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Emily Allen knew she wanted to work in design since she was 6 years old. Now, she鈥檚 leading New Mexico鈥檚 largest full-service architecture and design firm.

Dekker, an sa国际传媒官网网页入口-based firm with offices in Phoenix and El Paso, announced Allen 鈥� most recently the company鈥檚 chief financial officer 鈥� as its chief executive Thursday morning, making her the company鈥檚 first female CEO.

Dale Dekker, the company鈥檚 founding principal and brand ambassador, hailed the move, saying Allen 鈥渞epresents everything that鈥檚 great about Dekker.鈥�

鈥淪he joined early in her career and grew along with us,鈥� he added. 鈥淪he brings a fantastic perspective, she knows the community, and is ready to lead us to where we鈥檙e going next. Lots of great things to come.鈥�

Allen shared Dale Dekker鈥檚 excitement, saying she feels 鈥渓ucky鈥� to take on such a role in the very place where she grew up and with a company that gave her chance after chance.

鈥淭here鈥檚 so much potential and so much we have to be able to tackle and take on,鈥� she said.

Dekker, founded in 1959, offers services in architecture, interior design, landscape architecture, planning and structural engineering. Its work spans the education, government, healthcare, multifamily residential, office and public safety sectors.

Allen succeeds outgoing CEO Benjamin Gardner, who served in the role for the last seven years and has been with Dekker for more than two decades. Gardner became CEO just before the COVID-19 pandemic 鈥� a period he said proved to be the biggest challenge during his tenure.

Providing stability and security for employees during and after that time is what Gardner considers one of the most rewarding aspects of his time as chief executive. Now, Gardner will stay with the company as managing principal of its federal government design studio.

The transition is part of a larger succession plan that Gardner said began early in his venture as CEO.

鈥淲hen I first came into the position, I thought succession planning was very important, and I saw Emily as that plan,鈥� Gardner said. He doubled down on building that succession plan when Steve Perich 鈥� the longtime Dekker CEO who came before him 鈥� died the same year that he stepped into the role.

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 want to leave Emily in that same kind of position. I wanted to make sure that she had someone who could be around as an adviser, sounding board and mentor,鈥� Gardner said.

A recent retirement in Dekker鈥檚 federal government design studio, along with Allen saying she felt ready to take on the role, made the timing of the leadership shakeup feel right, Gardner and Allen said. Gardner said he is confident that the firm is in good hands.

鈥淪he has exceeded my expectations and provided huge value to everybody in the firm,鈥� Gardner said. 鈥淚 think she鈥檒l continue to do great things in regard to creating opportunity for all of our employees, making sure our business acumen stays really sharp, but also, to let all of our employees know the value they bring.鈥�

Allen first joined the firm during high school as a library intern organizing design materials.

鈥淚 was terrible at it 鈥� really surprised they had me back,鈥� Allen said with a laugh.

After graduating from high school, Allen left New Mexico for Denver to pursue her interior design degree from the Art Institute of Colorado. She vowed to leave sa国际传媒官网网页入口 for good, citing a desire to spread her wings beyond the city 鈥� but it wasn鈥檛 long before home came calling.

鈥淚t was just far enough away, I think, to give me perspective about how special this place is and how wonderful New Mexico is,鈥� said Allen, who grew up riding her bike along the Corrales ditches and catching air on tire swings in the Bosque near the Rio Grande.

Allen interviewed and received an offer at Dekker 鈥� formerly Dekker Perich & Sabatini 鈥� right after college. She started with the interior design team, but the firm鈥檚 business side slowly drew her attention. With mentorship from the late Perich, she started taking on broader projects across the firm.

It was about a year into Gardner鈥檚 time as CEO that he tapped Allen to be the company鈥檚 chief financial officer 鈥� not a typical landing spot for interior designers, Allen said.

鈥淚鈥檝e never been a traditional CFO,鈥� Allen said. 鈥淚鈥檝e always seen it as the big picture, as putting the pieces together, as really seeing the puzzle pieces and how we fit them together.鈥�

Allen said she鈥檒l take a similar approach to the CEO role. But the biggest philosophy she said will shape how she leads Dekker and its 210 employees is putting people first.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a phrase we use around here, which is we all do better when we all do better,鈥� Allen said.

Up ahead are challenges Allen anticipates will change the future of architecture: artificial intelligence, employee recruitment and retention, private equity consolidations, the economy and the political landscape. She said she and Dekker will tackle those industry evolutions by planning for change, rather than reacting.

Also down the pike, Allen said, are more leadership announcements and adjustments that will refocus Dekker鈥檚 teams on what the firm does best.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot happening, and we鈥檝e built this incredible business,鈥� Allen said, 鈥渁nd we get to take it even further now.鈥�

Kylie Garcia covers retail and real estate for the Journal. You can reach her at kgarcia@abqjournal.com.