Switzer Group announces executive changes at top

Real Estate Weekly, May 26, 1993

In a major revamping of its executive lineup, The Switzer Group, Inc., a leading New York-based corporate facilities space planning and design firm, has named Robert T. Sutter as its president, Elizabeth Holechek as executive vice president and announced two major additions to its senior staff.

Lou Switzer is founder and chairman of the company, which Interior Design magazine recently ranked as the country's 35th largest. Last year, The Switzer Group designed more than $125 million worth of corporate facilities nationwide.

The two additions to the firm' s executive staff consist of legendary interior designer Neville Lewis, who will work as a planning and design consultant, and Lou Villafane, formerly with Helmulth Obata Kassabaum, who has been named vice president of project operations.

Sutter, who joined The Switzer Group in 1983 and most recently served as the firm's senior vice president and chief operating officer, will assume responsibility for the day to day operation of the company. Over the years, he has overseen corporate facilities projects for most of its biggest clients, including Chase Manhattan Bank, Integrated Resources, Con Edison, The Equitable Life Insurance Society of the United States, Continental Insurance Company, and others.

A registered architect and Pratt Institute graduate, Sutter is an active member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) and the New York State Association of Architects. He is a frequent lecturer and currently is a course leader for the American Management Association.

Holechek, who joined the firm in 1982 and most recently served as a vice president, will direct all of the company's marketing and sales operations in addition to overseeing corporate projects. She has been the project principal on major facilities assignments for such Switzer clients as IBM, C&P Telephone, Citibank, N.A., Amtrak, and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

She also holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Pratt Institute.

A member of the Interior Design Hall of Fame, Lewis, who headed his own company for many years, will concentrate primarily in the area of Management Planning and Design, working closely with Lou Switzer and his management group. An instructor of design at the School of Visual Arts, he also serves on the Board of International Business and Design (IBD) and on the New York State Board for Interior Design Licensing. As the new operations head, Villafane will be responsible for the day to day operation for both project management and the firm's administrative staffs.

Other key members of the Switzer management team include chief financial officer Jeff Kornstein and executive vice president Don Sachar, who joined the firm from Environetics International in 1988. The Switzer Group was founded in 1975.