Now more than ever a company needs a leader with a steady hand, seasoned business acumen and an honest yet reassuring voice. As President of LAN Associates, this is exactly what Ken Karle has provided LAN for over 40 years. Both a Registered Architect and a Professional Engineer, Ken’s rare combination of qualifications help him make innovative tactical decisions by studying past performance to model future investments. He understands all aspects of the architecture and engineering industry and he is dedicated to the community, his company, and his employees. It was for these qualifications and distinguished career punctuated by many accomplishments that Mr. Karle was recognized as a 2020 NJBIZ ICON.
“It’s a great honor to be recognized by NJBIZ as an ICON in the New Jersey business community,” said Karle when asked about the award. “It’s a privilege to be President of LAN Associates and to participate in such meaningful work alongside such a talented group of architects and engineers. Our company is like a family and I attribute this award to all those who work at LAN Associates, and to our founder John Lacz, without whom our success would not have been possible.”
The NJBIZ ICON Award is an honor given annually to leaders from New Jersey’s business community in recognition of the recipient’s work throughout their careers, not just in their respective fields, but in the state’s larger business community.
Mr. Karle started his career with LAN as a strategic hire to bring architectural services in-house. Today, architecture is the largest department at the firm, responsible for more than half of the firm’s revenue. Ken has taken a small New Jersey engineering firm with just seven employees and transformed it into a full-service, multi-discipline architecture and engineering and design firm that employs over one hundred professionals.
Over the last 40 years, Mr. Karle has directed LAN through several expansions marked by different metrics, including increases in volume of work handled, services offered, number of employees, and number of office locations. Ken has transformed the company’s scope and capabilities by performing risk assessments and correctly calculating models for success in pursuing new core competencies. He hires people he can trust, then empowers them with the decision-making authority to go after new ventures, while remaining under his careful direction and meeting established KPIs. This leadership has paid off as LAN’s offered services and departments have expanded under his tenure.
The ICON award is given out annually at a large ceremony, however due to social distancing guidelines this year’s awards ceremony will be a virtual event. On August 18th, 2020, NJBIZ will honor 2020’s ICON honorees during an online presentation beginning at 8:00 a.m.
