Global Consulting Company Drees & Sommer Joins Forces With U.S.-Based VVA Project & Cost Managers, Strengthening Its Position in the U.S. Market

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb 10, 2025--

Today, Drees & Sommer, a global consulting company for the real estate, infrastructure and industrial markets with roots in Germany, announced its merger with VVA Project & Cost Managers, the U.S.-based project and cost management company. The merger marks Drees & Sommer’s debut into the U.S. market and will leverage the strengths of both companies, combining Drees & Sommer’s single-source approach to consultancy and implementation services with VVA's deep expertise and industry knowledge in the local market and longstanding client relationships.

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"We are thrilled about our merger with VVA, a widely recognized leader in the fields of project management and cost management in the U.S.," said Steffen Szeidl, Chief Executive Officer and Partner of Drees & Sommer. "This merger brings together two strong companies with shared values and philosophies. Together, we will strengthen our market position, unlock new growth opportunities, and deliver even better solutions to our customers on a global scale. This partnership marks a significant milestone on our journey into the future."

This merger ushers in a new moment for Drees & Sommer and VVA as they join the forces of the two companies’ strengths that will expand the service portfolio and provide a global reach with local focus for their customers.

"Joining the Drees & Sommer family of companies marks a new chapter of growth and opportunity for VVA," said Lorenzo Vascotto, P.E., Founding Partner of VVA. "This collaboration, rooted in our shared values and collective expertise, opens up exciting new opportunities for us all to serve our clients with even greater resources and expanded international capabilities - without losing the personal touch that sets us apart."

Drees & Sommer delivers sustainable, innovative, and economically viable solutions that meet each customer’s unique needs. Interdisciplinary teams within Drees & Sommer are involved in around 6,500 projects worldwide. Together with VVA, the two companies will offer a wide range of services, expanding markets in the U.S. from real estate to industry. Drees & Sommer operates internationally, serving clients from 63 locations worldwide, from European countries to the Middle East, China and the APAC region. In addition to serving real estate customers, Drees & Sommer has successfully supported numerous industrial projects across Europe. This includes production facilities for renowned automotive brands such as BMW and Lamborghini, as well as leading life sciences companies like Bayer and Roche.

VVA Project & Cost Managers provides a comprehensive full portfolio of Project Management and Quantity Surveying services for its customers across the U.S., delivering services that range from initial project and cost planning, due diligence and site selection, detailed cost estimating, procurement and bid management, design monitoring, construction administration, cost control and more. VVA has spearheaded a diverse portfolio of high-profile projects across multiple sectors, ranging from corporate headquarters and interior projects to significant urban revitalization efforts such as the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s Capital Improvement Initiative. Notable recent projects include laboratory and office fit outs for prominent clients like Schrödinger in Massachusetts, as well as the largest non-profit animal hospital in the world, Schwarzman Animal Medical Center, in New York City.

"We are confident that this merger will create exciting opportunities for our customers, VVA and us," said Philipp Späth, Partner of Drees & Sommer. "We will combine our strengths and expand our reach, both globally and locally. This will allow us to offer our customers a broader range of services, expanding into new markets."

"Our experience with the merger with AA Projects in the UK in 2022 has shown us the immense potential that such partnerships can unlock," said Kenneth Wood, Partner of Drees & Sommer. "This new merger with our American partner is another step in our strategy to become an international company. We are confident that this collaboration will drive innovation, enhance our service portfolio for both sides and deliver value for our customers across all markets."

"This is an exciting time for VVA and by merging with Drees & Sommer, we are not just expanding our global presence, we are deepening our capabilities for serving our clients," said Marc D. Chiapperino, P.E., Partner of VVA. "This partnership enables us to drive innovation, enhance our offerings, and provide tailored and efficient solutions across real estate, infrastructure, and industrial markets."

"This partnership is a testament to our shared commitment to integrity, innovation, and long-term success," said Chris Petryshin, Partner of VVA. "By combining our strengths with Drees & Sommer, we are not only advancing our capabilities but also fostering a culture of collaboration and trust. This merger will empower us to create lasting value for our clients, communities, and employees alike, while staying true to our core values."

Under the leadership of the current partners, VVA will rebrand under the name VVA - Part of Drees & Sommer.

About Drees & Sommer:

Uniting opposites to create a world we want to live in.

Drees & Sommer is a partner-managed, global consulting company providing a single source of consultation and implementation services for the real estate, infrastructure and industrial markets. The company delivers sustainable, innovative, and economically viable solutions that meet each client’s unique needs. Founded in 1970 and long recognized as a pioneer in driving sustainability and digitization, today Drees & Sommer employs more than 6,000 people at 63 offices. The company’s interdisciplinary teams are involved in around 6,500 projects worldwide, working to create a livable future and unite concepts which can at face value appear to be opposites: tradition and future, economy and ecology, analog and digital, efficiency and well-being. As ‘intrapreneurs’, the Drees & Sommer Partners are personally responsible for managing the company.

