Tom Ito

Stacy Shoemaker Rauen: Hi, I am here with Tom Ito of Gensler. Tom, thanks so much for joining me today. How are you?

Tom Ito: I’m great, Stacy. It’s always nice to see you.

SSR: It’s good to see you too. All right, so for the podcast, we always start at the beginning. Where did you grow up?

TI: I grew up in Los Angeles. I’m one of the very few native Angelenos, and so I’ve always lived here all my life. We still live here. I’ve traveled all over the world, but I always loved coming back home to LA with all of our issues that we have here. I think just growing up with a lifestyle, how I enjoy being outdoors and just taking part, always being part of the beach is just part of what I enjoy doing, and that’s how I grew up, growing up in LA. But I’m the youngest of three.

SSR: Oh, you are?

TI: Two older sisters. I’m the baby. I’m old but I’m the baby, and I am Japanese American, what you call third generation sansei. San means three, and sei means living. So I’m third generation born here, which means I don’t speak a word of Japanese because my parents were second generation. They were actually born here. They’re called nisei, which is two.

My grandparents are first generation who came over issei. They’re called issei because they’re first generation. And what happened was my parents were born here, although they were here during the war. So unfortunately they were interned in the concentration camps during the war, and my grandparents and everything was taken away from them. So that’s why they wanted us in. My generation wanted to be very much Americanized.

So I grew up with that mindset of being very American. Although I still have this heritage of Japanese culture, which is embraced in our family and some of the traditions that we still had. But even my…

I think Stacy think I was destined to be in the hospitality business or industry because my grandparents actually owned a Japanese restaurant, which was closed and was taken away from them. My father actually ended up working as a bartender in a Japanese restaurant, and then later managed a very prominent restaurant in Los Angeles in Century City, which I actually worked there when I was in college.

SSR: There you go.

TI: I had a little tuxedo and I learned there all about customer service and catering to other people. Little did I know that was what it was about. I was going to embrace that moving forward, but I also learned what it meant to be back of house. Because I’d be out front and all the activity and that was happening, meeting people and then saw what really was happening behind the scenes, what’s happening really made things work. So I think I grew up in somewhat in that industry.

SSR: Yeah. So what did you learn from your parents? I mean, everything they went through and then watching them work and make a life for themselves. What did you learn from them growing up in that family?

TI: Well, I think they didn’t talk about it very much. They were very humble about it. They didn’t want it. But I think what I learned about it is the perseverance and the faithfulness and to be true to what you believe in and really to demonstrate that their allegiance to their country, the country of America, that was important. I think it’s important every day that you believe in what you do and you aspire to the standards and the values of the country. Certainly my parents worked very hard. He was a very hard worker and he did his job and wanted to do the best for his family. So I think I took that away from me and learned from that to really embrace every moment and really appreciate where I am right now.

SSR: What does your mother do?

TI: Actually, my mother, actually she passed away when I was young, when I was seven, but my dad remarried after a few years later. And so she was a housewife. She stayed home and took care of the kids, and there were a lot to handle, three of us. And of course my stepmom had a lot to handle with three kids, and that was certainly interesting to have that into the family. But I think it helped me understand and embrace changes in my life.

SSR: Yeah. What were you like as a kid? Were you creative? Was there any kind of seed that you might become a designer extraordinaire?

TI: Yeah, I was a really rambunctious kid actually. I was pretty active. And my parents used to say that I have a one-track mind. He’d say, “But you have a one-track mind. If you want to do something or have something, you are relentless about getting it or doing it.” As I said, I love going to the beach. I didn’t always get my way, but I was always very focused. And I think to this day, I still have that character within me to pursue whatever I want and don’t give up until I achieve it, or at least get there. Also, I was a very competitive person by nature, and I loved the idea of competition and participated in a lot of competition sports. I learned it’s more about the training and the preparation and getting a little bit better to improve yourself and I still take that with me.

But also when I wasn’t out, I was drawing at home and creating. I remember I used to create these books when I was little and pick a subject that I love and write a story about it. Just the accomplishment of doing that and flicking through it and writing some characters and pictures, I really felt a sense of accomplishment of creating something. My room was filled with them. I mean, that’s what I did in my spare time. I learned that that is really what designing is about. It’s designing, creating something that’s something meaningful and special to you and creating something that’s meaningful to you. I took that away with me growing up too. It’s just always wanting to create something.

SSR: So what did you go to school for then?

