Architectural firm CFO wins top honor

(HERALD JOURNAL) -- As a landscape architect with a master’s in business administration, Blake Wright likes to joke that he should be able to figure out how to make money grow on trees.

Though Wright hasn’t pulled that off yet, as chief financial officer of Architectural Design West he was able to find funds during tight times — pulling the company out of near bankruptcy in 2001.

“It was tough,” Wright said, explaining that he became CFO after the business’ president was fired for financial improprieties. That problem, combined with a slump in California construction, led to a 65 percent decline in revenue from 2001 to 2002. The number of staff went from 65 to 23.

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