SMMA Announces New Officers in Planned Leadership Transition

Cambridge, MA – May 30, 2007 — For only the fourth time in the 52-year history of the company, Symmes Maini & McKee Associates elected a new president, Ara Krafian, PE, one of a series of executive leadership appointments announced by the firm. Krafian, a long-time employee and current principal, succeeds Michael K. Powers, PE, FACEC, FASCE, who will continue serving as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Cambridge, MA-based firm.

“Since 1955, SMMA has brought diverse experts together to deliver exceptional design to clients,” said Krafian. “I hope to provide a vision that can inspire our designers as we carry out our responsibility to create new places for people. Our motivation is never to be satisfied as we pursue greater accomplishments for our clients and for ourselves.”

Concurrent appointments include H. Geoffrey Neale as Chief Financial Officer; Joel G. Seeley, AIA, LEED AP®, as Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer; Brian W. Lawlor, PE, as Senior Vice President, Treasurer, and Director of Engineering; Mark A. Spaulding, AIA, LEED AP®, SMMA’s Director of Architecture, as Senior Vice President; and Marie E. Fitzgerald, IIDA, the firm’s Director of Interior Design, as Vice President.

“The announcement of these new leaders at SMMA is part of a leadership transition planned years ago,” stated CEO Powers. “We have a dynamic and experienced generation of leaders who are ready to take the company into a new era. I can’t wait to see their enthusiasm and ideas take flight.”

Krafian joined the firm in 1991 and subsequently worked his way up through the ranks as a project engineer, project manager, and department head. He currently leads the firm’s Corporate and Commercial Practice Group, working with clients that include Philips, EMC Corporation, Boston Scientific, and Wyeth Pharmaceutical. He earned an MBA from Bentley College and a BS in Civil Engineering from Northeastern University. He is a Director of CoreNet Global New England, and a member of the National Association of Industrial and Office Parks (NAIOP), the Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council (MassMedic), the Environmental Entrepreneurs of the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Boston College Club.

The appointments change the composition of SMMA’s Board of Directors. The newly-composed Board includes:

About SMMA – Symmes Maini & McKee Associates Inc is an award-winning architecture, engineering, planning, and interior design firm based in Cambridge, MA, with a branch in Providence, RI. Founded in 1955, the 150-person firm designs places and spaces for leading corporations and institutions. For more information visit the firm’s website at http://www.smma.com.