Digital Wave is honoring Tony Rose, co-founder and UX consultant at the company since its founding in 1993, as he retires December 31. To commemorate the event, James Horigan, Digital Wave co-founder (retired 2019), shared a bit about their partnership and what it meant to him.
Digital Wave started out as a computer networking company on the verge of a pivot. Tony was originally my branding consultant. To help rebrand the company and design the logo, he truly collaborated with me, cards all over the table with words and ideas. Within a few hours we had a name: Digital Wave.
At that time, the name represented those early days of the Internet. The world wide web was in its early stages, and we wanted to be just in front of the wave to help guide our clients into this new frontier.
I think he went home and designed our iconic logo that night!
At the time, Tony was working primarily in instructional information design. He told me he wanted to move more into multimedia. I told him, “Forget about multimedia. Let me show you the web.” And that was the beginning of a 30+ year partnership.
We were total opposites, and that really balanced out the partnership and made it all work. Tony could probably write a book about it someday. I was direct, impatient at times, and my dyslexia could get in the way of conveying my meaning in written form. He was patient, incredibly creative, and a bit of a procrastinator. He always came through, though. Tony was a master at turning my uncollated thoughts into contract winning proposals. I believe that balance was key in the longevity of our partnership and the company.
As our client base grew, we had to grow the team, and he was key in that, too. He had a knack for spotting somebody that was smart with the ability to grow and evolve with our needs. He could pull a group of very different people together and push them to create polished work. Whether they are still here today (several are) or eventually moved on to do their own great things, his hires have been the ones I’ve often been most impressed by.
When I started at Digital Wave, I knew very little about the industry. Tony had me shadow him and collaborate on his work, building my confidence and imparting countless pieces of wisdom I still regularly think about.
TJ Gunther
Tony believed in me before I believed in myself. Early in my career I carried more imposter syndrome than confidence, yet he never treated me like someone who might fail.
Bruce Cronlund
By 2010 we were both wanting to explore different business directions with more flexibility from the day-to-day responsibilities of running a company. Tony was instrumental in our merger with Antech Systems, Inc. I was pushing in a different direction at first, but he gently coaxed me along. Showed me the synergies our teams had, our similar values in running a company, and how their team was made up of people like ours.
Tony often pointed out strengths I didn’t see in myself. He knew I would grow and be more than a project manager before I had even considered what my future might look like here. As that future unfolded he found moments to encourage and mentor me.
Sarah Ailes
His patience, understanding, and truly attentive listening created an environment where people felt supported and inspired to do their best work. The collaborative, caring culture we enjoy today is a direct reflection of the foundation Tony set from the very beginning.
Ka-Ying Li
Very quickly the merger felt natural, it just felt like a bigger family of really good people trying to do good work. Digital Wave quickly gained access to valuable team members to handle our growing healthcare and higher ed markets at the time. The merger also brought great new friendships with it and in time, the means for us to pass the baton to the next generations.
So much of what Digital Wave became is because of Tony. We owe him so much gratitude.
Tony, I wanted to thank you. I wouldn’t have gotten to where I am today without you. I hope that you can have a very gentle, comfortable, and peaceful landing into retirement with [your wife]. May your days really just become days connected with joy and happiness. Waking up each day, deciding what you want to do because that’s what retirement looks like. You’ve certainly earned this.
-James Horigan, Digital Wave co-founder
