CetraRuddy names five longtime firm members to their leadership team

Manhattan, NY CetraRuddy, the award-winning architecture and interior design firm, has named five new partners to its leadership team. As longtime members of the firm, each brings leadership experience, a shared commitment to design excellence across CetraRuddy’s diverse projects and markets, along with a shared vision for its future.

These appointments continue CetraRuddy’s 40-year history of thought leadership and design excellence. Co-founders John Cetra, FAIA and Nancy Ruddy, along with partners Eugene Flotteron, AIA and Ximena Rodriguez welcome the following partners:

Brian McFarland, AIA, NCARB, a consummate architect with command of design and constructability and accomplishments in the multifamily residential sector, who has led numerous complex and high-profile new buildings and conversion projects.

Theresa Genovese, AIA, LEED AP, NCARB, known for her important work on cultural and higher-education projects.

Paul-Arthur Heller, whose portfolio includes a range of large-scale commercial and mixed-use complexes, as well as cultural and sciences projects internationally and across the United States.

Charles Thomson, AIA, LEED AP, a lead architect for numerous high-rise structures known for combining technical and design excellence.

Jonny Whitaker, with experience in operations leadership in the design industry, whose architectural training and technology-focused solutions support successful growth.

“Bringing design innovation, operational and project stewardship, technical excellence and a passion for our craft, these leaders represent the best of the next generation in building design, planning, interior design and the future of our practice,” said CetraRuddy co-founding principal John Cetra, FAIA.

Ruddy said, “These five leaders who have become an important part of the firm’s success are also integral to the CetraRuddy family, partnering with our clients and mentoring our next generation of talent. Our expanded partnership forms an ideal constellation of talents and experience that reinforces CetraRuddy’s vision for our future.”

CetraRuddy is now led by nine partners, two principals, and 10 associate principals collaborating with a staff of over 140 professionals in architecture, planning, interior design, product design and allied fields. The expanded leadership comes as the firm’s longstanding work across higher education, institutional, and civic sectors is reflected in a series of major commissions, including a new building for Columbia University, the Bronx borough-based Jail (where CetraRuddy serves as design architect and interior designer), a new residential tower in Seoul, and the renovation of a landmark synagogue in Miami. These projects demonstrate the depth of the firm’s expertise alongside its prominence in multifamily residential projects and innovative office-to-residential conversions across the country.

“As we expand in typologies and markets, we are confident that CetraRuddy is prepared for our next chapter of creating meaningful places and collaborating with clients on projects of greater complexity, sophistication and importance,” said Rodriguez, who also serves as the firm’s director of interior design. “We are delighted to welcome these design leaders as partners at CetraRuddy.”

Flotteron, AIA, principal of CetraRuddy said, “We have been creating this outstanding firm with these exceptional professionals, some for longer than a decade or more. We share a collective vision for making cities and places better, an authentic passion for design excellence, and each of these new partners is a visionary in their own way.”

With projects across the globe, CetraRuddy creates architecture and environments that enrich the human experience through thoughtful design, contextual understanding, and a commitment to placemaking, health, well-being, and sustainability. In recent years, the firm has advanced significant new works for clients in diverse sectors ranging from education and multifamily to mixed-use development and arts and culture, envisioning and creating new solutions that connect people to the built environment in meaningful and enduring ways.

About CetraRuddy’s New Partners

Brian McFarland, AIA, NCARB:

With more than 40 years of experience and professional practice, McFarland brings an in-depth understanding of multifamily residential projects, both new construction and adaptive reuse. His experience with varied clients in educational, institutional and hospitality markets bolsters his passion for urban design and a hands-on approach to the design and construction process. McFarland’s close involvement with market-makers such as Walker Tower and SoMA at 25 Water St. has resulted in award-winning projects for CetraRuddy.

Theresa Genovese, AIA, LEED AP, NCARB:

Genovese leads the firm’s cultural and educational practice. She has designed numerous award-winning projects for universities, public and private schools, libraries, and museums, such as Fotografiska Museum and Lincoln Square Synagogue. As a LEED Accredited Professional, she integrates sustainable strategies across all project types. With a background in architecture and urban design, Genovese skillfully merges design concepts with a building’s larger context, simultaneously thinking about site, materiality and light to create buildings with a strong sense of place.

Paul-Arthur Heller:

Recognized for expertise in life sciences, higher education and cultural projects as well as commercial architecture and master planning, Heller brings experience in diverse project types in varied sectors internationally, positioning him as a key contributor to CetraRuddy’s expanding portfolio. Particularly expert in commissions for complex mixed-use works, Heller is leading projects in North Carolina and Texas, as well as the Bronx Borough-Based Jail project in New York City.

Charles Thomson, AIA, LEED AP:

Known to clients and to the CetraRuddy team as “the architect’s architect,” Thomson is an influential team leader, collaborator and a consummate designer. His success is seen in his role as a project manager for city-making works including the award-winning 45-story Rose Hill tower in Manhattan and the two-tower complex and public park at Tower 77 in Brooklyn. Working closely with CetraRuddy’s cofounding principal John Cetra, Thomson brings technical excellence and craft to his work on new, large-scale projects.

Jonny Whitaker

As managing director, Whitaker oversees day-to-day operations and management of the firm while helping set CetraRuddy’s strategic direction and shaping firm culture.

With a background in interior architecture and operations leadership in the design industry, Whitaker views operational infra-structure as inseparable from creative output, the practical path to stronger work and a more durable business.