TI: I went to school for architecture.

SSR: Oh, you did?

TI: I did. Oh, yeah I went to… I learned very early that there was this blend. I loved art. I always loved art. I loved creating art. I thought, “Well, I don’t think I’d be able to create a living as an artist.” Not that I was that good at it, I just liked it and enjoyed it. But I also excelled in science and math. And so I thought… Somebody advised me, “Well, why don’t you… A great field for you will be architecture,” because it combined both. So I thought that was the perfect career opportunity as architecture is really about that as a combination of science and art. So I went to USC. Again, LA, stayed in LA, Southern California and went to USC and got my degree there.

SSR: That’s amazing. Okay. Did school make you love architecture? So somebody told you about it, but did you know that architecture could be a career? Was that even on your radar until somebody mentioned it to you?

TI: Well, I was always intrigued with structures and buildings, and as I mentioned younger, I was intrigued by the 7 Man-made Wonders of the World. I had books about those. I just looked at all these incredible landmarks in history, you know the Great Wall of China, the Taj Mahal, all of those really, or the pyramids. I was always intrigued of how they were built, why they were built, how did they do that, and what were the reasons why. It got me thinking about culture and history and built environments. So I think I was always intrigued by buildings and architecture based on some meaning. So I don’t know if I really thought I was going to be an architect, but I knew there was something about built in history that I really loved that I wanted to do. But it wasn’t until I actually got into school that I realized that that was going to be my field, because it really expanded my notion of spatial reality and putting things together and thinking creatively about a design process. It was really more where… At USC was very much about the theory and design process, which I enjoyed. However, I didn’t really understand what it meant to be an architect until I left, because it wasn’t anything like what I learned in school.

SSR: How so?

TI: Nothing. Well, school and architecture, you’ve got a problem, you resolve it, and you think very much about how you’re going to solve the issue with the programmatic. Then you go into the real world and you realize, gee, there are so many other parameters and constraints that you didn’t realize that you have to deal with, designed a building. It was more prescriptive than I’ve ever thought it was. You have codes, you have budgets, you have program areas that you have to maintain in a certain area. Then you had clients who had their own thing.

We didn’t have clients that we had to answer to or to deal with, so we had to put that all together. Nonetheless, I just learned that architecture was incredibly, and design is incredibly complex because it embodies so many different elements that you have to put together in the real world to make it built. To make it a reality. So that’s how I found that it was really different than school. Although design school taught me about design process, working really taught me how to put design process into reality.

SSR: Yeah, totally. And so what was your first job out of school?

TI: My first job, I graduated in the recession. My period of my career has always been ups and downs with the recession. So I graduated in recession, but I was lucky actually to land a very young position at Gruen Associates, which was the last stage when Cesar Pelli was there. So I was fortunate to be a part of that and learned really a lot about architecture from planning to technical, to management. Learned very quickly that, as I mentioned before, that design is very, very complex.

But when I went to my first job, Stacy, I had a main line, you know what a main line is? A little parallel bar where you draw on with pen and paper and all that. I just remember doing that and how things have changed today in doing sketches during the day. But that was that first job picking up red marks. But I really learned really the practice of architecture and design through that training.

SSR: Yeah, well, we used to do layouts of magazines with, you’d cut it out, you’d literally use ruler and measured it all out.

TI: How things have changed.

SSR: How things have changed. I mean, before we keep going on with your career, I mean, do you encourage people to try to draw more with their hands and get off of the machines a little bit, like knowing what you used to do, or is that too hard?

TI: Well, absolutely. However, a lot of the younger generation, they’re not used to drawing. They’re faster, more quicker and more agile on the computer, and they can do things so much faster than we can do, you know hand draw, although some still do still do. There’s nothing I think more meaningful than something that has some hand sketching on it or something more personal on it.

SSR: Yeah, 100%. Okay. So you had your first job, and then what happened after that?

TI: After that, believe it or not, I’ve always wanted to have my own firm. When you graduate, that’s what you want. You want to have your own firm, have your own destiny. And that’s actually the reason why I practice architecture, because I thought I would have ability to do that. So I eventually, after a few years left Gruen and started my own practice for a couple of years. So I did some projects. It was really fun. I was controller of my time and what I did, it was hard, but I enjoyed it. But then again, the recession hit, so I go, “Okay, I have to make a living. I have to really create an income.” And I always thought that I would do that, go back and have my own business.

