MSA Professional Services names Wagner as next CEO

MSA Professional Services Wagner
Nick Wagner, right, has been appointed as the new CEO of MSA Professional Services, Inc., effective Jan. 1, 2025. He will succeed Gil Hantzsch, left, who will retire as CEO after 32 years with the engineering firm. CREDIT MSA PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

Wisconsin-based MSA Professional Services, Inc., which includes offices in Bettendorf and Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has announced that Nick Wagner has been appointed as MSA’s chief executive officer, effective Jan. 1, 2025. 

In a news release Wednesday, Aug. 14, MSA said Mr. Wagner will succeed current CEO Gil Hantzsch. He has announced plans to retire. This planned transition will maintain MSA’s delivery of top-tier client service and quality projects to communities across the country.

Mr. Wagner first joined MSA as a co-op student in 2004 and as a summer intern in 2005. He was hired full time in 2006. He moved to the company’s Dubuque, Iowa, office where he was promoted to the role of team leader in 2012. 

In 2013, growth of MSA’s team in the Quad Cities led Mr. Wagner to relocate to Bettendorf. There he has guided growth and development initiatives in the greater eastern Iowa-western Illinois region. He was promoted to the role of Illinois program manager in 2017. 

In 2018, Mr. Wagner 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. Then, in 2020 he was promoted to senior vice president of the Buildings service line, where he has since guided the strategic growth and pursuits of the firm’s vertical infrastructure division from Kiel, Wisconsin, the firm said in the release.

“I am incredibly honored and enthusiastic to take on this role,” the CEO-elect said in the release. “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.”

Wagner outstanding alum

Mr. Wagner holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. He was honored by UW-Platteville with an Outstanding Alumni Award in 2021. 

Mr. Wagner is a licensed professional engineer in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina and Wisconsin. He graduated from the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) Senior Executives Institute (Class of 2019). And he is a member of the ACEC Coalition of American Mechanical and Electrical Engineers (CAMEE).

Mr. Hantzsch, also a professional engineer, has served in various roles during his 32-year MSA career. He joined the firm 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. He held that position for the next 11 years. During that time he led the firm through impactful organizational initiatives, three successful acquisitions, consistent revenue growth, geographic expansion and many regional and national accolades. 

Mr. Hantzsch also led efforts to position MSA to become a 100% employee-owned company in 2017. In 2019, was inducted into the ACEC College of Fellows.

“I’m pleased to congratulate Nick (Wagner) on being selected as the next CEO of MSA,” Mr. Hantzsch said in the MSA release. “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.”

MSA is headquartered in Baraboo, Wisconsin. It has 17 offices across Minnesota, Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin. For more information, visit msa-ps.com.

Get the free QCBJ email newsletter

Stay up-to-date with the people, companies and issues that impact business in the  Quad Cities area.