Ask Laraine Sperling what it means to move into the top job at global architectural firm Buchan and it’s not about transformation or change. Sperling has her sights set on development—of projects and people. 

“To me, this is not an era of change,” she says. “This is an era of growth.”

It’s a deliberate distinction and one that reframes what could easily have been cast as a watershed moment. Sperling is the first woman to lead the 135-year-old multidisciplinary practice, a milestone she doesn’t shy away from.