Management Team

Charles Sparks, RDI

As CEO, president, and corporate creative director of the firm, Charles guides the creative team of professionals. His influence is recognized throughout all of the firm’s projects, and his work is among the most recognized for design excellence, receiving more than 40 national and international design awards. His design background of 37 years spans consumer products, architecture and interior design, and branding. He was inducted into the Retail Legion of Honor for Lifetime Achievement in January 2008 by the Institute of Store Planners (recently rebranded as the Retail Design Institute).

Charles has designed for a diverse range of businesses, and his design experience has moved beyond traditional retail stores. Many recognized museums and cultural institutions have sought his advice on integrating retail activity as a way to enhance their mission and their outreach.

His work is represented throughout North America and in the U.K., Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, and Malaysia. Charles’ approach to the integration of the disciplines of architecture, lighting, and what he calls “crafting the dynamic environment” has resulted in places where people are inspired to emotionally engage with brands, products, art, artifacts, and services. His work is frequently published in national and international trade periodicals in the retail design field.

Charles is a professional member of the Retail Design Institute, the Association for Retail Environments, the Museum Store Association, the International Council of Shopping Centers, the International Interior Design Association, and the American Institute of Architects, and he serves on the editorial advisory board of Display and Design Ideas (DDI) magazine. Charles holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Environmental Design from the Art Institute of Chicago.

Don Stone

Don is executive vice president and account executive with Charles Sparks + Company, and he has more than 25 years of experience in the planning and management of retail development projects ranging from 300 square feet to 300,000 square feet.

Since joining the firm in 1991, Don’s experience and project management leadership skills have enabled the firm to solidify its capabilities in effectively meeting all project requirements, from strategic planning through construction implementation. Projects under Don’s project management leadership most recently have ranged from luxury department stores to small single-site specialty formats, such as museum retail.

Don’s background in schedule planning, cost analysis, space planning, merchandising, operations, and construction administration has provided clients with account management and project services recognized as among the most consistent and effective in the design and construction industry.

Don began his career as a planner and later as a corporate architect for Federated Department Stores, later joining two previous consulting firms as senior project manager. He holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Cincinnati.

Stan Weisbrod, AIA, LEED AP

Stan Weisbrod is a vice president and account executive with Charles Sparks + Company. He has more than 21 years of experience in project management, is a licensed architect and a LEED Accredited Professional.

Before joining the firm, Stan was an in-house executive with a retailer and was instrumental in all aspects of the construction process, including building shell and core, store interior, and construction administration. He has also served as a project manager with two consulting firms.

Stan holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the Pratt Institute School of Architecture in New York, is a certificate holder of the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards, and is a member of the AIA. He was formerly principal of his own architectural firm specializing in retail, mall design, and housing. Concurrently, he was the director of a joint venture Mexican-American architectural firm (AV+W Arquitectos y Assoc.) that he and his partner developed in Monterrey, Mexico. This firm served Mexican and American retailers entering into the Mexican retail arena.

In addition, Stan has taught college-level classes in retail design and residential construction at the Academy of Merchandising and Design in Chicago, Illinois, and has been published in various national design publications. He also served as a major in the United States Army Corps of Engineers. Stan is also active in his community. He formerly served as a Commissioner with the Housing Programs Advisory Committee, and currently serves as a commissioner with the Oak Park, Illinois Arts Advisory Committee.

David Koe, NCIDQ

David Koe is senior creative director for Charles Sparks + Company. Since David started with the firm in 1996, his leadership in design and creativity has distinguished this firm as one of the most imaginative and consistent in high-quality design among the top design consultancies specializing in retail. Most recently, David has been the lead designer on the firm’s recognized work for Neiman Marcus.

David continually searches for new ideas, ways to improve best-practices, and ways to differentiate clients in today’s crowded marketplace. He integrates the disciplines of architecture, interiors, lighting, and finishes, combining them with his vast knowledge of documentation for construction. He has been selected for the last several years as a juror for the NCIDQ professional licensing exam, and he holds a Bachelor of Interior Architecture degree from Kansas State University.

Rachel Mikolajczyk

Rachel is a senior designer and the director of the Resource Studio for Charles Sparks + Company. Rachel leads the firm in its continual search for new materials and their unique applications to support client goals of differentiation. Her responsibilities at Charles Sparks + Company include overall management of the resource library and organization of project files. She supervises systems for the tracking of samples, the organization of resources and catalogs, and the selection and specification of materials, products, and resources for all projects. Rachel’s additional responsibilities include researching markets for new materials, and the review and tracking of sample submittals and shop drawings.

She is a graduate of Syracuse University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Design, Interiors. She is a member of the Illinois Interior Design Coalition and Chicago Women in Government Relations. Rachel has eight years of diverse design experience, including hospitality, corporate, healthcare, education design, and retail. Most recently, she has acted as the lead designer in selecting and specifying color, product, and materials for the firm’s Neiman Marcus projects.

Steve Prosser

Steve Prosser is senior account coordinator for Charles Sparks + Company and has 19 years of experience in retail design and construction. His years of retail experience focused on three areas—seven years as a senior project designer, followed by five years performing planning and merchandising responsibilities for a variety of retail clients. Since joining Charles Sparks + Company in 1999, Steve has managed the preparation of all contract documents for the firm’s past eight Neiman Marcus projects.

Steve’s varied background across all three major disciplines of retail design affords him a unique perspective. This background gives him insight into creative solutions to solve construction issues while maintaining the original design direction and planning solutions implemented in earlier phases of the project.

His responsibilities at Charles Sparks + Company include staff management, documentation and quality control, and field coordination with the project construction team.

Steve’s retail experience has included onsite participation and client contact for various projects around the world. His project background has taken him to Mexico, South America, South Korea, and Southeast Asia. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Interior and Environmental Design from Ball State University.

James Meseke

As director of information services, Jim is responsible for the format, production, and organization of all electronic documentation and communications for the firm. He is involved in all aspects of drawing, from design presentation to finished construction documents. His experience with computer-aided design extends from architectural design drawings to fully detailed three-dimensional modeling and photorealistic rendering and animation. In addition, Jim has standardized a system of documentation to enable production teams to easily manage large-scale projects. He has also been involved with several international projects, and has adapted practice standards for both Imperial and Système Internationale.

At Charles Sparks + Company, Jim has implemented the latest in Building Information Modeling (BIM) technology with programs such as Architectural Desktop (2006) and Revit Building (version 9). By utilizing these new BIM programs, he has reduced production time by nearly one-third. In addition, Jim works with a variety of computer-aided design, graphics, and rendering programs, including AutoCAD (all versions to present), SketchUp, Bently Systems Microstation, Point Line, Adobe Illustrator CS, Adobe Photoshop CS, Adobe Premiere, CorelDRAW, 3D Studio Max, 3D Studio Viz, and Lightwave 3D.

Jim holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree in Design from the University of Illinois at Chicago and has been part of Charles Sparks + Company for the past 12 years.