NELSON Worldwide, an award-winning architecture, design, and strategy firm, is excited to announce that Ray Ehscheid is joining the team as National Practice Leader, Retail. With a distinguished 30-year career in retail and workplace design, Ray brings a unique blend of dynamic creative vision and focused business acumen. His expertise has consistently driven growth and innovation in both experiential and physical design across the luxury, retail, and financial sectors.

Ray is known for transforming spaces into experiences that resonate with consumers and align with client and internal business objectives. His ability to stay ahead of market trends and translate them into actionable, forward-thinking solutions has made him a sought-after industry thought leader. In this new role at NELSON, Ray will spearhead strategic growth within the retail sector. Ray will blend business acumen with design expertise to build on the team's success to inspire and support the global team. This initiative will catalyze ongoing innovation, delivering design excellence for current clients and new partnerships. 

“Ray embodies versatility as a thought leader, strategist, spokesperson, and client advocate,” says John “Ozzie” Nelson Jr., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at NELSON Worldwide. “We look forward to having him collaborate with our cross-functional leaders across NELSON’s multiple practice areas to bring new insights and focus to craft concepts into actionable plans and measurable results.”

NELSON's forward-thinking approach to integrating technology, sustainability, and human-centric design principles resonates deeply with Ray’s vision for the future of retail environments. The firm's global reach and diverse client base offer the chance to make a significant impact on a larger scale, while its entrepreneurial spirit encourages the kind of innovative thinking that has been a hallmark of Ray’s career. 

Ray is an advocate for driving the integration of digital and customer experience services into architectural solutions, from an early career with Reebok, through extensive tenure reshaping Bank of America’s retail branch network, and onwards through work with a diverse and top-tier group of clients in both retail and workplace sectors. Passionate about the retail design industry, Ray maintains an active voice in key industry organizations like IIDA, PAVE, and the Retail Design Institute (RDI), where Ray was honored to be named a Fellow of the Institute in 2023.