Brad Thurman, CPSM
Since NA
Active
SMPS Oklahoma member
AEC marketing professional
Brad brings a distinctive combination of technical engineering expertise and strategic marketing leadership as Principal and Chief Marketing Officer at Wallace Design Collective, a multidisciplinary design and engineering firm with 300+ professionals across eight offices nationwide. Since joining Wallace in 1987 as employee #24, he has witnessed and shaped the firm’s transformation from a focused structural engineering practice into a comprehensive design collective encompassing structural engineering, civil engineering, landscape architecture, land surveying, roof consulting, and special inspections.
His expertise spans the complete spectrum of professional services marketing with deep specialization in retail, healthcare, commercial office, educational facilities, and mixed-use development. Brad’s unique background as a licensed Professional Engineer provides technical credibility that enhances marketing strategy, enabling him to communicate complex engineering concepts with clarity and authority.
With a Master of Architectural Engineering from Oklahoma State University, Brad combines technical rigor with creative storytelling. His career represents a pioneering path—transitioning from project engineer to marketing leadership at a time when such career evolution was virtually unprecedented in the AEC industry. This dual expertise in both technical delivery and business development positions him as a bridge between design teams and clients, translating technical excellence into compelling market positioning.
Brad Thurman represents the pinnacle of professional services marketing leadership and AEC industry contribution. In November 2025, he received SMPS’s highest individual honor: the 2025 Weld Coxe Marketing Achievement Award, joining an elite group of professionals whose lifetime contributions have transformed the professional services marketing profession. This prestigious recognition—SMPS’s preeminent award—celebrates individuals whose achievements span decades and whose influence shapes the future of AEC marketing nationwide.
As an SMPS Fellow (FSMPS), Brad holds membership in the top 2% of SMPS’s 7,500+ members, a designation requiring minimum 10 years of active SMPS participation, 10 years of AEC marketing experience, and five consecutive years of CPSM certification. His national SMPS leadership includes serving as 2013-2014 SMPS National President, guiding strategic direction for the organization during a transformative period in professional services marketing.
Brad’s commitment to advancing the profession through research and education led to his appointment as 2018-2020 SMPS Foundation President (following his 2017-2018 term as Foundation President-Elect), where he championed groundbreaking research including the Neuropsychology of Influence and Decision-Making study and expanded investigations into owner buying practices. Under his leadership, the Foundation launched critical research initiatives supporting justice, equity, diversity and inclusion, plus marketing career pathway development.
In 2018, Brad was elected to the National Academy of Construction (NAC), an elite organization of approximately 400 construction industry leaders—owners, designers, construction managers, contractors, attorneys, academicians, and association executives—whose membership is by invitation only. This exceptional honor recognizes lifetime contributions to the construction industry and places Brad among the nation’s most accomplished construction professionals across all disciplines.
His Oklahoma leadership includes serving as Past President of SMPS Oklahoma (chartered 2001 as SMPS’s 50th chapter), where he helped establish the chapter’s foundation and mission. In 2015, Brad was inducted into the SMPS Oklahoma Hall of Fame, recognizing his transformative impact on AEC marketing throughout the state.
Brad’s educational contributions include serving on the Oklahoma State University School of Architecture Professional Advisory Committee, helping shape curriculum and connecting industry practice with academic preparation. He completed the SMPS University Leadership Advancement Program at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business in 2011, enhancing strategic leadership capabilities.
Throughout his career, Brad has delivered hundreds of presentations and workshops at SMPS conferences, American Institute of Architects (AIA) events, and American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) gatherings, sharing expertise in marketing strategy, visual communication, business development, and the unique intersection of technical knowledge and marketing excellence.
His philosophy centers on authentic relationship-building over transactional outreach, responsive communication, and aligning client engagement with core firm values—principles that transformed Wallace from a 30-person structural firm into a 300+ person multidisciplinary powerhouse with national reach. Brad’s textbook for his single marketing course in graduate school was “Marketing Architectural and Engineering Services” by Weld Coxe—receiving an award named after that author 41 years later represents the full-circle completion of an extraordinary career journey.
Achievements:
