices are located in West (California), Southwest (Texas), Central (Nebraska, Minneapolis), Southeast (Florida, North Carolina), Northeast (New York, New Jersey), Mountain West (Denver, Salt Lake City), Midwest (Chicago, St. Louis), and Pacific Northwest (Seattle, Portland).
Regional Leadership
Each regional office is led by a Regional Principal who oversees all the design professionals and staff in their geography. There are also Regional Directors for key service lines in each region. For example, the West Region has Regional Directors for Healthcare, Civic, Commercial, and Education markets. The regional leadership enables DLR Group to align services and staffing within each local context while maintaining connection across regions. The Regional Principals report up to the global Chairman/CEO.
Service Lines
Cutting across the regional offices, the DLR Group has organized expertise into Service Lines based on building types and specialty services. This creates a matrix structure where professionals collaborate across geographies within their service line. The major service lines are:
- Civic
- Commercial
- Education
- Healthcare
- Hospitality
- Science & Technology
- Sports & Recreation
- Sustainable Design
- Transportation
- Urban Design & Planning
Each service line has a Global Director that oversees expertise, best practices, and collaboration across regions. These Global Service Line Directors work closely with the Regional Principals and Directors to staff projects and share knowledge. This creates direct vertical connections between professionals focusing on similar projects globally.
Service Line Leadership
Within each region, there are also Regional Service Line Directors that work under the Global Directors. For example, the West Region has Regional Directors for Healthcare, Civic, Education, and so on. The regional directors staff projects, manage teams, and oversee quality within their local market. They collaborate with the Global Directors on initiatives that cross regions. This dual service line structure enables both global collaboration and localized delivery.
Studios
Within the service lines, project teams are organized into Studios. Studios are interdisciplinary groups made up of architects, engineers, designers, planners, and specialty consultants. Teams are assembled from across offices to match the needs of each project. Studios vary in size from 5-25 members led by a Studio Leader who is responsible for overall project delivery. The fluid studio model fosters collaboration across geographic boundaries and service lines.
Studio Leadership
Each studio has a Studio Leader who is responsible for overall project execution, quality, and client satisfaction. The Studio Leader is supported by technical leads for architecture, engineering, and specialty services. Studio Leaders are engaged continuously across all phases from planning to design to construction. They assemble the right mix of talent for each project from across the DLR Group. The studio model facilitates innovation by bringing together professionals with diverse skills and perspectives.
Shared Services
Supporting the business is an array of shared service departments including IT, HR, Finance, Marketing, and more. These teams establish systems, processes, policies to enable operational excellence across the enterprise. As DLR Group has grown, shared services provide standards that balance global consistency with regional flexibility. A few key shared services include:
- IT & Systems – Manages technology infrastructure, security, telephony, video conferencing, and collaboration tools.
- Finance & Accounting – Oversees financial management, reporting, planning, accounting, billing, and collections.
- HR & Talent – Leads recruiting, compensation, learning/development, diversity initiatives.
- Marketing & BD – Drives brand strategy, content creation, proposal development, communications, events.
- Legal – Provides in-house counsel for risk management, contracts, insurance, compliance, M&A.
Shared services enable efficiency by standardizing platforms, programs, and processes across the enterprise. They provide resources and support to operational teams allowing them to focus on delivery. The heads of shared services report up through the global Chairman/CEO.
Office Network
The foundation of the DLR Group’s structure is the network of studios located in 21 offices around the world. Each office serves as a local home base for professionals to be near projects and clients. The regional offices include:
| West | Southwest | Central | Southeast |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles, CA | Dallas, TX | Omaha, NE (HQ) | Raleigh, NC |
| Riverside, CA | Houston, TX | Minneapolis, MN | Orlando, FL |
| San Diego, CA | Phoenix, AZ | ||
| San Francisco, CA |
| Northeast | Mountain West | Midwest | Pacific Northwest |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York, NY | Denver, CO | Chicago, IL | Seattle, WA |
| Boston, MA | Salt Lake City, UT | Kansas City, MO | Portland, OR |
| Pittsburgh, PA | St. Louis, MO | ||
Having local studios allows professionals to be on-site with clients while tapping into expertise across the firm. The office network enables both regional focus and global collaboration. Offices are led by local Principals who report up into their respective Regional Principal.
