Celebrating Leadership Growth: Joe Irwin and Hillary Thompson Named Principals at MBH Architects

At MBH, leadership grows from contribution, from the people who strengthen our culture, elevate our work, and help others succeed every day.

We’re proud to share that Joe Irwin and Hillary Thompson have been promoted to Principal, recognizing the lasting impact each has made across our studios, our clients, and our firm.

As President and Principal Ryan McNulty shared:

“Joe and Hillary exemplify the curiosity, rigor, and collaborative spirit that define MBH. Their work has strengthened not only the quality of our design solutions, but also how we operate as a firm. This promotion reflects the meaningful impact each of them has had on our clients, our teams, and the future direction of our practice.”

Joe Irwin — Advancing Innovation from Concept to Fabrication

Based in our Denver studio, Joe serves as Studio Director and Denver Office Director, bringing more than 15 years of leadership in fixture design and architectural innovation. His work bridges design and making, strengthening how ideas move from concept through modeling, fabrication, and installation.

Joe has guided multidisciplinary teams of international consultants and vendors to deliver complex, custom fixture programs for high-profile and confidential clients. Along the way, he’s become a champion for integrating emerging tools into practice, including pioneering the use of 3D printing within architectural workflows — work that earned recognition from Architect Magazine. His portfolio includes bespoke environments for clients, alongside ongoing research and development that continues to shape the future of retail and experiential design.

Beyond projects, Joe is deeply invested in the firm itself. He helped launch and grow MBH’s Denver office, contributes to continuing education and design technology knowledge-sharing groups, participates in international conferences, and supports innovation initiatives including AI-driven workflows. His combination of technical mastery and entrepreneurial spirit has expanded what our teams can deliver.

Principal Klas Eklöf shared:

“Joe combines technical mastery with a maker’s mindset. He continually looks for smarter, more valuable ways to bring ideas to life, and always delivers future-focused solutions that we can build on. His expansive mindset and entrepreneurial spirit drive us into a world-class level of service.”

As Principal, Joe will continue advancing design technology, innovation, and technical excellence across our studios.

Hillary Thompson — Connecting Brand, Knowledge, and People

From our Alameda headquarters, Hillary has spent the past eleven years shaping how MBH communicates, collaborates, and grows. As Director of Brand Communications, she leads firmwide marketing, communications, and knowledge management; work that supports both our creative excellence and our operational strength.

With a background developing graphic design and visual communication solutions for clients in the furniture, textile, and product design industries, Hillary brings a multidisciplinary lens to storytelling and strategy. She has led major enterprise initiatives, including the development of MBH’s intranet and CRM platforms, building the systems that capture and organize decades of institutional knowledge and turn it into a meaningful resource for our teams and our clients.

Her work ensures that what we’ve learned over time doesn’t live in silos, it becomes a shared foundation that helps every team show up as informed, trusted partners from day one.

Ryan added:

“Hillary has transformed how we communicate who we are and how we learn from one another. She brings clarity to complexity, building systems that organize and activate our decades of knowledge and data as a strategic asset for our clients. By strengthening how information is shared across the firm, she empowers our teams to step into every situation as informed, trusted partners from day one. Her leadership has strengthened the entire organization.”

As Principal, Hillary will continue guiding brand and knowledge strategy while contributing to firmwide leadership focused on innovation, design excellence, and people-centered growth.

Looking Ahead

Joe and Hillary’s promotions reflect the many ways leadership takes shape at MBH — through craft, care, curiosity, and a commitment to helping others do their best work.

Please join us in congratulating them on this well-deserved milestone. We’re excited for the continued impact they will make across the firm and for what we’ll build together next.

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