Ep. 97: President of Ballard Designs Ryan McKelvey

Recording from Karen’s cozy and mythical basement, President of Ballard Designs Ryan McKelvey joins the show. Ryan talks about what it is like to be the fearless leader at Ballard, and how he got here on his own career path. He discusses moments that made him grow professionally, gives us a glimpse into his own home designs, and shares what we can look forward to next at Ballard.

What You’ll Hear on This Episode:

• More about Ryan’s start at L.L. Bean as a Manager in Product Development, and how he got to be the President of Ballard Designs.

• Ryan has been working at Ballard for 19 years, and he has learned so much. He shares what is so special about the Ballard team, and his love for working with manufacturers to make the best products they can stand behind.

• Ryan is a finance guy that can also plug into his creative side, and he loves both.

• What Ryan means when he says he loves solving people’s issues with a sense of style.

• The design concepts that Ryan uses in his own homes to get a traditional yet eclectic look, using almost 90% of Ballard items (and where that other 10% comes from).

• How they built their home from the ground up and used scale drawings, a great builder and team, and a lot of research to do it correctly.

• What life at a river cabin is really like, and the funny story of how Ryan created his electrical plan on the fly.

• Our expert tips on how not to go completely crazy during a time of home building/renovation!

• What Ryan learned about honesty and transparency when it comes to customer service, and examples where they also learned from their mistakes.

• The next Ballard product that Ryan personally is excited about.

• Why Ballard waits until a product is really ready to go to market rather than forcing or rushing something.

Mentioned In This Episode

• Ryan McKelvey LinkedIn

• L.L. Bean

• Rebecca McKelvey

• Amy Vermillion

• Ryland Table

• Ballard Designs