FINALIST – Services
David Clarke
co-founder and CEO
BGT Partners
David Clarke co-founded BGT Partners by envisioning the massive potential that the Internet had for interactive work.
As the company’s co- founder and CEO, Clarke’s pursuit of this vision has been critical in establishing the business as a leading global digital agency, whose clients include Fortune 1,000 companies and has 150 people as its employees nationwide today.
At BGT, Clarke wants his employees to “trade their job in for a career.” A committed entrepreneur, Clarke is fanatical about the retention and acquisition of talented people.
Through the near-impossible obstacles he’s faced in growing the business, including great financial strain in the company’s initial years, Clarke has held himself and his team up to uncompromising standards of excellence.
But he also credits much of the company’s success to the “employee-centric” mentality he and his leadership have taken to cultivate in BGT’s team.
To make BGT a best place to work, Clarke has implemented numerous initiatives designed to create a fun, engaging and challenging employee culture.
For example, the company offers a unique training and education program called the BGT Plus Program, which provides cross-training, professional development and coaching for its employees.
BGT also has developed a Twitter page that allows team members to give their anonymous feedback, ensuring every employee has a voice in the direction of the business.
Other perks for employees include catered lunch every Friday, beer cart Fridays, BGT Palooza — a week of employee appreciation — and more. By investing in a happy culture, Clarke invests in the happy clients that continue to drive BGT’s growth.
In 2011, the company celebrated its 15th anniversary by moving its national headquarters into a custom-built, 30,000-square-foot building that will accommodate its growing staff.
HOW TO REACH: BGT Partners, www.bgtpartners.com
