Sawtelle-based architecture firm Nadel Inc. has named Anthony Sanchez as a principal and shareholder in the firm, with plans to grow under his leadership.
Sanchez got his start at Nadel as an intern in 2001 when he was still in architecture school. He left the company but rejoined in 2020 after serving as senior project designer for Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, where he oversaw the exterior design of Westfield Century City. He previously held roles at Architects Orange, WET Design and KTGY Group Inc.
He assumes his new position Feb. 7. “Anthony has helped to drive the elevation of Nadel significantly over the past two years,” Greg Lyon, chairman of the board and principal at Nadel, said in a statement. “His extensive background in designing and executing large-scale experiential shopping destinations gives him the strong foundation needed to undertake today’s various urban-infill retail and mixed-use projects, for which we are seeing an increasing demand. Through coming on board as a principal and shareholder, he will play an integral role in making the critical decisions that will help us grow and innovate.”
Sanchez said he would use his new role to build up the company.
“My role effectively stays the same in terms of my focus on design but part of my goals … is to really build the studios and the capabilities and the quality of the product we deliver … now, if anything, more aggressively in terms of building our capabilities, building our studios and attracting the right talent,” he said.
To pursue this plan, Sanchez said “all options are on the table” when it comes to organic growth and acquisitions. And Sanchez said creating a great culture “that furthers innovation and growth” will be key.
“We care about the employees; we care about innovation and fostering growth,” he said. “For me that guarantees top-tier talent, which is rewarded here. By building the right teams, that builds confidence in the studios and builds relationships with people.”
For a hybrid team, Sanchez said communication is also important even though “nothing replaces face to face, especially in a design collaboration space.”
“People want to be in here and they want to work face to face and they want to be part of that dialogue and camaraderie,” he added.
Sanchez, whose background is in retail real estate architecture, said he has taken on several mall repositioning, but the company works across many different sectors.
In addition to changes to retail, he is also seeing more office re-positioning and outdoor amenities in multifamily projects.
And Sanchez said he sees the opportunity to be creative and forward-thinking.
“We are fortunate to have Anthony stepping into an even larger role to help continue the firm’s work in producing high-quality, forward-focused projects that solidify our status as the premier L.A.-based architecture and design firm that the industry has known and trusted for nearly five decades,” Lyon said in a statement.
Nadel completed a transition to new ownership in 2020 with Lyon and Patrick Winters taking the helm at the firm. Herb Nadel founded the company in 1973.
Since the ownership change, Nadel launched an office in Phoenix and a direct retailers studio in its L.A. office. Sanchez said having “subsections of retail” at the firm made the company well rounded and added that its ability to do mixed-use projects would put the company “in a very good position” to work on complex projects.
“We are in growth and expansion mode,” Sanchez said. “That goes back to attracting the right talent to build our capabilities. The more immediate need is getting the message out that we are a new company now.”
