April 5–8, 2027 · Newport Beach, CA

What's Next?

The Succession & Reinvention Retreat for AEC Firm Founders and Executives.

You've built a successful AEC firm — won the work, assembled the talent, navigated recessions and technology upheavals, and earned a reputation that speaks for itself. Now, as you approach the crossroads of a firm sale or retirement, it is time to answer the burning question that can't be ignored.

Come to Newport Beach to craft a strategic plan for the next stage of your life.

See the agenda
Dates
April 5–8, 2027
Location
Newport Beach, CA
Capacity
27 leaders
The Balboa Bay Resort, Newport Beach — waterfront view at dusk
Balboa Bay Resort
Newport Beach, California
An invitation-only executive retreat

Just for the successful AEC firm founder or executive facing pivotal professional change.

What's Next? is not a workshop on how to run an AEC firm — you know that already. It is not a seminar on the financial mechanics of ownership transition, either. There are other places for that. This is a highly interactive executive retreat for those at the top of firms.

It is for those beginning to contemplate what life looks like as the next generation of leadership takes care of the business. Built around candid dialogue, deep reflection, and honest peer conversation — the kind that only happens when every person in the room has earned their place at the table.

What the research shows

The data is clear: most executives don't plan for what's next — and pay a significant price.

After more than five decades of working with over 40,000 AEC leaders, PSMJ's research paints a consistent — and largely ignored — picture:

A new path forward

What you walk away with.

Built around six interconnected dimensions of a successful executive's next chapter, this retreat equips you with the frameworks, peer insights, and personal clarity to move forward with confidence and intention.

    Balboa Bay Resort waterfront lounge
    Who should attend

    Built for the CEO, Managing Principal, or Founding Partner ready to think differently about what comes next.

      The framework

      The six dimensions of your next chapter.

      We don't reflect on best practices for retirement. We benchmark plans and passions against peers, pressure-test thinking, and build relationships with leaders who understand the realities of running — and eventually stepping back from — an AEC firm at the highest level.

      Agenda

      Three focused days that transform how you think about what comes after the firm.

      A structured, facilitated conversation with a carefully vetted group of AEC firm leaders in one of the most beautiful settings in America.

      Balboa Bay Resort private meeting space
      Exclusive post-retreat benefit

      Go from idea to action faster.

      It isn't what you learn that matters — it is what you do with what you learn. Every participant is entitled to a complimentary, confidential, one-on-one session with the retreat facilitator. You can exercise this benefit in Newport Beach or up to one year after the program concludes.

      Perhaps a question surfaces when you return to the office. Perhaps a challenge is best explored outside the group setting. This benefit ensures that unanswered questions don't get between you and your next chapter.

      Included with every registration
      Facilitators

      Led by people who have made the shift and are thriving in the next chapter.

      Frank A. Stasiowski, FAIA — President and Founder of PSMJ Resources
      Lead Facilitator

      Frank A. Stasiowski, FAIA

      Over the past 50 years, Frank Stasiowski has worked personally with more than 40,000 architects, engineers, landscape architects, and interior designers at hundreds of the world's leading design firms. As President and Founder of PSMJ Resources, he has had a front-row seat to more stories of extraordinary success — and the complicated questions that follow — than perhaps anyone in this profession.

      Frank opens the retreat with an unvarnished, data-rich look at the forces reshaping the design industry and where the smartest leaders are positioning themselves for what comes next. He is also the author of "What's Next: How Highly Successful People Reinvent Themselves, Reclaim Their Purpose, and Design the Life They Actually Want".

      Brian Burnett — former engineering firm CEO and structural engineer
      Co-Facilitator

      Brian Burnett

      Brian Burnett is a former engineering firm CEO and structural engineer who has successfully navigated the personal transition that every executive in this room is thinking about. He brings the clarity and candor of someone who has lived this journey from the inside — not as a consultant, but as a principal who made the crossing.

      His role at What's Next is to help you crystallize your thinking, challenge your assumptions, and make sure you leave Newport Beach with a personal plan that is genuinely actionable.

      Venue & Location

      The Balboa Bay Resort.
      Newport Beach, California.

      The one resort perfect for this conversation.

      The Balboa Bay Resort sits on the Newport Beach waterfront at the heart of one of America's most storied coastal destinations. World-class boating, golf, tennis, and dining are at your fingertips. The setting is intentional: to think at the highest level, you need to step completely out of the ordinary — and this place makes that effortless.

      Spouses and partners are warmly invited to attend at no additional cost. Many find this retreat becomes a shared turning point — but the program is designed to deliver full value whether you attend alone or together.

      Location
      Newport Beach, CA
      Dates
      April 5–8, 2027
      Balboa Bay Resort waterfront
      Balboa Bay Resort detail
      Balboa Bay Resort exterior
      Balboa Bay Resort harbor view
      Balboa Bay Resort dining
      What's Next?

      April 5–8, 2027

      Balboa Bay Resort · Newport Beach, CA

      Registration is capped at 27 participants. Request an invitation and be first to hear when we open registration.

      "You spent your career building something that matters. You earned the right to ask the biggest question of all… What's Next? Don't ask it alone, in the margins of a schedule that never stops. That is not a strategy. That is a hope."
      — Frank A. Stasiowski, FAIA