Winner
Business Services & Staffing
Throughout her career, Pamela Chambers O’Rourke has never fit the mold.
She felt stifled in her career as an IT consultant representative in the early-to-mid-1990s. She disliked having to follow the cookie-cutter pattern that restricted what she was allowed to offer her customers and soon realized that a firm that offered more services and had greater flexibility would have a good opportunity to thrive.
So in 1998, backed by a few silent partners, O’Rourke founded ICON Information Consultants LP. The firm specialized in identifying and recruiting IT, accounting, finance, HR and procurement professionals. And O’Rourke put the emphasis on catering to her customers’ needs through timely and thorough responses as well as ensuring that her solutions actually solved their problems.
Her flexible, can-do attitude remains the driving force at ICON. New employees are trained in the “ICON way,” which includes simple concepts such as “the customer is always right” and finding a way to “make it happen.” As president and CEO, O’Rourke walks the talk, continuing to take a commission and refusing to take a regular salary.
The results of O’Rourke’s entrepreneurial spirit are impressive.
Since its founding, ICON has achieved consistent year-over-year revenue growth of at least 20 percent with 2008 company revenue 3,000 percent greater than its first year. With more than 750 people employed nationwide, O’Rourke continues to seek out ways to be innovative.
She has expanded her business to meet client needs by introducing services such as human capital solutions, payroll and specialized project management. And she anticipates branching out internationally as her next phase of growth, with plans to enter Canada in 2010.
How to reach: ICON Information Consultants LP, (713) 438-0919 or www.iconconsultants.com
