RFQs/RFPs - Interviewing 101

Small Firm Roundtable Committee presents:  RFQs/RFPs Interviewing 101

Your firm, along with a select few others, have made the final cut – the client invited you to interview for a great new project. It’s a rare opportunity to get your firm in the spotlight. What does your firm need to say and do to clinch the project? Three of Houston’s most accomplished AEC business development pros will share their proven tactics for winning interviews. They will address:

• how to prepare for the interview and who should participate
• what to cover during the interview and how to most effectively present the information
• ways to differentiate your team when the spotlight is on you

Date: Tuesday, October 25

Time: 11am - 1pm

Location: Architecture Center Houston, 902 Commerce, Houston, TX 77002:

• Surface lot parking and street parking avalilable (fees applied)
• Walking distance from the Metro Rail line
• AIA Credit: applied for

Box lunch included with registration

AIA Credit: 2.0 LU

Speakers: 

Elizabeth Stemac, Senior Director, Business Development, Satterfield & Pontikes Construction, Inc. - She is responsible for developing and identifying opportunities that complement the company’s strong education portfolio and leverage its growing Centers of Excellence in the healthcare, aviation and mission critical sectors. She has extensive experience in the successful development of sector growth and furthering client and partner relationships based on in-depth knowledge of construction technology and alternative delivery mechanisms. She is a graduate of Leadership Houston XXXIV, and is an active member of several business organizations, including CoreNet, NAIOP, Society for Marketing Professional Services, Urban Land Institute, Women in Healthcare, and the Greater Houston Partnership.

Khris House, Texas Business Line Leader, Property & Building, WSP - Khris leads business development and operations for WSP in Texas and Missouri.  He brings more than two decades of experience providing engineering business strategy, multidisciplinary design management, and specialty services for complex buildings projects. This experience spans the healthcare, higher-education, science and technology (including pharmaceutical and biotechnology), mission critical, industrial, and energy/utility sectors across Texas.   Khris’ extensive experience in complex buildings has allowed him to work in a collaborative multi-discipline environment leveraging technical excellence across multiple business lines.  With an adept ability to understand a client’s goals and constraints, Khris is driven to serve a project’s vision and performance, while fostering a high-performing team of subject matter experts. 

Prior to WSP, Khris served as the Director of Business Development for Affiliated Engineers, where he collaborated with operations, external business partners (architects, general contractors, program managers), and consultants in capture planning and development of projects ranging from $500,000 to $800 million.  Prior to that role, he worked for ccrd Partners, a legacy WSP company, in a project management role for healthcare and research laboratories.  Khris received a BS in architectural engineering with a minor in pre-law from Kansas State University.

Khris is committed to the Houston community and passionately supports numerous industry and philanthropic organizations.  Khris currently serves as president of Architecture Center Houston, board president and building projects team leader of Truly Fed Ministries, and member of the special events committee for the Society of Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) Houston.

In his free time, Khris thrives on activity and fitness and is active with his church, Bayou City Fellowship.  He serves on the board of his wife’s non-profit organization, The Vine Uganda.

Peter de la Mora, National Accounts Director for Health, HDR. - He has extensive experience with healthcare clients as well as a deep and practical understanding of healthcare facility design and construction. He is a hands-on leader who has earned the trust of both his clients and teams by helping them resolve challenges fairly and quickly. His expertise, gleaned from his work with healthcare systems across the country, includes an exceptional ability to anticipate potential roadblocks and creatively dismantling them before they become problematic. Peter has worked with HDR for ten years and has built an industry-wide reputation for creative, no-nonsense, honest leadership.