David Petersen: preserving the legacy.

• Author: Mischel, Marie
• Position: Spotlight

Three men have guided O.C. Tanner since it started 80 years ago to the international company it is today. The first was Obert C. Tanner, who began the company by selling jewelry from the back of his car. Don Ostler and Kent Murdock were to later follow him.

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The fourth man to take the CEO mantle is David Petersen. He replaces Murdock, who was called to be a mission president in Geneva, Switzerland for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

"Certainly there are huge shoes to fill," Petersen says of all three former CEOs. "It's really quite an honor to follow in their footsteps. The company is a legacy in the community, it's a legacy to our people and it's a legacy for our clients. It's Utah's treasure, I think."

Petersen was named CEO on March 27, after serving at O.C. Tanner for 26 years. His first position was in marketing, but he also worked in the information systems, purchasing, manufacturing and client relations departments, and most recently served as president and COO. His experience throughout the company helps him understand how all the pieces of O.C. Tanner fit together, he says.

Those years also infused him with the company's culture, which stems from Obert Tanner's philosophical view, Petersen says. "He was a humanist and a philanthropist. If you want to know what our culture's about, it's all about people. Everything goes back to the fundamental notion that people count. People matter. People make things happen. Successful companies are full of people that are engaged, moving things forward, contributing ideas."

His own leadership philosophy comes from mentors including his own father and local leaders such as Rick Nelson, Keith Rattie and Scott Anderson. His father taught him to stand for something, to make decisions with integrity and treat...