Deborah Seeger, VP of Operations & Co-Founder of Patina Solutions Group, Inc.

Deborah Seeger
Vice president of operations and co-founder

Patina Solutions Group, Inc.
13890 Bishops Dr.,
Brookfield, WI 53005
www.patinasolutions.com


Industry: Professional services
Number of employees: 25
Family: “Married 28 years, husband Steve a private wealth financial planner. Two children: Cory 21, a college senior, Andy 26, lives in Chicago. I learn from them every day.”

What was the smartest thing your company did in the past year?

“Focus on making sure we have a consistent model, identifying the critical success factors. Managing the growth and costs before we decide to open in a new market. We feel good about our growth and the validation of our model from our clients, but we recognize that there is still a lot of uncertainty in the economy, so we can’t get ahead of ourselves.”

What’s new at your company?

“Every day our clients bring us a new issue, challenge or opportunity to help them with, which is what I love about what we do here. But right now, we are currently in pilot phase of a new service offering that will bring individual professional development to a new level…watch for more later this quarter.”


Do you plan to hire any additional staff or make any significant capital investments in your company in the next year?

“We will definitely be hiring additional staff as we grow in all of our existing markets: Milwaukee, Chicago, Cleveland and Boston – as well as look at the potential new markets to go to next.”

What will be your company’s main challenges in the next year?

“Staying true to our brand; being known as the best resource for accomplished and experienced talent on demand. There are lots of distractions and we don’t want to be all things to all people, but we do want to be opportunistic. And in the meantime, the brand is still building awareness, so we can’t dilute it or confuse the marketplace on who we are and what we do.”


What’s the hottest trend in your industry?

“Well, honestly I think we’re it. We created a model that represents the highest level of experienced and talented executives and professionals and we are making them available to our clients on a flexible basis. Which means our clients, who have a need and desire to grow, can tap into the power of this experience in the most cost variable solution. That’s a huge change in professional services and workforce solutions; meeting the needs of change in the workplace as a result of economic, generational and demographic changes, and we are at the forefront of it. That’s what makes it so exciting for everyone here.”

Do you have a business mantra?

“I have so many. The first one that comes to mind is ‘no’ means ‘not today.’”

From a business standpoint, who do you look up to?

“My father-in-law, Ron Seeger. Anyone who can help people to learn and have them feel good about it in the process. People who think differently than I do like our CEO and co-founder, Mike Harris.”

What’s the funniest thing that ever happened to you in your career?

“I am sure I will think of funnier ones but if I have to keep it to those that happened to me, I’d say the day I got dressed for work very early and in the dark so as not to wake anyone. The pants I had on felt a bit more loose, so smugly, I thought I had finally lost a few pounds, only to get to work and have everyone else notice along with me that I had put on my husband’s pants. I managed to get through the day but my co-workers were brutal and never let me forget that one.”