LPA Chairman Quits; CEO Is Seen as Likely Successor

Architect Leason F. Pomeroy, founder of LPA Inc., one of the state’s largest architectural firms and designer of such projects as the Tustin Market Place retail complex and the John Wayne Airport passenger terminal, has resigned as chairman.

Pomeroy’s departure is part of a planned succession program, said Robert O. Kupper, the company’s chief executive and Pomeroy’s likely successor as chairman when the private firm’s board meets.

Pomeroy, 61, said he will continue working with LPA on several major projects, including the firm’s ongoing role as consulting architect for the UC Irvine campus. Additionally, he will continue taking on clients of his own and will work with LPA as an independent consultant.

LPA, which Pomeroy founded in 1965, will continue to be directed by a senior management team headed by Kupper and Dan Heinfeld, the firm’s president and director of design.

Pomeroy, a native of Orange, opened his first office in the historic Orange Plaza and has been involved in that city’s preservation efforts.

LPA, now headquartered in Irvine, has 30 architects on its staff of nearly 100; it maintains a branch office in Denver.