Peter Piven is the principal of PETER PIVEN Management Consultants, and is one of the design profession’s leading minds on critical organizational, operational, financial and personnel issues. He helps architects, landscape architects, planners, engineers, graphic designers, and related businesses and agencies improve their practices in the areas of overall organization; strategic planning; valuation; ownership, and leadership transition; marketing; project delivery; financial management; mergers and acquisitions; and senior-level search. Prior to starting his own firm, he was a founder and principal consultant of The Coxe Group, Inc.
Mr. Piven has focused his career on management issues in the design professions and was elevated to Fellowship in the American Institute of Architects for those contributions in 1981. He was a Vice President of CaudillRowlett Scott, where he managed the New York Division, and a Principal of GeddesBrecherQualls Cunningham: Architects, which won the national AIA Architectural Firm Award during his tenure.
An active and involved member of The American Institute of Architects, he was a President of its Philadelphia Chapter. At the national level, he was the founding chairman of the AIA Financial Management Committee, Chairman of the AIA Fellows Committee and Chairman of the AIA Ethics Council. He was the Philadelphia Chapter chairman of the AIA National Convention in Philadelphia in 1976 and national chairman of the AIA National Convention in Chicago in 1991. In 2008, he was awarded AIA Philadelphia’s prestigious Thomas U. Walter Award ‘in recognition of his contributions to the architectural community for service to The American Institute of Architects and its initiatives.”
A highly regarded teacher and mentor, he instructed numerous courses in the field, including the University of Pennsylvania’s “Professional Practice” and “The Design of Design Organizations,” Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s “Practice Seminar,” and (with Brad Perkins) “Starting a Design Firm” at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design Executive Education program.
A well-known writer and editor, Mr. Piven served on the editorial committee for the 14th edition of The Architect's Handbook of Professional Practice, and authored the entries on financial health and acquiring capital. He was also the co-author of “Client Perspectives: Health Care,” “Client Perspectives: Higher Education,” and “Client Perspectives: Federal Facilities” in the 2004-2006 updates to that publication. He was the author or co-author of several books, including:
Compensation Management: a Guideline for Small Firms (AIA, 1982) Success Strategies for Design Professionals: SuperPositioning for Architectural and Engineering Firms (McGraw-Hill, 1987) Architect’s Essentials of Ownership Transition (John Wiley & Sons, 2002, with William Mandel) Architect’s Essentials of Starting a Design Firm (Wiley, 2003, with Brad Perkins) Architect’s Essentials of Starting, Assessing and Transitioning a Design Firm (Wiley, 2008, with Brad Perkins)
Mr. Piven holds a Master of Architecture degree from the University of Pennsylvania, a Master of Science degree in Architecture from Columbia University, a Certificate in Management of Design Organizations from Harvard University, and a Bachelor of Arts degree with High Honors from Colgate University. Mr. Piven has served on the PennPraxis board since first appointed by Dean Gary Hack, over ten years ago. Prior to that he served on the University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design (then the Graduate School of Fine Arts) Alumni Board for several years. Mr. Piven lives and works in Philadelphia.