For more information visit:www.dreso.com/de/en/

About VVA:

VVA is a national independent Project & Cost Management firm comprised of seasoned professionals offering a full range of project & cost management, advisory and technical services within the real estate & construction industry. VVA was founded in New York City in 1994 and has steadily grown to include offices beyond New York in Boston, Westchester/Connecticut, New Jersey, Washington D.C., Florida, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Denver, Chicago, and the UK. As industry veterans, VVA’s philosophy is to partner with clients and become an integral part of their organization, providing the specialized expertise and resources needed to lead the project effort for the duration of the assignment. We pride ourselves on not only delivering our clients’ projects on schedule and within budget, but also providing the highest quality service and return on investment possible.

For more information visit:www.vvallc.com

Drees & Sommer joins forces with VVA (from left to right): Kenneth Wood (Managing Director of Drees & Sommer UK and Partner of Drees & Sommer), Lorenzo Vascotto (Founding Member and Partner of VVA), Dana Panzarino (Partner of VVA), Marc D. Chiapperino (Partner of VVA), Philipp Späth (Partner of Drees & Sommer), Steffen Szeidl (Chief Executive Officer and Partner of Drees & Sommer), Adam Kavanagh (Partner of VVA), Chris Petryshin (Partner of VVA) and Kevin Gold (Partner of VVA) © VVA – Part of Drees & Sommer, Drees & Sommer (Photo: Business Wire)

The Kennedy Center is ending the year with a new round of artists saying they are canceling scheduled performances after President Donald Trump's name was added to the facility, prompting the institution's president to accuse the performers of making their decisions because of politics.

The Cookers, a jazz supergroup that has performed together for nearly two decades, announced their withdrawal from “A Jazz New Year’s Eve” on their website, saying the “decision has come together very quickly” and acknowledging frustration from those who may have planned to attend.

Doug Varone and Dancers, a dance group based in New York, said in an Instagram post late Monday they would pull out of a performance slated for April, saying they “can no longer permit ourselves nor ask our audiences to step inside this once great institution.”

Those moves come after musician Chuck Redd canceled a Christmas Eve performance last week. They also come amid declining sales for tickets to the venue, as well as news that viewership for the Dec. 23 broadcast of the Kennedy Center Honors — which Trump had predicted would soar — was down by about 35% compared to the 2024 show.

The announcements amount to a volatile calendar for one of the most prominent performing arts venues in the U.S. and cap a year of tension in which Trump ousted the Kennedy Center board and named himself the institution's chairman. That led to an earlier round of artist pushback, with performer Issa Rae and the producers of “Hamilton” canceling scheduled engagements while musicians Ben Folds and Renee Fleming stepped down from advisory roles.

The Cookers didn't mention the building's renaming or the Trump administration but did say that, when they return to performing, they wanted to ensure that “the room is able to celebrate the full presence of the music and everyone in it,” reiterating a commitment “to playing music that reaches across divisions rather than deepening them.”

The group may not have addressed the Kennedy Center situation directly, but one of its members has. On Saturday, saxophone player Billy Harper said in comments posted on the Jazz Stage Facebook page that he “would never even consider performing in a venue bearing a name (and being controlled by the kind of board) that represents overt racism and deliberate destruction of African American music and culture. The same music I devoted my life to creating and advancing.”

According to the White House, Trump’s handpicked board approved the renaming. Harper said both the board "as well as the name displayed on the building itself represents a mentality and practices I always stood against. And still do, today more than ever.”

Richard Grenell, a Trump ally whom the president chose to head the Kennedy Center after he forced out the previous leadership, posted Monday night on X, “The artists who are now canceling shows were booked by the previous far left leadership,” intimating the bookings were made under the Biden administration.

In a statement Tuesday to The Associated Press, Grenell said the ”last minute cancellations prove that they were always unwilling to perform for everyone — even those they disagree with politically," adding that the Kennedy Center had been “flooded with inquiries from real artists willing to perform for everyone and who reject political statements in their artistry.”

There was no immediate word from Kennedy Center officials about whether the entity would pursue legal action against the latest round of artists to cancel performances. Following Redd's cancellation last week, Grenell said he would seek $1 million in damages for what he called a “political stunt.”

Not all artists are calling off their shows. Bluegrass banjoist Randy Barrett, scheduled to perform at the Kennedy Center next month, told the AP he was “deeply troubled by the politicization” of the venue and respected those who had canceled but feels that “our tribalized country needs more music and art, not less. It’s one of the few things that can bring us together.”

President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, and Congress passed a law the following year naming the center as a living memorial to him. Scholars have said any changes to the building's name would need congressional approval; the law explicitly prohibits the board of trustees from making the center into a memorial to anyone else, and from putting another person’s name on the building’s exterior.

Associated Press writers Steven Sloan and Hillel Italie contributed to this report.

Workers add President Donald Trump's name to the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, after a Trump-appointed board voted to rename the institution, in Washington, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Demonstrators, including Nadine Siler, of Waldorf, Md., dressed in a pink frog costume, hold up signs at a designated protest point in front of the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, a day after a Trump-appointed board voted to add President Donald Trump's name to the Kennedy Center, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

New signage, The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center For The Performing Arts, is unveiled on the Kennedy Center, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)