Happy Birthday, Everest Customer Solutions!

Everest Customer Solutions celebrates 29 years in business this year. We reached out to one of our co-founders, Greg Umstead, for his thoughts on this milestone, and he shared the following:

A time for Thanks!

November and December is one of my favorite times of the year.  It’s how the predominant colors and sounds of nature change. Green grass and trees, bright blue skies, and the ambient noise of lawnmowers and songbirds give way to bright hues of yellow, red, and orange set on chilly grey, costumed children ringing the doorbell looking for treats, and obligatory complaints about Christmas decorations and commercialization beginning too soon.

But through this transition comes the hustle and bustle of the holidays: numerous celebrations with family, friends, and co-workers, lots of seasonal food and beverages, and of course a few opportunities to pause to give thanks and celebrate life.  I’m a sucker for the Christmas color scheme in both traditional and Dr. Seuss variations, and the increased flow of smiles and well-wishes from both friends and strangers.

For me personally, I celebrate my anniversary on this planet and an important work anniversary as a founder of Everest Customer Solutions, so there really is a lot going on!  Despite this sometimes frenetic pace, I often find myself in a reflective mood from late October through the New Year.

Today’s mood is a reflection on how truly lucky we are at Everest Customer Solutions. January 2024 begins our 30th year since we signed our first partnership agreement on a cold New Year’s Eve. Our operations cross 4 decades (the 90s, the aughts, the 10s, and now the 20s) and yes, it began in the 1900s!

Here are some things we are grateful for:

• The team we’ve assembled and developed that works hard, takes pride in their work, and delivers solutions to our customers with passion.
• The industries we’ve served, especially life sciences, where the work we do helps to improve the lives of people throughout the world, including friends, family, and neighbors.
• The companies we’ve served to whom we owe special thanks for selecting us, trusting us, and working with us to optimize the value of the solutions we provide.
• The individual customers we’ve worked for and with. From C-suite to management teams to project teams and even facilities and security staff, we’ve worked with some of the best minds, humans, and smiles you could meet.
• The partners that have guided us, supported us, or selected us to join them in their ventures and business models.

When we started this (ad)venture, we only half expected that it might work over the long term.  The technology landscape was new and rapidly changing with important ideas like Y2K, Windows 95, Client-server Applications, Operations Research Optimization Models, Enterprise Networking, and the Internet all competing for our focus. Some consulting opportunities in project management and solution architecture led us into the Life Sciences industries where we’ve now operated for over 25 years, and hope to continue to for years to come.