Dr. Alan Zimmerman and Peter Szego AIA are the principals of ARA.

Alan Zimmerman
Dr. Alan Zimmerman has more than 30 years experience in international and domestic marketing for interiors and construction products with ARA, Radley Resources, Westinghouse and E.F. Hauserman, Inc. He is Professor of Business at the City University of New York--College of Staten Island and leads the international business concentration. He is the co-author of "Essentials of Export Marketing" (Amacom) and "Business to Business Marketing Management—An Integrated Global Perspective" (Thomson/Southwestern). He is a three-time past president of the New Jersey Chapter of the American Marketing Association. Dr. Zimmerman is also a frequent speaker and author on research and marketing.

Peter Szego AIA
A registered architect, Peter Szego has worked with top architectural firms, including Morris Lapidus Associates and Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates, and has taught at Princeton and New York Universities. He has over 20 years of marketing management experience in industry. He has produced projects that have been awarded the Construction Specification Institute's Best Binder of the Year Award, McGraw-Hill's Best of Sweet's Marketplace Award, Architectural Record's Award for Excellence in Advertising, and the AIA's Continuing Education System Award of Excellence. Mr. Szego is a member of the AIA Cornerstone Partners Advisory Committee.

ARA ADVISORY BOARD

To help serve our clients better, ARA has established an Advisory Board of the most knowledgeable design professionals working on the cutting edge technologies within our industry. We are pleased to announce that Gary Graziano, Alex Oliver and Mark Johnson have agreed to serve as advisors. Here is a little more information about each of them:

Gary Graziano – AIA
Gary Graziano is vice president of Marketing for High Concrete Group LLC.  He has more than 30 years of construction industry experience and holds both a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Cornell University and a Master’s in Engineering Management with majors in Marketing and Innovation from Drexel University.

Prior to joining High Concrete, Gary was Director of Marketing and New Product Development for High Industries’ construction and real estate companies. He has held various executive positions with firms such as McGraw Hill, Armstrong World Industries and Whitney & Graziano Architects, P.C.

During the course of his career Gary has written extensively on innovation, launched new products and websites, organized and managed large marketing research projects and undertaken award-winning marketing campaigns focused on architects and specifiers.

Mark Johnson – FAIA|CKD|AIBD
Mark Johnson is Director, Architect Relations & Education, for Masco Cabinetry.  In 2002, Mark was elevated to the AIA College of Fellows in recognition of his service to the profession and pioneering work in AIA continuing education.  He holds both a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture and MBA degree from Washington University in St. Louis, as well as a Master’s degree in Architecture and Urban Planning from UCLA.

Formerly, Mark held executive positions with Whirlpool and CertainTeed Corporations, where he led efforts to partner with the design and building industry by creating educational, informational, and experiential resources for design professionals.  He has collaborated with industry leaders like Google, Apple and McGraw-Hill to bring Web 2.0 tools and continuing education to the design profession.  He writes and speaks internationally on subjects ranging from sustainable design and technology to design trends that impact residential architecture.  In 2010,

Mark was named a “Top 100 Design Tweeter” for his work in social media.
Mark practiced architecture on the West Coast for many years and worked for several award-winning firms, most notably AIA Gold Medalist, Charles Moore's office, Moore Ruble Yudell, recipient of the 2006 AIA National Firm Award.  He is the recipient of several design and industry awards over 25 years and is a three-time winner of the AIA Continuing Education System Award for Excellence. 

Alex Oliver
Alex Oliver is the CEO of Igloo Studios which uses Google SketchUp to create 3D solutions for AEC industry companies. Responsible for producing interactive 3D product models for building product manufacturers, Igloo has created a medium through which manufacturers can reach construction industry professionals. 

Alex is also the Executive Producer for two web based educational video series: The Sketchup Show, a learning series for the 3D design application Google SketchUp, and re:Source, an educational resource for sustainable design and build. Alex holds a Bachelors degree in International Business from the University of California at Berkeley.