Local Leadership
Each individual office has a Managing Principal or Principal-in-Charge who oversees that location. They manage the studio teams, business development, culture, and operations for their respective office. All the local leaders are connected through their Regional Principals to align practices while responding to local market needs. The distributed leadership model allows for decentralized decision-making close to clients balanced by coordination across geographies.
Culture and Values
Underpinning the DLR Group’s structure is a strong culture centered around three core values: openness, courage, and empowerment. These values manifest through:
- Open sharing of knowledge across the firm
- Courage to think boldly and take smart risks
- Empowering professionals at all levels to lead
The leadership principles, organizational design, and operating model aim to foster a culture where professionals are inspired to collaborate, innovate, and deliver impactful work. As the DLR Group has grown over 50+ years, the culture remains rooted in the beliefs of the founders.
Fostering Culture
From new hire onboarding to leadership development, DLR Group invests heavily in culture cultivation through:
- Ongoing learning/development programming
- Regular feedback mechanisms
- Promoting from within
- Inspiring spaces that spark creative collisions
- Celebrating great work and milestones
The matrix structure, embedded leadership, and fluid studios energize professionals through diversity in experiences. The cultural ethos empowers people to bring their best selves forward in service of great design.
Ownership Structure
The DLR Group is a privately held corporation owned entirely by the employees. The firm transitioned to 100% employee-ownership in 2011 as part of a long-term succession strategy. The employee ownership model fosters a unified culture where each professional has a stake in the collective success of the firm. Key elements include:
- All employees have opportunities to buy ownership shares
- An elected Board of Directors oversees governance
- Owners share in annual dividends based on shares owned
- Shares may be sold back upon retirement or departures
- Voting rights in electing the Board of Directors
The shared sense of ownership creates alignment from the individual contributor to enterprise level in driving firm performance. It enables a focus on long-term success and continuity versus short-term gains. Employee-ownership sustains the DLR Group’s independence and strategic control of the future direction and vision.
Governance
An elected 12-person Board of Directors provides overall governance of the corporation. Led by the Chairman, the Board includes members from across regions and services lines. Key responsibilities include:
- Guiding strategic planning
- Approving major investments
- Selecting leadership
- Monitoring financial health
- Maintaining brand standards
- Enabling leadership development
- Overseeing ownership policies
The Board connects leadership with the broader ownership to ensure alignment on mission, values, and direction. This fosters coordination across the matrix structure.
Growth Trajectory
Since being founded in Omaha in 1966, the DLR Group has experienced steady growth over 50+ years. Major milestones have included:
- 1970s – Expanded across Nebraska and opened Des Moines office
- 1980s – Opened Denver office and continued Midwest expansion
- 1990s – Extended reach into South and Western US
- 2000s – Opened West Coast offices and accelerated growth
- 2010s – Transitioned to 100% employee-owned and expanded globally
In the past decade, DLR Group has made several acquisitions to boost local talent and expand expertise including an international architecture firm in 2015. With room for continued growth, the structure has proven adaptable to scale and evolving demands.
Discipline Growth
In addition to geographic expansion, service offerings have grown over time including:
- 1980s – Launched Engineering practice
- 1990s – Added Interior Design services
- 2000s – Built Planning, Urban Design, and Landscape Architecture capabilities
- 2010s – Added specialized design consultants
DLR Group continues assessing discipline growth opportunities to provide integrated services aligned with client needs.
The Road Ahead
As DLR Group moves into the future, the organizational structure provides a solid foundation while allowing flexibility. Priorities include:
- Technology – Investing in tools/systems to improve connectedness, automation, virtual design, and collaboration across geographies.
- Sustainability – Expanding expertise in net zero design, regenerative built environments, and climate resilience.
- Delivery Models – Evolving studio structures and methods to increase speed, efficiency, and cost competitiveness.
- Talent – Developing/recruiting diverse professionals and rising leaders to support growth.
- Client Partnerships – Fostering deeper strategic relationships with clients and communities.
The matrix organization, embedded leadership, and collaborative culture position DLR Group to be nimble and adaptive in an accelerating world. The focus remains on bringing great design and positive human impact to each place and community served.
Conclusion
In summary, the DLR Group has a matrix structure that balances geographic and discipline perspectives. Embedded leadership and flexible studios facilitate talent development and collaboration. The employee-owned model fosters shared culture and accountability. While optimized for agility and growth, the focus remains on leveraging global expertise to enhance local communities. The structure enables DLR Group to sustain excellence across services, markets, and client needs well into the future.
