As a consultant at a "Big 5" firm through the 1980s, David Peterson personally experienced the prices paid by traveling consultants—and the costs to the client. He envisioned a consulting company that didn't require its people to work far from home all the time. He wanted to create an environment that balanced peoples’ professional and personal lives more responsibly. So he founded a consultancy with a local focus and a greater investment in clients’ success.

With a handful of colleagues in a small office on North Highland Avenue on Atlanta’s east side, Dave launched the North Highland Company in 1992. Among other distinctive qualities, the company would cultivate a local business model that had consultants living and working in the same community as the client. Job satisfaction would rise. Long-term client relationships would flourish. Performance and consultant productivity would improve. Everyone would benefit.