Accredited designer Brian Tolman has joined NELSON Worldwide as Senior Vice President, Northeast Region Lead. Bringing more than 20 years of experience in workplace and hospitality interiors and building practices, Tolman will lead the multidisciplinary team to champion a new wave of design as the firm expands.

“We are delighted to welcome Brian Tolman to the NELSON team,” said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NELSON Worldwide, Ozzie Nelson Jr. “His exceptional work on world-class projects and propensity for effective yet inspiring leadership make him the perfect person to oversee our northeast offices.” 

Passionate about the field of architecture, Tolman has always been a thinker and tinkerer—aiming to challenge preconceived notions through critical thinking and actively practicing empathy to understand how people behave in different contexts of the built environment. This approach has helped him create projects that allow people to feel connected to both each other and the space they are inhabiting.

Tolman’s devotion to design excellence, coupled with his strong leadership skills, will enable him to usher NELSON’s northeast offices—which include New York, Boston, and Philadelphia —into a new era of design and innovation. NELSON’s recent and upcoming projects in the northeast include the NoMad Tower and the New York Life Social Space and Conference Center in Midtown Manhattan, and the W/Element brand hotel opening in Philadelphia later this spring.

“I am excited to join an immensely talented team and be a part of the next evolution of the NELSON brand,” says Tolman. “In my new role, I will continue to drive innovation across all market sectors, working closely with my team to help elevate a firm that is built upon an amazing infrastructure, brimming with potential.”

Tolman earned a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Cincinnati College of Design, Art,

Architecture and Planning. He is a member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), accredited in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, and certified by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards. He has received numerous AIA awards for his work, including an AIA Honor Award for his work on the Bloomberg office interiors in New York and an AIA NYS Honor Award for American holding company IAC’s offices. In 2010, Tolman was named one of ENR NY’s Top 20 Under 40 young professionals.

Having employed a cross-discipline approach to his impressive portfolio of projects, Tolman will work to further promote innovation, champion change, and continue NELSON’s already rapid growth within the northeast region.