Henderson Companies, the parent company of Henderson Engineers and Henderson Building Solutions, proudly announces the appointment of Nikki Hammer as strategic consulting director. In her new role, Hammer leads the service that engages owners and other key design and construction project stakeholders early in the planning process to determine where and when to invest resources that will maximize the value and performance of their buildings. 

A 20-year industry veteran, Hammer has an extensive background in consulting, electrical engineering, and project management. Her experience includes more than a decade at one of the nation's five largest engineering firms, where she served as vice president before joining Henderson Companies in 2025. She succeeds Herbert Els, whose leadership role has expanded to include several additional service lines. 

“Nikki isn’t afraid to challenge the status quo to solve complex problems for our clients,” said Els. “That makes her an ideal leader for our strategic consulting team, which strengthens clients’ operational and strategic decision-making by integrating our expertise from before capital planning to well after a project is completed. I’m looking forward to the value she’ll bring to our partnerships as a trusted advisor.”

Hammer’s new role is primarily focused on supporting strategic consulting’s target clients: organizations with large-scale building portfolios, whether on a single campus or across multiple locations. These include higher education, healthcare, mission critical, hospitality, retail, and industrial facilities.

“Building systems engineering has traditionally focused on meeting the functional needs of a space, but our discipline has evolved as our clients’ objectives have become more complex,” said Hammer. “Today’s building owners and operators are balancing goals related to capital planning, decarbonization, experience, safety, resilience, and efficiency. Our strategic consulting team is at the confluence of these priorities, and I’m excited to continue championing our clients’ visions in this new role.”

Hammer is an alum of the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kan., where she earned a bachelor's degree in architectural engineering.