Adam Farver ’99 greatly values his CC experience. “I love the Block Plan. It’s the way I’m wired. I love working on specific subjects, focusing deeply, and having the ability to be completely immersed in the subject,” he says. “Also, if you want to be a professor at CC, you have to love to teach. So, the engagement with all of the professors at Colorado College is deep, true and authentic.”
Farver knows this personally from co-teaching in the Economics and Business Department with Larry Stimpert, Jim Parco, and Lora Louise Broady ’83. He is always amazed at the caliber of CC students. “Not just their academic ability, which is always striking, but their presence, poise, and passion is unrivaled versus other places where I’ve had the opportunity to interact with students,” he says. “Not only do they tackle questions and problems head-on and provide astounding insight, they also ask phenomenal questions.”
Farver currently serves as Chairman of the board for his family’s company, Pella Corporation, a leading manufacturer and designer of windows and doors. Founded by his great-grandfather in 1925, the company is 100 percent privately held, with no family members in management. Farver was elected chair in 2015, taking over for his father. The fourth-generation business owner gained much from his lineage.
“My grandmother, Joan, who also served as chair, was and always will be my idol and hero,” Farver says. “She led with grace and kindness, while also demanding excellence and top performance. She was respected and revered. She taught me that leading is not about having all the answers and trying to be the ‘smartest person in the room.’ It is about asking the right questions and providing focus, clarity, and accountability.”
“[CC is] about acknowledging and respecting differences, taking care of one another, and caring deeply about our community, our institution itself, and the legacy that we were privileged to be a part of.”
Adam Farver ’99
Farver continues to be a leader in multiple ways, including two entities he founded: Mettle Ventures, LLC, a business development company, and La Plata Capital, a private credit platform focused on small business lending. He also serves as President of the corporate foundation, as an independent director of another large family business, and as a part-time faculty member at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management where he earned his MBA. His philanthropic activities include charitable and for-profit community development initiatives in his hometown of Pella, IA, and he serves as President and Chair of the Board of Graland Country Day School in Denver.
Farver’s passion for service stems from CC’s overall community aspect. “It’s about acknowledging and respecting differences, taking care of one another, and caring deeply about our community, our institution itself, and the legacy that we were privileged to be a part of,” he says.
His two top lessons involve people and culture. “One, business is all about the people,” Farver says. “The most rewarding and fulfilling aspect of my role is empowering people, unleashing talent, and watching individuals soar. Two, culture is more important than strategy. When people love their jobs, they can and will accomplish anything. Loving your job is not about pay and perquisites, it is about purpose and passion.”