But then I had some friends that were at this firm called Gensler, and it was a Gensler that was coming up. It was growing. And at that time it was mainly known for interior design and workplace and not really about architecture design and just launching into it. And he said, “God, you got to go to try, come into this firm. Come on and interview with this firm because it’s a firm that has so many opportunities and room for growth. They’re on the move, and it’s a firm that really values and respect the people that work for them.”

And I said, “Well, that sounds really intriguing. Let me check it out.” So I went there and interviewed and [inaudible 00:14:55]. I thought, “Okay, this is a great firm. I love it. I’m going to be here for years. I going to go back and launch my own firm again.” Well give it to history. I’ve been there a long time and ever since, and history has it, that certainly wasn’t the case.

I think it’s because the firm really has a culture that really promotes entrepreneurial-ness, which is I was in the ability to do that. So I had a ability to feel like I was in my own firm within the larger resources of a larger firm with the opportunities to do so. So I think that’s why I’ve been there ever since, that first day of the interview.

SSR: And then you went on to launch their hospitality practice, how did that come about? And you didn’t really have much hospitality experience, so what was behind that?

TI: You never know when your destiny is going to hit you, right? Or what really is the thing that’s going to make the difference in your life? Well, what really happened was, again, there was this, the Sultan of Brunei had sight unseen bought the Beverly Hills Hotel & Bungalows as a landmark signature property. And they wanted to renovate it and really be alive in it because it was really important repair. And it wasn’t like anything that people imagined it to be, this great legacy project.

We got invited to interview and put forth our qualifications architects for the project without any hospitality experience at all. The Gensler, the firm had never done hotel experience, of course, this is many years ago. And so we went in there with a very creative approach in thinking about the possibilities of what we can do with that hotel to reposition it so that it could be of its original grandeur, what people really thought, bring back the great traditions of what it was known for.

So we went in and explored a lot of different options of looking at new ways to bring revenue producing spaces into the building. The building was an historic landmark, so we had to live within the confines of the structure and live to the historic fabric. And so we had to kick the guts of it, but we gutted everything in the interior and created new rooms and new modules and larger modules, so to bring it upscale.

What we also did was create new spaces. So the ballroom you see down now is brand new because that wasn’t considered character or historic defining. And we created a new ballroom called the Sunset Lounge, which faces Sunset Boulevard, which is a new addition. And we created gardens for outdoor events.

So we took a very creative approach to how would we reposition the building. We also fixed all of the back of house operational functions that weren’t working. The way it was designed before is that they had to have the back of hearts service cards cross the public space as a service. The ballroom was in very early days. And that certainly isn’t going to work in today’s world.

So learned a lot about planning in the hotels. I learned a lot about hotels in general and how those spaces came together. So that’s how I learned about the practice. And it was actually a gunshot marriage between Gensler and Hirsch Bedner because they, “Well, you guys don’t have… How are you going to design the hotel?” So it was, they said, “Well, you have to have a firm that really understands hospitality.” At that time, Hirsch Bedner was the leading firm in hospitality. And so it was a gunshot marriage, and it was a great, great partnership.

Michael Bedner, and of course Howard Hirsch was still around at that time. And I learned so much from both of them, and particularly Michael, all about the industry and what it meant to really create excellent and inviting and beautiful interior design. So that’s when I learned the integration of architecture and interior design and what it can create. And that sparked me. I mean, that was it. That was it.

SSR: That was it. You were sold.

TI: That sold me. And of course you know, I worked over four years on that project from an inception to its reality and opening in 19, think it was ’95, and I was on site for two years living and knowing how it was built and constructing all those issues. So I had a real education, but what was really, I think, appropriate or beneficial, it’s like the saying of being at the right place at the right time.

Because we started the project, as I mentioned, when the economy was in another recession. When we went through the design and the construction of it four years later, guess what? The economy started to come back. Hospitality was down by the way by then, but it always comes back. And it came back and it came back in a big way.

So went on to do the Regent Beverly Wilshire project, the Pretty Woman hotel and the Fairmont in Santa Monica. So we all of a sudden found ourselves in the hospitality business very quickly on the outset of that project. But I have to say that it wasn’t me alone doing it the way that happened and how we launched it was a number of committed people and a team that had the same aspirations, the commitment, to develop a practice. And that’s what it takes. That’s what it took.

I also recognized that we didn’t have a hospitality practice for the firm there. And I said, “There’s an opportunity for someone to grab it knowing that there’s so much possibility, opportunities in the future with the rebound of the market. So that was being at the right time and then started to go from there.

