Karl Wohler provides advisory support to the mergers and acquisitions, valuation, and ownership transition practices at PSMJ. His diverse experience in operations management, finance, M&A deal structuring, and process management provides him with a unique perspective to assist architecture and engineering firm leaders in developing effective growth, transition, and exit strategies.
Karl began his career as a chemical engineer at Polaroid Corporation and then advanced to senior director of film manufacturing and corporate program manager in research & development. His first exposure to mergers and acquisitions came when he managed several plant consolidation and divestiture projects.
Over the past 15 years, Karl has built deep experience in mergers and acquisitions, which includes a range of consulting advisory engagements as well as his roles as the corporate head of M&A for Bowne & Co., a $1 billion financial service content management company, and as the owner and CEO of a 150‐employee printing company.
Karl has also provided project financing advisory support to several large real estate development and restructuring projects including Melrose on the Beach in South Carolina and Titanic‐Pigeon Forge in Tennessee.
As a strategy and business development consultant at Emergence Consulting, Karl provided growth strategy consulting and M&A advisory support to Chargeurs, a French manufacturing conglomerate, and DuPont’s global polyester manufacturing business. He also developed a divestiture and privatization plan for a $300 million division of Philips Electronics North America.
As a business owner, consultant, and corporate M&A leader, Karl developed strategy and end‐to‐end managed buy‐side and sell‐side M&A deals ranging in size from $1 million to more than $100 million.
Karl holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a master’s degree in business administration from Babson College.
Shyam Rajadhyaksha joins PSMJ following a 25-year career in the A/E/C industry with a primary focus on financial management, project management, strategy, operational planning, and mergers and acquisitions.
Shyam served as the Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of DLZ Corporation. With 28 offices in the United States, India, and Costa Rica, and over 800 employees, it’s one of the largest architecture/engineering firms based in the Midwest. Shyam streamlined the project management and accounting functions across multiple disciplines, states, and countries and his leadership experience includes surveying, construction management, and renewable energy disciplines in federal, state, local, and private markets.
During his tenure at DLZ, Shyam performed financial and operational due diligence on seven successful acquisitions and a dozen potential acquisitions. He also championed post acquisition onboarding and culture integration.
Shyam has also consulted with A/E/C firms on strategic planning, operational analysis, marketing, and business development. He is an expert in accounting, enterprise resource planning (ERP) and customer relationship management (CRM) systems.
A past board member of American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) and Society of Marketing Professional Services (SMPS), he has broad‐based knowledge of design firms’ culture, operations, and challenges.
Shyam received his bachelor’s degree in City/Transportation Planning from the University of Cincinnati and his MBA from the University of Florida. He is a certified city planner by the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP).
Mike is a Senior Consultant with PSMJ where he provides consulting and training services on the subjects of strategic planning, ownership transition, and mergers & acquisitions.
He served for almost 20 years as a CEO of an A/E firm, which grew under his leadership from $4 million to over $40 million, while overseeing multiple acquisitions for the firm before guiding the firm’s successful sale to a $3.7 billion conglomerate. He followed the A/E firm sale by working as the CFO for a 120-person IT services firm. He culminated his C-suite career as the President and COO of a $40 million, 320-person geotechnical/environmental/testing firm with approximately 280 staff reporting under his leadership.
In addition to Mike’s formal business education, he developed and taught an MBA class at University of Richmond entitled Professional Services Management. His other instructional engagements have included guest lectures at numerous universities, industry conference presentations, and participation as an expert panelist on a variety of topics.
After serving for two years on the national executive committee for the American Council of Engineering Companies, Mike was recognized by the organization as a fellow. Mike’s other recognitions have included the McCabe Leadership Award from the Virginia Council of CEOs, Engineer of the year from the Richmond (Virginia) Joint Engineers’ Council, Distinguished Alumnus award from Old Dominion University, and the Secretary’s Certificate of Recognition from Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright for his efforts after the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Tanzania. Mike has been published twice in CE News Magazine and has been a contributor to industry newsletters, including PSMJ.
Mike received his BS in Mechanical Engineering from Old Dominion University, his MBA from the University of Richmond, and is currently a Ph.D. candidate at Regent University focusing on Organizational Leadership.
