Ryan Konst, CPSM
Since 2014
Active
SMPS Columbus member
AEC marketing professional
Ryan provides strategic leadership as Executive Vice President of Schaefer, a structural engineering firm founded in 1976 that has grown to over 90 team members across three offices in Cincinnati (headquarters), Columbus, and Phoenix, serving clients nationwide with licensure in every state. In his executive role, he guides the firm’s growth through comprehensive strategy development, marketing leadership, business planning, and community engagement while maintaining Schaefer’s distinctive culture and commitment to smart, innovative structural design.
His expertise spans business strategy execution, marketing department management, geographic expansion leadership, and technical project delivery combining structural engineering excellence with executive-level business acumen. Ryan brings specialized knowledge as both Professional Engineer and marketing strategist, demonstrating rare dual expertise that bridges technical design capabilities with business development systems, client relationship management, and strategic market positioning.
With over 24 years with Schaefer starting as an engineering co-op in 2001, Ryan has built his entire distinguished career at a single firm, advancing through design engineer, project engineer, project management, managing director, vice president, and executive vice president roles. His comprehensive journey includes opening Schaefer’s Columbus office in 2006 and relocating to Phoenix in 2018 to build the Arizona market, demonstrating sustained commitment to geographic expansion and strategic firm growth that has positioned Schaefer as a regional leader in structural engineering excellence throughout the Midwest and Southwest.
Ryan demonstrates exceptional professional leadership through his rare combination of CPSM certification, SMPS Fellowship (FSMPS), and Professional Engineer licensure—a distinctive triple credential that positions him as one of few technical professionals achieving both engineering licensure and the highest marketing credentials. His SMPS Fellow designation recognizes sustained excellence and significant contribution to advancing professional services marketing throughout the AEC industry.
As past president of SMPS Columbus, Ryan provided strategic chapter leadership serving hundreds of Ohio AEC marketing professionals while building programming and initiatives that strengthened professional development opportunities throughout Central Ohio. His chapter presidency during critical growth periods helped establish Columbus as an influential voice within the SMPS Great Lakes regional community.
As sought-after conference presenter, Ryan has delivered multiple presentations at SMPS national and regional conferences including “Engineering the Client Experience” (co-presented with Barry Sutherland of Henderson Engineers) at SMPS Amplify A|E|C, demonstrating thought leadership in client relationship management and service delivery excellence. He has also presented “Lights: The Marriage of Business Development and Marketing/Communications” (co-presented with Emily Gallagher) and “KPIs and Data Sharing That Move the Needle for Schaefer” (with Meg Mueller) at Unanet Champions Conference, sharing innovative approaches to CRM implementation, opportunity tracking, and performance measurement that drive accountability across technical and business development teams.
Ryan’s engineering background provides unique perspective rare among CPSM-certified professionals. Starting as structural engineering co-op and advancing through design and project engineer roles, he brings hands-on technical expertise in reinforced concrete, post-tensioned concrete, and structural steel design that informs his strategic marketing approach. This engineering foundation enables authentic communication with technical teams and clients while translating complex structural concepts into compelling business development narratives.
His career demonstrates the power of engineer-marketer hybrid leadership. By opening Schaefer’s Columbus office in 2006 as a young engineer, Ryan proved that technical professionals can successfully drive business development and geographic expansion. His 2018 relocation to Phoenix to build the Arizona market further demonstrates commitment to strategic growth that combines relationship building, technical credibility, and market development expertise.
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