Business People Magazine Celebrates Pat Pasterick’s Leadership and What’s Next for DC

The founding members of Design Collaborative – Pat Pasterick, Ron Dick, and Terry Wagner – long prepared for the next generation of leadership, and beyond.

As Pat Pasterick prepares to retire from DC at the end of year, it’s a transition that has been years in the making.

“We started with the idea that we wanted to create a client-focused company that out-lived us — something bigger than us. That’s why we landed on ‘Design Collaborative’ and didn’t name it after us,” explains Pasterick. “I’m a product of the ‘60s and the Space Age, so I’ve always looked at DC as a rocket. It takes an incredible amount of energy to get a rocket off the ground and into Earth’s orbit. We were looking to do more than just get it into orbit. We were shooting for the moon. Ron (Dick), Terry (Wagner) and I recognized that we were only the first stage. To get to the moon, you have to successfully discard the first stage, recalibrate, fire the new rockets and continue on. Our intent was that as DC grew into something great, we would fall away and the DC rocket would be positioned for the next stage.”

Adam James will take over as CEO in the new year as the firm remains dedicated to serving our clients with the same focused approach that has defined our work for over 30 years.

“It’s both exciting and a little nerve wracking,” James admits. “I have really come to appreciate what Pat has been planning for these past 10 years. I can just see the amount of effort and time that he’s put into making sure we’re set up for success, and I’m very thankful for this opportunity. We’ve been working strategically the last couple of years on slowly allowing me to see what the role can be and what the expectations are. Our goal this year was for me to be actively involved in all aspects of the business, including a lot of things behind the scenes so I can continue to learn from Pat.”

Read more in the December issue of Business People Magazine.