Earl Santee

About Earl Santee

Earl Santee, FAIA, is a co-founder and Executive Chairman of global design firm, Populous. After 40 years, I still love creating incredible places for people to gather. I’m motivated by the work, by the teams I work with and by the communities our projects serve. I believe in being creative in everything we do, it’s how we tell the stories of our places, our clients, and our community’s that is our most important work. Urban design is my first love, and I am committed to supporting the communities where our award-winning designs are built. After over 60 projects and dozens of cities, I have truly enjoyed the collaborations that Populous has developed to create the vision and execution of some of the most iconic sports stadiums in the world. Since 1992, Earl has served in a leadership role within Populous, and was instrumental in the development and launch of Populous in 2009. As a founder of the firm, he led the firm’s expansion into multiple regions and markets as the global practice expanded. In 2015, he was elected as the First Managing Director of the Americas region, where he developed an organizational structure to enable a 100% growth thru a focus on design excellence. In 2020, he was appointed the company’s Global Chairman, while in the role and throughout the pandemic, Earl oversaw the resurgence of the global practice, creating a vision for the brand’s future that ultimately led to a minority investment from Providence Equity Partners. In 2023, he was appointed the First CEO and Global Chairman for Populous, and recently has transitioned into the role of Executive Chairman in support of Populous’s strategic growth initiatives. Earl’s storied history as a pioneer in sports architecture coupled with his enduring commitment over four decades to design innovation and the communities those designs serve, position him well to continue overseeing globalization efforts of the Populous Brand and leading Growth Strategy for the design firm that creates the most exciting spaces in sports and entertainment.

Experience

1. Board of Directors

   Populous

   Jan 2009 — Present

Education

• University of Kansas

  Architecture

  1978 — 1981

• The University of Kansas

  Architecture