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Northwest Communications is headquartered in Havelock, Iowa, and was founded in 1963. Northwest Communications currently has 6,000 customers, and they service approximately sixty companies. They have thirty full-time employees. The telco offers customers phone, broadband, dynamic television, and business solutions services.

Gary Petersen recently became the new CEO on May 16, 2022. Gary replaced longtime veteran Don Miller. Gary has thirty-two years of experience working in the industry. He previously worked at Farmers Mutual Coop in Harlan, Iowa. Gary said he looks forward to collaborating with his team and building the company.

Q & A with Gary Petersen, CEO

How long have you been with Northwest Communications and what was your journey to this role?

I started working thirty-two years ago in a subsidiary of Farmers Mutual Telephone Company out of my hometown in Harlan, Iowa managing their telemarketing firm. I then moved up to Plant Manager and stayed in that role until I became the new CEO at Northwest Communications.

What advice would you give to someone else considering a career in telecom?

If you are the type of person that likes variety, working in telecom always has new and exciting things to do. We don’t do the same things every day, and everything constantly changes. Being bored at work is not a factor when you are staying up to date with modern technology. A perk of working in telecom is getting the opportunity to experience new gadgets and technologies every day.

What is one of the newest forms of technology that you have been working with?

One of the newest forms of technology is smart home integration. We stay on track to help people with cybersecurity and two-factor authentication. We update routers and offer two-factor authentication on anything that could potentially let outsiders in. Those are some of the main things that we have been working on.

What excites you about your role at Northwest Communications?

We have a whole new set of goals and adventures ahead of us. Northwest Communications dabbles in a lot of different aspects of communications from fixed wireless to fiber to business solutions divisions such as firewalls. There are many different business venues and opportunities. That is one of the exciting aspects of moving to this position.

Final thoughts to share with our readers?

I would challenge all management, managers, CEOs, and decision-makers to lead through the eyes of their customers and not necessarily through the eyes of themselves. We have a lot of customers who are in their twenties and thirties, and a lot of the managers are in their fifties and sixties, so we need to think about the future and plan and build networks for younger generations. We have to make sure that we are building our networks and future proofing for those customers. That is important. Don’t have your blinders on. My decisions are not based on what I want, but they are based on what our customers and future customers want. We need to adapt to what our future customers and employees and current customers and employees are seeking. Be adaptable and open-minded.