MADISON, WIS., March 4, 2022—Wall Family Enterprise (WFE), a family-owned enterprise serving the education community, is pleased to announce that Bill Hess has been elected as CEO. Hess joined WFE in February 2019 as CFO before being promoted to COO. Hess brings more than 20 years of experience providing solutions to education markets, having served as CFO for McGraw-Hill School Education Group, as well as CFO for Pearson Education’s K–12 division.
“WFE has a 115-year history serving as a trusted leader in library, school and museum markets,” says Hess. “I am excited to further expand our mission to Enhance Learning and Enrich Lives by creating innovative new solutions for educators, including engaging software for early learners; proven-effective learning environments; curated furniture and working solutions for libraries, science labs, and sports clubs; and creative new display cases and preservation materials to meet archival needs in museums and universities.”
“Being family owned,” says outgoing CEO and Family Director Brendan Wall, “means leading each of our businesses with a mission-driven passion founded on our family’s values. We strive to provide compassionate and committed care, service, and solutions to help our customers educate and inform their students and patrons for another generation. Our values start with a focus on treating our coworkers with respect, appreciation, and empowerment, and we work tirelessly to achieve great outcomes for our customers, which aligns our coworkers to our mission with a passion to improve education and lifelong learning,” says Wall.
“Our values started when founder and longtime Madisonian, John E. Wall, became Demco’s President in 1968,” says Wall. “One of those values, carried through three generations of family owners, is giving back to the communities where our businesses operate. Annually, we donate nearly 2% of earnings back into our communities to help improve learning and living where our coworkers and their families enjoy life. Our charitable projects include major library and school renovations, partnering with local schools, reading enhancement projects, a children’s museum, and a park shelter/warming house. Our businesses provide us an opportunity to do good in our world through both the solutions and services we sell, as well as the ability to give back to communities in ways we could not otherwise do.”
Says Hess: “I am truly humbled by this opportunity and look forward to ensuring Wall Family Enterprise expands our ability to be even more innovative in fulfilling the rapidly evolving needs of educators and lifelong learners, while remaining steadfast in giving back to the communities we serve.”
