Our History
Headquartered in Philadelphia, PA, NELSON was formed in 1977 by John Nelson, Sr. as an interior design firm. Now in its second generation of leadership under President & CEO John “Ozzie” Nelson, Jr., NELSON has experienced tremendous growth in revenue, Teammates and its national and global presence.By focusing on high profile renovations and large, new space installations throughout the 1980s, the firm won national and international awards for interior design and lighting. As corporations globalized and focused more on core competencies, many companies chose to minimize the number of firms they engaged for outsourced services and sought out partners with an expertise in multiple disciplines. NELSON responded to this trend at the onset and was an industry leader in developing its Integrated Services Solutions model that ultimately resulted in the formal development of six lines of business – Interior Design, Architecture, Strategies, Workplace Services, Information Services and Engineering.
During the 1990s, the firm began to experience consistent, rapid growth. Beginning at that time, there was also a renewed focus on developing the firm`s consulting practice, which has assisted with multiple strategic merger integration studies, data warehousing, specifications and a host of other high profile projects. NELSON continues to expand these services to deliver high quality, value-added services to our clients.
Beginning in this decade, under John “Ozzie” Nelson, Jr.’s leadership, NELSON expanded its reach and services through several strategic mergers and unique business relationships including:
2001 – NELSON`s New York presence was expanded through the acquisition of Planned Space Interiors
2003 – NELSON expanded its operations in the Carolinas by increasing the size of its Charlotte team, including the addition of several principals of a Charlotte-based architectural firm
2004 - NELSON merged with Design Management Corporation, a design and architectural firm servicing the greater Boston metropolitan area and E Design, a design and architectural firm servicing the Twin Cities and surrounding metropolitan area
2005 – NELSON merged with Atlanta-based Geheber Lewis Associates (GLA), a design firm specializing in Multi-Family Housing
2006 – NELSON merged with GHK, a nationally renowned Interior Architecture and Workplace Services company based in Chicago; with AE Pragmatics, based in Northern California just outside of San Francisco; and with ASA in New York City
2006 – To further enhance reach and scope, NELSON formed a strategic business relationship with SPACE that creates a service network with locations throughout the U.S., Mexico, Latin America, Japan, China, India, Europe and the Middle East
2007 - NELSON merged with Furnstahl & Simon Architects, LLC in New York and Eiger Consulting in Washington DC. In addtion, a strategic partnership with Portola Australasia was formed to expand services in the Asia Pacific region.
Today, NELSON enjoys a tremendous track record in the financial services industry and we work with more than 20 percent of the companies in the Fortune 100. Our success has lead to several top industry rankings, including #2 in Corporate/Office Design among the 2010 Top 100 Interior Design Giants (Interior Design magazine).