SSR: And what do you think looking back was your big break in hospitality besides that first project, but what do you think really then started to put Gensler Hospitality on the map?

TI: Well, I think one of the Beverly Hills Hotel was one of them, but I think the other one that really put us on the map was the JW Ritz-Carlton Hotel Residences in Downtown LA. And I think because that was a very recognized, and it was a new build project, but Beverly Hills Hotel was a renovated project of an existing asset. Well, the LA Live project Downtown was a brand new signature landmark project that really became the catalyst and the renaissance to bring Downtown LA back. And so we got a lot of notoriety to put us on the map to really be a game changer in the industry by creating a place in a landmark building and structure that brought back life to LA. I think that was a big milestone, a project for us that got us moving on the map. And then we continued to develop on that and moved on to do other projects as well.

SSR: What were some other memorable projects, other ones that stand out. I know it’s hard to pick your favorite baby, but were there other ones that stuck out as really challenged you or taught you something or really pushed what the meaning of hospitality was?

TI: Another big project that I was involved with, not only with a number people, was the City Center project in Las Vegas, which is the largest single development at that time, and it was huge. I was part of that process. I remember interviewing that project with a number of the other leaders in the firm, and at that time it was Bobby Baldwin who was interviewing us, and he was a poker player. So we were in that interview process and talk about poker face. Oh my God. You had no idea what he was thinking, but he was reading you. You could tell he was just reading your emotions, your body, everything like that. I think we were in their interview and we’re showing this project, this project. And then finally, I think we showed… I forget what project we showed him, some little design. Oh, okay.

But anyways, we had won that project as the master architect working with a number of as signature architects around the world, Cesar Pelli, Vinoly and the like, and we were the ones that coordinated all. So that was a big project that put us on the map in terms of big projects. That project also was a project that was destined to change the face of Las Vegas. Las Vegas was known as a hotel that replicated other cities or contextual architecture, like being in Paris or being in London or those kind of very traditional type of architecture. Well, I think at that time, MGM wanted to really change the face and look towards the nods of the future. So that was an element that put us on the map.

Then we were awarded the Westin Hotel in the Denver International Airport, which was another signature project, was certainly one that was very instrumental to me and my group, for the firm as well, because it changed the perception of an airport hotel to a destination that engages the Denver community because it had a transit station that went right into the heart of the hotel. Then it was at the right connected to the airport so that we had to deal with the airport security systems and baggage while put in a hotel, which bridged the rail line. So that was a signature project, again, that projects that really changed the landscape of the practice. So that was another one. I can still going. I can keep going.

SSR: No, that’s great. I’m curious too. So you started with as a party of one, right? And then how did you grow? Gensler has grown tremendously, but then you’ve grown the hospitality practice to multiple offices, probably hundreds of people. How did you slowly build that?

TI: Yeah, from party one to party 2, 5, 10, it just grew. Well, part of it is getting the work in building the expertise when you get the work. So as soon as we got the work, we were able to build the staff around it. So we did that for a while in LA, and LA became the source for beginnings of our practice, But then we also noticed that there were opportunities outside of the region that we were able to capitalize. And we capitalize that by utilizing the resources and the expertise that we developed. You have to have hospitality expertise to really do and win a project. But if another office, for example, doesn’t have it, how do you do that? But you’re still with the same permit?

So we started to partner with other regions in the office, and one of them, we did a major project with our Chicago office, and we had our team actually move to Chicago to teach and to train people in that office about hospitality and to launch that practice. So you build and mentor and coach. We also, in Houston, we ended up not necessarily buying a firm. We don’t really expand by buying firms, but what we do like to is recruit the talent. So we recruited a great talented team in Houston in, we started to do a lot more ground up and interior projects in Houston with IHG and the like. Once we started to get traction, we started to export the resources across the globe. And I think that’s part of the beauty of Genslers, that we are networked so closely that we can leverage the relationships across and then tie them into the expertise and practice. We have done that first nationally, then we branched out internationally.

But then what we did after a while, we said, “Well, we can only go so far with so much leadership in every region. I mean, how do you expand it to a much greater level?” The only way to really do that is to recruit and to hire. You can train and mentor inside and grow inside, but you also need to up the level of your expertise and talent. So we now have recruited and have hospitality design leaders and business builders across all of our 10 regions globally. And so we start to do that. They’re like little incubator cells that they go and we use the firm to in our expertise to drive it, but then we’re able to build teams within it so that they can grow itself. So that’s really how it happened. It really happened first internally and evolved just naturally and then more intentionally.

