MSA announced today the appointment of Nick Wagner, PE, to the role of chief executive officer effective January 1, 2025. Nick will succeed current CEO Gil Hantzsch, PE, who has announced plans to retire. This planned transition will maintain MSA’s success in delivering top-tier client service and quality projects to communities across the country.

Nick first joined MSA as a co-op student in 2004 and as a summer intern in 2005. He was hired full time in 2006, moving to the company’s Dubuque office location where he was promoted to the role of team leader in 2012. In 2013, growth of the organization’s Quad Cities team led Nick to relocate to Bettendorf, Iowa, to guide growth and development initiatives in the greater eastern Iowa-western Illinois region, after which he was promoted to the role of Illinois program manager in 2017. In 2018, Nick was appointed an ESOP trustee for MSA — an acting fiduciary and overseer of the company’s employee-owned S-Corporation trust. In 2019, he was elected to the company’s board of directors, and in 2020, promoted to senior vice president of the Buildings service line, where he since has guided the strategic growth and pursuits of the firm’s vertical infrastructure division from Kiel, Wisconsin.

Nick holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, from which he was honored with an Outstanding Alumni Award in 2021. He is a licensed professional engineer in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina and Wisconsin, a graduate of the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) Senior Executives Institute (Class of 2019) and member of the ACEC Coalition of American Mechanical and Electrical Engineers (CAMEE).

Throughout his career, Nick has demonstrated consistent success through strong client relationships and servant leadership, supporting clients throughout the firm’s footprint and establishing strong professional relationships across the industry.

“I am incredibly honored and enthusiastic to take on this role,” commented Nick Wagner, CEO-elect. “Gil has provided exceptional leadership and his contributions have laid a strong foundation for future success. MSA is destined for great things, but nothing greater than continuing to positively impact the lives of our clients and communities.”

Nick will succeed Gil Hantzsch, who has served in various roles during his 32-year tenure at MSA. Hantzsch joined MSA in 1992 as a wastewater engineer before being promoted to team leader in 1995, and vice president in 2008. In 2013, he accepted the role of president and CEO — a position he held for the next 11 years — and during which he led the firm through impactful organizational initiatives, three successful acquisitions, consistent revenue growth, geographic expansion and many regional and national accolades. Hantzsch also led efforts positioning MSA to become a 100% employee-owned company in 2017, and in 2019, was inducted into the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) College of Fellows.

“I’m pleased to congratulate Nick on being selected as the next CEO of MSA,” commented Gil Hantzsch, current MSA CEO. “He represents the next generation of leadership as one who will serve the organization as a steward of our employee-ownership model, and who will continue our tradition of service excellence to clients. I’m more excited than ever about the future of the company under Nick’s leadership!”