Dave Wendland
Vice president, strategic relations
Hamacher Resource Group
Waukesha
Industry: Retail marketing
hamacher.com
Employees: 50
Credit: Dan Profio
“My father often said to me that he had ideas he hadn’t thought of yet. And that has become very much a fabric of who I am and how our company operates over the years.
“Dad was able to be human and to be realistic, but always was looking for the next best answer, the next big whizbang idea.
“Within our walls, we have a company that blends right brain analysts, operationally-focused experts with individuals who are innovators and big thinkers. It’s the collaboration that occurs between these two groups that’s part of the secret sauce of our organization.
“I haven’t really met anybody who I think can do it all alone, who has such a well-developed left brain that they can be pragmatic every step of the way, while at the same time being super imaginative. So I’m blessed to have a team around me who can take my ideas and improve them.”
Age: 58
Professional Experience: Wendland holds a bachelor’s in marketing/communications from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. He worked as an account manager at Unisys, director of marketing at Applied Computer Research, and owned Wendland Associates before joining D.P. Hamacher & Associates, which is now Hamacher Resource Group, in 1992. At the company, Wendland previously served as director of marketing and vice president. In his current role, vice president of strategic relations, Wendland helps retail health care customers improve results through strategies such as assortment planning, fixture coordination and brand marketing.
In the News: In December, Hamacher Resource Group will move into a new 24,000-square-foot building in Pewaukee. The office space will have collaborative zones for employees, a multi-function room, state-of-the-art technology, a fitness area and other amenities employees said they wanted. And the company is tracking the rapidly changing retail industry. “Anything that affects retail, whether it’s Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods or whether it’s Lidl opening up new stores in the country, it changes the landscape of retail. And anything that changes the landscape of retail impacts our business.”
