At the age of 23, Ryan Wedig spent a year and a half as an apprentice to a bronze sculptor. He found it to be an amazing learning experience and Wedig plans on one day making it a secondary career. But truth be known, Wedig has already spent much of his career sculpting…only the medium is different.
Ryan Wedig,
PrinterLogic
“I really enjoy putting teams of really smart people together and getting out of their way,” noted Wedig, the CEO of PrinterLogic and a 2017 ENX Magazine Difference Maker. “As teams have come together and people were empowered to create and innovate, they quickly expanded the scope and vision for PrinterLogic’s potential. Being part of that process has been a real honor.”
That process traces its origins to Cisco Systems, where he entered the company’s associate system engineering program upon graduating from Brigham Young University’s Marriott School of Management with a degree in business management. Wedig earned technical certifications with Cisco and later implemented multi-million dollar data centers for larger enterprise organizations in San Jose, CA, and Washington, DC.
While finishing his MBA studies at George Washington University, Wedig reached out to a friend, Jarrett Taylor, the founder of then-PrinterPropertiesPro (which became PrinterLogic) about converting an independent study class into a business or marketing plan for Taylor’s company. As the business plan developed, Taylor convinced Wedig to move out to St. George, UT, and help launch PrinterLogic.
In less than five years, PrinterLogic has grown from Taylor and Wedig to more than 130 employees operating in 13 states and three countries, providing enterprise print management solutions in server-free environments. Wedig lives by the adage that perception is reality, and it is up to the individual to ensure a shared reality with those around you.
“It goes back to empowering other people so they can magnify the perception of my impact,” Wedig said of his business approach. “That said, the reality holds true that it is the empowerment of the team and quality of its talent that is accountable for PrinterLogic’s success.”
One of the greatest influences in Wedig’s career was John Chambers, the former CEO and current chairman of Cisco Systems. Chambers was always on the lookout for market transitions while trying to get into the “sweet spot of every wave.” While there were failures along the way, Cisco hit enough of the big waves to keep growing and maintain relevance.
“John was a big fan of only worrying about the things you can control,” he said. “A lot of folks lose focus stressing about things outside of their control and waste a lot of energy on nonsense. He was a great mentor in the way he stayed laser focused on controllable things that matter.”
Wedig sees huge payouts on the horizon for PrinterLogic after the company used 2016 to complete an executive team poised to support the step function growth it has laid out. PrinterLogic has identified six pillars of growth moving forward, which will benefit from its ability to execute in the channel and deliver the firm’s pure cloud play to the market.
With a wife and five children, free time is a premium for Wedig. The family enjoys exploring Europe during business trips to Germany. “We usually take a week at the end of the trip to go visit a new country,” he said. “My wife is a real adventurer, so she gets in the rental van and just goes all over.”
Closer to home, Wedig enjoys exploring Zion National Park. His sons love to backpack, and Wedig recently did a 50-mile excursion with his 9-year-old last summer.
