Friends of Pile,

It’s amazing how fast 30 years go by.

I’ll admit that when my friends Skip Pile and Rick Hooker left the agency world to start their own company 30 years ago, I was impressed. In 1987, Pile and Company began with a focus on the business side of advertising, but quickly pivoted to the (at the time) young, niche industry we would ultimately become known for—agency search consulting.

When I joined nine years later, Pile was making great inroads in the New England market. Not only was our agency search business flourishing, but we had opened a freelance creative staffing division, Communications Collaborative, which is still thriving today as a full-time and freelance staffing resource for in-house agency and marketing clients.

At the time, did we hope Pile would reach a 30-year milestone? Did we aspire to have our consulting business serve national and global clients? Absolutely. Did we imagine we would expand our service areas to where they are today? Honestly, no.

Who knew the world of advertising and communications would evolve the way it has?

The industry’s complexities have created tremendous opportunities for us—from launching Agency Compile, an online agency search engine, in 1999 to the In-House Agency Forum, a professional association for in-house agencies, in 2005. Not to mention the explosion of service areas across our original business unit—Pile Consulting. Now we advise clients on everything from agency search, media management, agency compensation, performance evaluation, model assessment, creative briefing and more.

I feel so grateful to be a part of this company. Pile has always been committed to evolving with the needs of our clients and demands of the industry, so my job is always fresh and ever-changing. And I’m incredibly proud of the passion and integrity of the people I work with. Many of whom have built their entire careers here.

We’re so thankful for our clients. Whether it’s been the marketing leaders we’ve worked with to hire new agencies or the creative managers we’ve worked with to hire new talent, we’ve built partnerships predicated on trust and respect. We’ve had the privilege of advising our clients on vital marketing resource decisions, decisions that directly impact their organizations’ success. So, to our clients, a huge thank you.

Thank you to Rick, our Chairman, who I continue to work with today. His strategic guidance, investment decisions and financial management have been instrumental to the growth of our company. He is a great partner and friend.

And of course, thanks to Skip, who told me when I was hired 21 years ago that Pile would be the last company I would ever work for. I still can’t believe how prescient he was!

Here’s to the next 30!

Judy