How Purpose and Trust Built a Three-decade IT Career with Everest Group

Rodger and Peter often joke that Everest Group started in a mail room with just them, their long-time co-worker and friend Michael Peacock (now VP of IT at Everest Group), and a few others. The company initially operated as a financial software and consulting firm, then transitioned into consulting services several years later with a small research function. Over time, the consulting side phased away completely, and the company developed into the leading research firm it is today. “I’ve covered a lot of different roles along the way,” said Rodger. “From computer programming and website development to enterprise infrastructure.”

As the years passed, it was the people that made Rodger stick with Everest Group. “What’s really kept me around is Peter and being able to help with his vision,” said Rodger. Everest Group has grown significantly, and Rodger has watched it build and flourish. “Peter has always taken care of the employees at Everest Group. He always listened to us. We all knew that we were part of something important and that everything we put into the company was appreciated. I’ve always felt like I was part of the bigger picture,” said Rodger.

Rodger is now in the phase of his career where he’s starting to work less as he prepares for retirement. “Everest Group has been a great place to learn. It offers an environment where someone can cultivate their career and see how their efforts can grow the company. And now it’s a good place to retire from,” he said. “It’s been amazing to be part of the vision of what Everest Group started out as and what it has developed into. Even now, as the company expands, it’s still a place I believe people want to be and share their expertise and their value,” he said.

As Rodger thinks about retirement, he doesn’t have a firm date in mind. “I’m just easing off. My goal is to ultimately be gone and have no one even notice,” he says. He explains that he wants to set others up to do what he does and have a seamless transition out. “If I’ve done it right, only Michael and Peter will probably know I’m gone when I’ve left,” he says. He explains the he wants to be able to leave without feeling bad about it. “I just want to know everything is in a good place and that I’m no longer needed.”

When looking beyond the work finish line, Rodger hopes to travel with his wife and continue his family history and photography hobby, and one aspiration he’s really excited to follow is his passion for amateur radio. When Rodger was a teenager, he was interested in radios and computers. He made computers his career, but he never forgot his love of amateur radio. “Just today, I was able to make contact with a couple of people in Argentina, the Netherlands, and France,” he said. “In fact, Everest Group gifted me the radio I’m using now for my 30th work anniversary.”

The ending of Rodger’s role at Everest Group is bittersweet, but the opportunities he’s had and the relationships he’s built have made his journey everlasting. “The colleagues I’ve worked with over the past decades have become my extended family,” he said. “It’s been a once in a lifetime experience.”