Pat Perry

Pat Perry is a keynote speaker and a presenter.

With a career spanning over 40 years, Pat continues to positively impact workplaces, leaders, and individuals relative to professional and personal success. He is the former Chairman and President of ERC. 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 founder of the nationally acclaimed NorthCoast 99 program, an award that recognizes the best Northeast Ohio workplaces for top talent. In addition, Pat is the co-creator of ERChealth, a highly successful health insurance program for mid-size businesses in Ohio.

Pat was named Northeast Ohio’s “Best Boss” by Inside Business magazine. During his career, his leadership style was characterized as non-traditional and unconventional. He is an outspoken workplace equality advocate and promotes prioritizing employees and their families over profits.

Prior to ERC, he held a variety of human resource and leadership positions with KPMG, University Hospitals/ Mednet, and Spherion/AIM Executive. As a writer, Pat has published over 400 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 and, Business Lessons Learned Along the Way. Pat is also the host of the national Success Wave podcast.

He has served as a board member for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Lake/Geauga SHRM, Leadership Lake County Alumni Association, and Mentor Area Chamber of Commerce. Pat has also chaired the Northeast Ohio Human Resource Conference (NOHRC). He is a graduate of the Leadership Lake County program and was recognized as Member of the Year by the Cleveland and Lake/Geauga SHRM chapters.

In November 2018 Pat was inducted into the Northeast Ohio Business Hall of Fame and in 2021 named to the Cleveland 500, recognizing the region’s most influential leaders.

Pat received a BSBA 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 served as an adjunct faculty member at Lakeland Community College, Cleveland State University, and Baldwin-Wallace University. Pat is a frequent motivational speaker and leadership facilitator.

Keynote Speaker Topics

Being Happy at Work…I Mean Really Happy
In the perfect work world everybody loves their job and are really happy with their work. Unfortunately, reality would suggest that this is not true in too many cases. If you find yourself embracing “living for the weekend” and thanking you-know-who that it’s Friday, consider that you might only be “living” two out of every seven days. And, since we only have one pass through this life, maybe it is time to consider enjoying seven out of seven days each and every week. That would mean enjoying work every day in addition to non-work activities. In this thought provoking presentation, Pat will explore some practical approaches to a pathway of long term work life happiness.

Work Life Imbalance
Top performing employees expect employers to support a “balance” between work and family. Though there are laws like the Family Medical Leave Act mandating certain leave provisions for employees, family-friendly workplaces are often characterized as organizations that go well beyond state and federal employment law to support workers’ family needs, desires and obligations. In addition to “family-friendly workplaces,” the phrase “work/life balance” is used as another descriptor related to employees’ management of personal and work obligations. As these concepts have gained momentum, employers are faced with the challenge of supporting employees’ family/personal needs and obligations while managing the business. No doubt, the workplace has become a tough balancing act for both employee and employer. Yet, when both needs are met, the results are impressive and can help position the organization as an “employer of choice” for top performing employees. In this program, Pat shares thoughts and ideas to consider when assessing your organization’s support of the family-friendly workplace initiative.

Leadership Re-Defined
In this fast-paced, fun and interactive presentation, Pat will share observations from today’s workplace that will make you think differently about leadership, jobs and success. There may never be a more critical time for area businesses, and the ability to attract, retain and motivate the next generation of workers will be a game changer. The business world is changing daily and how we manage the change and lead must change.

The Rules Have Changed
When Pat started his career, things seemed pretty simple. You worked hard, worked long hours, never questioned authority and focused squarely on the bottom line. It’s just the way Baby Boomers were brought up. You were expected to be loyal to the company no matter what, and job change was abnormal and certainly infrequent. It was not uncommon to know people in your company that worked 15 to 40 years at the same place doing the same job. Concepts like a ‘global economy’ did not exist, and the technology and information distribution channels we see today were in their infancy. Employee values have changed dramatically, we have four distinct generations in the workplace today, and managing the volume of real-time information has certainly altered business decision making. Employees are questioning everything, company loyalty is no longer a given, and business leadership is no longer perceived to be aligned with organizational hierarchy. In this session, Pat discusses some emerging concepts that are developing with industry-leading companies.

Re-Shape Re-Define Re-Imagine
Based on Pat’s book, this presentation packs a punch, focused on how to significantly enhance personal and professional success. It will inspire attendees to take a “look in the mirror”, and take steps to getting the most out of their professional and personal lives. This “wake-up call” talk will touch on the 6 key steps to becoming more successful.