International architectural firm Hyphen has announced the appointment of Eva Diego as Chief Executive Officer, marking a pivotal leadership transition for one of the world’s most dynamic practices operating at the intersection of retail, hospitality, and digital infrastructure.
Leadership Transition Built on Continuity
The appointment, effective January 2026, sees Diego succeed Eddie Miles, who transitions to the role of Chair after a decade at the helm. Rather than signaling a departure from Hyphen’s established trajectory, the move represents a carefully orchestrated evolution, one that positions the practice to capitalize on its multinational footprint while maintaining the client-centric advisory approach that has defined its growth.
Diego brings more than 25 years of architectural experience to the role, having served as a central figure in Hyphen’s international expansion. She established the firm’s Madrid studio and spearheaded its strategic push into Latin America, forging partnerships with some of the world’s most influential technology and lifestyle brands along the way.
“I feel privileged to be taking Hyphen into its exciting next chapter,” Diego stated. “Global demand for critical digital infrastructure is reshaping the built environment, and we are well positioned to lead. We act as both expert delivery partners and trusted architectural advisors for our clients, helping them to navigate complex and technically demanding projects while ensuring commercial viability.”
From Regional Player to Global Force
The numbers tell a compelling story of transformation. Hyphen’s turnover has more than tripled over the past decade, while its international footprint has expanded dramatically. The proportion of revenue generated outside the UK has risen from 46% in 2016 to approximately 63% in 2025—a shift that reflects both the firm’s strategic ambitions and the increasingly borderless nature of contemporary architectural practice.
Currently ranked 79th in the World Architecture 100 (2025), Hyphen delivered projects across 27 countries during the past year from its network of 11 offices. The practice has positioned itself as a trusted partner to real estate developers, asset owners, and investors spanning the UK, Europe, Latin America, and beyond.
Digital Infrastructure: The New Frontier
Perhaps most significant is Hyphen’s strategic pivot toward digital infrastructure, a sector experiencing unprecedented growth as global demand for data centers and AI-ready facilities accelerates. The firm serves as architectural advisory partner for CloudHQ on large-scale developments, including a $5 billion data centre campus in Querétaro, Mexico.
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Equally notable is Hyphen’s collaboration with Elea Data Centers on the masterplan for Rio AI City, an ambitious AI-ready data centre district in Rio de Janeiro that exemplifies the firm’s capacity to operate at the intersection of urban planning, technological infrastructure, and architectural design.
Retail Heritage Meets Contemporary Demands
While digital infrastructure represents a growth vector, Hyphen’s foundations remain firmly rooted in retail and brand experience. The firm maintains long-standing partnerships with leading lifestyle brands, including PVH, owner of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, for whom it has delivered stores across more than 50 countries.
This dual expertise, spanning both the physical retail environment and the invisible infrastructure powering our digital lives, positions Hyphen uniquely within the contemporary architectural landscape.
Strategic Continuity at the Top
Eddie Miles, who has guided Hyphen’s evolution over the past decade, will continue to provide strategic oversight in his new capacity as Chair. “Eva’s appointment reaffirms Hyphen’s ambition to become a truly international practice,” Miles noted. “She has been central to the business’s growth over many years, and I have total confidence in her leadership. My role now is to support Eva and the wider leadership team, ensuring continuity while the business continues to develop.”
The transition structure, maintaining Miles’s institutional knowledge while empowering Diego’s operational leadership, reflects a mature approach to succession planning that prioritizes stability without sacrificing momentum.
Looking Forward
Under Diego’s leadership, Hyphen will focus on strengthening its advisory capability, deepening relationships with major clients, and expanding its work in international architecture and digital infrastructure. The firm’s stated aim is to remain a trusted partner as client needs evolve, rather than simply responding to individual project briefs, a positioning that speaks to the increasingly complex, multi-jurisdictional nature of contemporary development.
For a practice that has grown from a UK-based firm to a truly multinational operation, Diego’s appointment represents both validation of past strategy and a clear signal of future intent. In an industry where leadership transitions often herald uncertainty, Hyphen has engineered a succession that emphasizes continuity, capability, and the confidence that comes from decades of collaborative leadership.
Photography courtesy of Hyphen.
