Wallace Design Collective

Wallace Design Collective is proud to announce Thor Wiggins as its Chief Operating Officer, effective May 6, 2024. Thor previously served as a Principal and Director of Operations and Administration at KSi Structural Engineers, which is now part of Wallace Design Collective.

Thor joined KSi in February 2001 as a CAD/BIM manager and was named a Principal in 2015. As his role grew, Thor managed KSi’s finances and served as corporate Secretary while serving on its Board of Directors. Following the retirement of their office manager in 2020, Thor assumed responsibility for all operations of the Atlanta and Nashville offices, including all financial, legal, and human resources duties. Thor also played a key role in KSi joining Wallace Design Collective.

I recently asked Tom Hendrick, Wallace’s CEO when KSi joined Wallace, for his thoughts on Thor as the next COO. He said, “I firmly believe Thor will do great as the new COO. He has extensive experience overseeing daily operations, including standards, building leases and improvements, IT, legal issues and quality control. He has the skill set to make sure that we move forward on our goals in each area. He was instrumental in making the acquisition between Wallace and KSi happen efficiently and without difficulty. Based on working with him closely during the acquisition, I believe he will do quite well in this position. I wish him well!“

Read on to learn more about our new COO…

Why did you want to be COO?

My experience and enjoyment of my responsibilities over the past nine years seemed to make me a good fit for the position of COO. Each day brought a new challenge and opportunity, which I met eagerly.

What do you hope to bring to Wallace as COO?

I hope to bring a leadership where each employee feels their voice is valued and reinforce that our core purpose and values are at the forefront of each decision that I make.

What are your goals/aspirations for WDC for your tenure?

My goal as COO is to help the firm continue to grow strategically and to make Wallace the firm that sets the standard for all other multi-disciplinary design firms around the country.

Are there any specific changes you want to make as COO?

Wallace’s leadership has done an outstanding job over the firm’s 43-year history. I would like to make no specific changes other than ensuring that we are ahead of other firms in our ability to adapt to changes in technology and security.

Where do you see Wallace in 5-10 years?

I see Wallace as becoming one of the top 10 multi-disciplinary design firms in the country. We have assembled a talented team across all seven offices, and we will continue to grow strategically while attracting new talent and future leaders who will put us there.

What are Wallace’s greatest opportunities over the next five years?

My dad once told me, “To have a truly successful business, you must clearly state what you are going to do, do what you say, and do it well.” Wallace’s greatest opportunity is to market our current talent and ability to work across offices such that our name and brand are synonymous with quality and value.

What are you most excited to take on as COO? 

I am currently working on several initiatives, but the one that excites me the most is our continuing focus on cybersecurity. I believe the firm’s future is dependent on the events happening around the world today.

What are the most important issues for Wallace? How do you plan to tackle them?

I believe some of the most important issues for Wallace today are to continue to strategically grow, retain our current talent, continue to attract new talent, continue to maintain our core values throughout the firm and provide a safe and secure environment for our employees and intellectual property. I plan to tackle each of these issues by staying focused on the core purpose and values of the firm: making lives better through responsiveness, flexibility, quality, and creativity.

What are the greatest challenges facing Wallace now? How about in 5 years?

I believe one of the greatest challenges facing Wallace now is balancing the ability to grow the firm while maintaining a great place to work. The past and present leadership has been able to accomplish this very well and my goal is to continue in their footsteps by keeping the focus of the leadership of the firm on the trust of our employees and clients.

Any other thoughts? Or questions I should have asked?

I am very honored to have been named the COO of Wallace Design Collective. I will be a good steward of all the resources that I have available, and I will always think of all the Wallace employees and their families who have entrusted me with this position.

Interested in joining us at Wallace? You can browse our open positions here.