Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal
5-8-2001
The Men of Paladin…
They came. They saw. They bought!
By Dee Coppola
The “before” picture. The good sports of
Paladin (L-R) Jim Nall, Gary Macy
and Bob Johnston

In a few weeks, the founders of Paladin Data Systems would be making a cross-country trek to Louisville, Kentucky to attend the Inc. 500 awards event honoring Inc. Magazine’s top 500 companies. The coveted festivities will include a reception with Kentucky’s Governor, Paul E. Patton, a golf tournament and lots of networking with the CEO’s of the fastest growing companies in the country.

Jim Nall, President and CEO; Bob Johnston, Vice President and Secretary; and Gary Macy, Executive Vice President/CTO, all co-founders of Paladin, seemed to be the perfect candidates

for our annual “Business Looking Good” feature (based on the top hat affair they would attend on the East Coast – not their current manner of dress).

The Bon Marche, the yearly host of our “Looking Good” event, agreed to meet the men from Paladin at 8:30 a.m. – getting an early start before the store opened to the general public.

Gary “Looking Good” with the help of his personal shopper Linda Briere.

The Business Journal had it on good source the Paladin gang seriously considered arriving in shorts, flip flops, and tank tops for their “Before” pictures. That idea was apparently scrapped due to chilly Kitsap weather.

The Bon provided three personal shoppers – one for each co-founder. Jim Nall, a former aerospace software engineer turned CEO, was the fastest in and out the door, with the assistance of Ricky Lockhart. A personal shopper with more than two years of experience, Ricky was clearly in the know when it came to the latest in Men’s clothing.

Julia Stroud puts the finishing touches on Bob

Taking into account Jim’s physique, Ricky quickly gathered up an armload of suits, jackets and shirts and sent Jim off to the dressing room.

While Jim and Ricky conferred with the Bon’s tailor, we tiptoed over to see how Gary Macy and his personal shopper, Linda Briere, were doing. Gary already had a tuxedo for the formal portion of the events, but

Jim and his personal shopper Ricky Lockhart putting the finishing touches on their selections
needed a “business-casual” outfit for the informal times in Kentucky. Linda picked out a great camel color jacket, black slacks and a navy plaid shirt perfect for the man networking his way through the Inc. 500 crowd.

By the way, Linda Briere did an incredible job for the Business Journal last year, attempting to makeover a Prudential real estate agent.

Bob with his Bon Dollars!

A quick glance in Bob Johnston’s direction, told us he was thoroughly enjoying his makeover! From head to toe, including shoes, he was dapper in a dark suit and a sage dress shirt, grinning even while the seamstress made adjustments. He and his most creative personal shopper, Julia Stoud picked out some smooth looking ties, too. Regis had nothing on Bob!

All three men agreed, this

Jim getting that
“perfect fit”
was the way to go – having a personal shopper, enabling them to shop painlessly.

At checkout, the men of Paladin learned about the Bon Marche’s 10 percent discount for opening an account in their own name, and best of all, they found out what all women know – Bon Dollars!

Not bad for three spiffy looking computer guys!

Special thanks to the Bon Marche Store in Silverdale for their incredible customer service – opening early and providing three personal shoppers who assisted Bob, Gary and Jim in every way.

Also thanks to Shannon Childs, marketing director of Paladin Data Systems for her strategic planning enabling three very busy top executives some shopping time!

(Editor’s Note: Paladin Data Systems Corporation is a privately held professional services firm that provides information technology services to both the public and private sectors. Founded in 1994, Paladin has offices in Poulsbo and Seattle, and supports clients throughout the United States and Canada.).