Wallace Design Collective

Wallace Design Collective is proud to announce David Thacker, CPA, as its Chief Financial Officer, effective May 6, 2024. 

David joined Wallace in July 2023 and was named an Associate of the firm in November 2023. With more than 17 years of experience in accounting, he oversees our accounting department and is responsible for all financial aspects of Wallace Design Collective. He succeeds Doug Brown, PE, who led Wallace’s accounting team for over 30 years and served as Chief Financial Officer since 2008.

I recently asked Doug Brown for his thoughts on David as our newly-named Chief Financial Officer. “As Wallace has doubled in size in the last four years, both financially and in our number of employees, I knew we would need an accountant to take over my role as CFO. I also felt that having a CPA on board would be a tremendous asset supporting our continued success. In meeting David and through our subsequent conversations, and now having worked directly with him, I know he is the kind of individual we want in this position. He exceeds my criteria for filling the role. I also believe he was destined to be at Wallace. Did you know he wanted to be an engineer growing up?”

Read on to learn more about our new CFO…

Why did you want to be CFO?

Wallace Design Collective has an outstanding legacy. I wanted to undertake the challenge of maintaining and strengthening that legacy for future generations with our new leadership group.

What do you hope to bring to Wallace as CFO?

As CFO, I plan to bring fresh ideas and technology to support our future growth while remaining true to the strengths that have made Wallace Design Collective successful in the past.

What are your goals/aspirations for Wallace for your tenure?

My goal as CFO is to harness the strengths of our leaders to continue to make Wallace a leader in our industry. We will leverage our strong employee base and culture to adapt to market and industry changes in the coming years.

Are there any specific changes you want to make as CFO?

Wallace Design Collective has a history and legacy that are second to none. The long tenure of our employees is a testament to who we are. I plan to embrace the aspects we are really good at and continue to improve them. We will use the areas where we are great as a launch pad to help us in areas that merit improvement.

Where do you see Wallace in 5-10 years?

I expect steady growth for Wallace over the next decade. We have both long-tenured leaders and an up-and-coming group of young leaders who are committed to excellence. This driving force will propel us to continued success and market leadership over the coming years.

What are Wallace’s greatest opportunities over the next five years?

Our people create our greatest opportunity. The knowledge that is possessed at Wallace is immense. The sharing of this knowledge will be a critical step in creating the future leaders of our firm. We have a great responsibility to be stewards of this and create a lasting impact. 

What are you most excited to take in this new role? 

I am excited about integrating with the new leadership team. I’ve spent many hours visiting with board members, principals, and other employees about improvements that will benefit Wallace in the long run. Seeing us adapt while remaining true to our core remains a top priority for me.

What are the most important issues for Wallace? How do you plan to tackle them?

Adaptability is a very important issue now and in the coming years. This includes adaptability to economic and market conditions, employee markets and employee retention, and technology changes. How do we make sure we are fluid with adaptability as it creates opportunities for us to maintain our market presence and strategically grow? I plan to accomplish this by continually evaluating if we are making lives better with the changes we implement. If we can accomplish this, there will be no doubt in anyone’s mind that we make lives better.

What are the greatest challenges facing Wallace now? How about in five years?

I echo my previous comment about adaptability. I also believe economic factors will play a big role in the next five years. In my opinion, these factors are a challenge businesses across all industries will face. How do we manage the macroeconomic factors at a country and regional level, as well as help ensure there is a good pipeline of future engineers and technical employees? The world is much different than it was ten years ago, and we need to remain cognizant of these factors.

Any other thoughts? Or questions I should have asked?

I am excited about the future opportunity at Wallace. We have a good thing going, and I hope to continue the strong legacy created by our current and prior leaders. I know that people can be nervous about significant leadership changes such as what has recently occurred. I want people to know that we are going to continue to focus on and enhance the great things about Wallace while simultaneously working on areas that need improvement based on feedback. 

Interested in joining us at Wallace? You can browse our open positions here.