With a career spanning 40 years, Pat made a huge impact on Northeast Ohio workplaces and in the human resources profession. He is the former Chairman of ERC, an HR consulting, training, and research organization established in 1920. Prior to being Chairman, Pat was ERC’s president for 20 years. He is credited with leading ERC’s turnaround in 1998 and guiding the organization to national expansion, resulting in 20 straight years of sustained profitability and growth.
Pat is known as an innovator in workplace best practices and is considered a regional thought-leader on hiring and retaining top talent. He is the architect for the nationally acclaimed NorthCoast 99 program, an award that recognizes best Northeast Ohio workplaces for top talent. In addition, Pat is the co-creator of ERChealth, a fully-insured health insurance program for mid-size businesses in Ohio.
Pat was named Northeast Ohio’s “Best Boss” by Inside Business magazine. His leadership style is characterized as non-traditional and provides team members an opportunity to have great jobs in a unique work environment. Pat is also known as one of the area’s leading advocates for prioritizing employees and their families over profits.
Prior to ERC, he held a variety of human resource and leadership positions with KPMG, University Mednet, and AIM Executive. As a writer, Pat has published over 300 business, HR, and leadership articles. He is the HR and business columnist for Community Leader magazine and The News-Herald. Pat has authored two books: Re-Shape Re-Define Re-Imagine (2016) and, most recently, Business Lessons Learned Along the Way.
Giving back has always been important to Pat. He has served as a board member for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Lake County Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), Leadership Lake County Alumni Association, Mentor Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Lake Educational Assistance Foundation. Pat has also chaired the Northeast Ohio Human Resource Conference (NOHRC). He is a graduate of the Leadership Lake County program and has been recognized as Member of the Year by the Cleveland and Lake/Geauga SHRM chapters. In November, 2018 Pat was inducted into the Cleveland Business Hall of Fame.
Pat received his undergraduate degree in business from the University of Dayton and an MBA from Bowling Green State University. He earned his SPHR certification from the Society for Human Resource Management and is an adjunct faculty member for Lakeland Community College. He has also taught at Cleveland State University and Baldwin-Wallace University. Pat is a frequent keynote speaker and leadership facilitator.
