Dekker names Emily Allen as first female CEO

Dekker put Emily Allen in charge, naming the longtime insider its first female chief executive officer and handing one of Albuquerque’s most influential design firms to a Corrales native who started there as an intern 22 years ago. The move keeps leadership rooted in the Journal Center while signaling a new phase for a company tied to Bernalillo County’s skyline, public buildings and major private development.

Allen succeeded Benjamin Gardner, who had led the firm since 2019 and shifted into a managing principal role for the Federal Government Studio. Dekker said its executive leadership team unanimously selected Allen after a deliberate succession process, underscoring that the change was planned rather than forced. Gardner said he had complete confidence in Allen’s vision, integrity and commitment to the firm and the communities it serves. Allen said the firm’s potential is extraordinary and that she was grateful for the opportunity to lead it forward.

The appointment matters beyond the milestone itself. Dekker is New Mexico’s largest architecture firm and works on projects that shape how Albuquerque grows, from Bernalillo County @ Alvarado Square and Civic Plaza to the in-progress MaxQ development. The company also lists Presbyterian Hospital’s Patient Tower Addition, the ENMU Golden Student Success Center and the State of New Mexico Forensic Laboratory among its work, along with its own headquarters, which it says was the first LEED Gold office building in New Mexico. In a market where architecture firms influence office towers, schools, hospitals and civic spaces, leadership choices can affect which projects win bids, how the firm recruits talent and what kinds of design priorities get emphasized next.

Allen brings both financial and design experience to the role. Dekker says she holds an MBA from the University of New Mexico and a bachelor’s degree in interior design from the Art Institute of Colorado. She also serves as a trustee of the Albuquerque Community Foundation. That mix gives her unusual reach at a company now trying to grow in multiple directions while staying centered in Albuquerque.

Dekker traces its roots to Art Dekker Architects, founded in Albuquerque in 1959 by the father of current principal Dale Dekker. The firm says it became a 100% employee-owned company in 2024 and now has more than 200 staff across New Mexico, Arizona and Texas. Its ownership shift, through an employee stock ownership plan, was meant to help recruit and retain employees, and the 25 principals sold the company to an ESOP trust that owns the stock for employees.

For women in New Mexico architecture leadership, Allen’s rise could prove more than symbolic. It places a longtime local professional, one with deep ties to Albuquerque’s civic and nonprofit circles, at the helm of a company that has helped define the city’s built environment for decades.