Then we started to get more strategically focused about where and what we wanted to do. And because now we had a body of work, we really positioned ourselves to see what we can do differently that our other firms don’t. So we engaged in a lot of research, and I was actually part of a research initiative that really described or identify what a great experience is. Because we knew that then, even today, that great design is associated with a great experience. And we were out to prove that. And so what we learned on that piece was that it all starts with the intention or the motive of why travel or why you go with the expectations of what you expect and the interaction of who or what you interact with. And more importantly for us is the space of the design. You marry all those together. So we started to develop this strategy about how we look at projects a little bit differently. You’ve got programming parts, but we looked at it specifically about what is those elements that drives a great experience that we’ve embedded into our projects.

SSR: And sustainability is also something that Gensler and yourself have really taken on. How do you approach that and how do you tackle such, the big elephant in the room?

TI: It certainly is a big elephant because it’s something you can’t get away with. It’s in everything that we talk about. Well, I think today it’s becoming even more crucial, important than ever, as you know, because the world is really needing to address the notion of climate change and what’s happening to our planet.

SSR: Hospitality is such a big contributor. I mean, we have to.

TI: It is a huge contributor because you think about the carbon footprint, that hotel project, it’s a little bit scary with energy consumption and the like. So Gensler really wanted to commit to this creating a longstanding positive impact on the world. And so we announced what we call the GC3 which is the Gensler Cities Climate Challenge with the goal. And many companies have that now too.

So we have all the projects under our portfolio be net 0, 2030. Well, sure we’re going to make that, but we seriously really about our goal to do that because it’s right around the corner. And so what we did do Stacy, we outlined a strategy, a roadmap of five points, and one of them was to lead with industry partnerships. Again, it’s going to take a village with others to really have others engaged in the process of specifying products that with our sustainability targets.

So that means specifying green materials. And the way we initiate that is we launched the GPS, which is the Gensler product sustainability standards, which measures global footprints or global carbon footprints on the materials that we expect and we like, or we’re specifying all those projects that adhere to our standards. Although they’re not quite there yet because it’s pretty hard for them to all go. But we’re certainly on the road to doing it. I think many of the manufacturers and inventors are really doing that or helping us to provide and produce sustainable materials that have minimal or less carbon impacts of numbers.

Then there’s educating ourselves. People need to be educated about this stuff and people don’t know about it. So we certainly have to do that. And then measuring it, you can have an outcome without measuring it. So we measure carbon upon every one of our projects, so we know how much it was, how much we carbon, so we know the contributing.

For us in our firm and the design process piece, we have developed technologies and platforms that we can actually measure carbon footprints on what we design in real time. So it’s incredible. We’re doing it on a project now, and I think it’s going to be the standard for every one of our projects as we design it.

We look at solar orientation, we look at energy output and systems, and we can measure how much carbon footprint and energy and a lot of operational energy expended on the platforms that we have designed.

SSR: And what is your favorite part of the process, and how has that changed or how has your role, I guess, changed as you’ve grown this business and changed, elevated throughout the years to the level that you’re at now?

TI: Yeah. Well, I think what I like about the design process, quite honestly, is engaging with clients and people and understanding what they are and developing that relationship. And nothing makes me happier than to make sure that what we’re doing is making them happy and producing or maybe exceeding their expectations of what they want for us. So I really enjoy that relationship building the process.

That means not only engaging with clients, but engaging and working with a really talented group of people to put something together. I love that. I love putting that all together, knitting it all together and brainstorming new ideas and ways to look at things differently. And always looking for a way to change the model, what hasn’t been done. It’s just difficult because everything’s been done. It’s just how you put it together.

I just love the idea of looking at what changes in the world today that affects our designs today in that process. So that evolutionary way of looking differently or addressing a concern like sustainability. I just love the fact that we’re doing something that’s meaningful to the world to design, I love that initial brainstorming piece of the work.

SSR: Yeah, 100%. And is there a type of project you still want to try to do in your career? Is there one on your bucket list that you haven’t done yet?

TI: Well, funny should ask one that been on my bucket list for a while. I’m an avid skier if you know that, but I do some recreational ski racing.

SSR: Are you still running too or no?

