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SLAM’s Gregory Coles, AIA, principal, has been named President and Terri Finucane, IIDA, principal, has been named Chairman of the Board. (Courtesy: The S/L/A/M Collaborative)
GLASTONBURY, CT, June 1, 2022 – SLAM (The S/L/A/M Collaborative) announces today that Gregory “Greg” Coles, AIA, principal, has been named President of the firm and is located in the Los Angeles, California office, and Terri Finucane, IIDA, principal, has been named Chairman of the Board and is located at the headquarters in Glastonbury, Connecticut. Both outgoing President Robert Pulito, AIA, and Chairman Richard Connell, FAIA, will remain on the board and active in the day-to-day business of serving clients.
SLAM has recently unveiled its 2025 strategic plan, providing a framework for the firm’s continued significant growth and new leadership as it approaches its 50th anniversary in 2026. The plan is guided by the firm’s mission—creativity in design to enrich lives—with a focus on harnessing the expertise and growth of current and future employees, its strongest asset; to achieve national marketplace expansion; attain nationally recognized design prominence; and a cultural shift that instills and prioritizes diversity, equity, and inclusion, and sustainability throughout projects and expertise.
“The world is pivoting post-pandemic, and this is the right time to clarify our passions and purpose in all we do,” says Terri Finucane, IIDA, principal and chairman of the board. “At SLAM, we have learned that our employees thrive in a one-firm approach defined by more flexibility and inter-office collaboration executed within an entrepreneurial management structure.
Terri, the firm’s first woman to serve as chairman of the board, brings a dedicated career in interior design forged entirely at SLAM. Her regarded expertise in interiors spans more than 35 years and has led to the formation, management, and growth of the firm’s Interiors Studio. She currently is the National Market Leader for the Corporate / Science & Technology practice and chair of the Human Resources Advisory Committee. She will maintain all current leadership roles, in addition to her responsibilities as chairman of the board.
“The world is rethinking everything; I equate change with growth, and our new leadership team has the energy, experience and vision to achieve our strategic plan,” says Robert Pulito, AIA, principal. “Industry is changing dramatically and with disruption comes opportunity. I believe our timing is perfect, to seize the opportunity to evolve, to disrupt, and to be aggressive in leveraging our platform of outstanding projects, expertise and talent in taking the next step.”
During Bob’s 14 years serving as SLAM president, the firm underwent a period of significant growth, including expansion to the mid-west, south, and west coast, broadening of its services, and continuing to rise as national design leaders in the education and healthcare sectors.
“When our firms merged four years ago, it was about continuing to grow as a national practice and expand our existing healthcare footprint, taking on bigger and more complex projects,” says Greg Coles, AIA, president. “We currently rank as the 15th largest healthcare design firm in the country.”
Greg brings more than 30 years of experience as an architect, having served as president for seven years, leading the former Los Angeles-based architectural firm, Frank Webb Architects, a distinguished healthcare practice that merged with SLAM on September 1, 2018. Prior to his appointment as president of SLAM, he served as Market and Design Lead for the firm’s Los Angeles office, developing business opportunities for the healthcare and higher education practice. He has also served on the Board of Directors for the past four years.
A rich history and national reputation as an expertise driven firm with high productivity and high-quality results is attributed to SLAM’s overall accent, today. The successful addition of team members with similar cultures and design approaches, including a merger with Frank Webb Architects, and a recent acquisition of five CBRE | Heery Architectural Design practices has furthered the firm’s footprint and ranking as a top national architecture/engineering firm, rising from 41st in 2018 to 27th in 2021. Greg added, “we will further amplify our differentiator as designers who provide leading-edge innovations that help our clients to succeed in an increasingly competitive world.”
An immediate focus for 2022 is market expansions for all practices. “Our next priority is to position SLAM as a nationally recognized ‘design-first’ firm. The overall plan is about smart growth that expands our reach, talent, and expertise,” Greg explains, “with a focus on our individual studios in Philadelphia, Denver, and Los Angeles that align with the vision, culture and design philosophy of SLAM.”
About SLAM
SLAM (The S/L/A/M Collaborative) is a national multi-disciplinary design firm offering architecture, planning, interior design, landscape architecture, site planning, structural and civil engineering, pre-construction, with construction services offered throughout the New England region. Our market focus is on education, healthcare, corporate, science and technology, justice, and sports sectors. Our infinite drive to unlock and solve complex design problems renders creativity in design to enrich lives. SLAM has offices in Atlanta, Boston, Denver, Glastonbury, Iowa City, Los Angeles, Orlando, Philadelphia, and Providence. Learn more about SLAM at www.slamcoll.com.