TI: I am. I’m still running and doing when I can and the triathlons and all that good stuff, again, that competitive spirit comes out. But skiing is really one of my favorite things that I love to do in my time and in cycling I’ve always wanted to design a ski resort, an eco-friendly ski resort, a ski in, ski out facility. We talked about that. You’re a skier too, Stacy. I know. So I got one. I got one. I started one. In Japan no less too. We were in Japan a couple of months ago, and that’s like other things. It’s like that was on my bucket list. Because Japan is like a secret, the new secret place to go skiing. Well, now we’re doing a resort, a new project of a hotel development, and they’re very going to be very upscale luxury hotel in a village in a mountain that wants to be regenerative in Japan. So that’s my next project on my bucket list. And I have to check that one off and maybe not to have to figure out another one, but I think that’s one thing I’ve always wanted to do and I’ve got it going. So excited about that.

SSR: Amazing. So what keeps you passionate after all these years or passionate or inspired, or what keeps you getting up every day to come and do what you do?

TI: Well, I think it’s all about the people. I’m very much about being connected with people, and that keeps me inspired and creating new ideas, and also just learning from visionary people and clients and learning what they’re doing. It makes me better and stronger and what we’re doing around the world.

Then also I think what is most rewarding is seeing your project being built and people enjoying it. I think that there’s nothing more inspiring to see the realities of what you’ve done that people are really enjoying. And one of those projects is, it’s not a total resort, but it’s a little mid-station in Abbot Mountain where I ski. I looked down and reposition that thing and I looked down on it and we did the whole project and rebranded it. It’s really a transitional station where there’s a food hall and a place of great bar, in and out bar. I look down on that thing, every time I go skiing, I just have to smile because people are really enjoying and loving it. I was really part of making that happen. So I think that’s incredibly inspiring.

The other thing that is inspiring is just because of the global nature of the practice in the firm, I’ve been able to travel all around the world, and I count it recently, all the projects and countries I visited over the years, it’s over 30 countries that I worked in throughout the world, not including the United States. And that just has opened my mind and actually enriched my life incredibly. And that keeps me inspired and continuing learning. And I just love learning about new cultures and new people and what’s important about the country, the place, what’s meaningful, the traditions, the culture, and embodying that in all the projects that we do. I just really get inspired by that.

SSR: Yeah, I love that. What is one thing, I know you share that you’re a big skier, but what is one other thing that people might not know about you?

TI: Okay, this is something you might not know about me, is that I took up tango dancing.

SSR: Oh, well, that’s exciting.

TI: Well, it is very challenging. It’s very challenging. I wanted something that took me out of my comfort zone, and it certainly is.  And I used to do a lot of travel, some projects in South America, and I was ended up in Argentina, and I was really in all of the beauty of that, but more about the technicality of the dance and the connection that you have to have. What I learned through it, and I don’t know why it… it intrigued me, was you have to connect without talking. You have to connect what you want to do together through movement, through intention. And your intention together is what will make you come together at a dance. It’s not that easy to do, and you also need a leader and a follower.

So you have to learn how to lead, but you also need to know how to follow and what your intentions are. So I just love that idea about human connection in communication and connecting. And I think there’s so many similarities to the design process. You have to connect, you have to be intent on what you do. You can actually show your ideas and communicate through drawing without speaking. And you also have to demonstrate leadership and to be a leader in leadership, and you have to have a team that is willing to collaborate together for a successful result. So there’s some similarities to Tango on that, but it’s a challenge. And so that’s what I’ve learned to do.

SSR: I love it. Love it. All right. Well, I hate to end this conversation, but for the sake of time, we always end the podcast with the title that is the podcast. So what has been your greatest lesson or lessons learned along the way?

TI: Well, there’s a lot, but you know what we know is inevitable and we know is a constant, and that has changed. And certainly I’ve seen a lot of changes in the world and life and process and design, and with people throughout my career. So I would say be open, be flexible, being able to make shifts when you need. You may need to change what your original thought or goal was and move with it. Just take it and take the journey because it’s a dynamic time and you have to be open to it. But most of all, you got to have fun along the way. That’s my big thing, have fun.

SSR: Perfect. Well, hopefully you’ve had some fun and can’t wait to celebrate you at Platinum Circle and your lifetime achievement. So congratulations and thank you for taking the time to share your story with us.

TI: Real excited. Thank you so much, Stacy.

Photos and renderings by Scott Frances and courtesy of Gensler