Cole Mercier is a member of the Fargo Moorhead West Fargo Chamber of Commerce’s Young Professionals Network, a networking group that exists to bring together the leaders and influencers of tomorrow.
Q: Tell us about yourself and your current role.
A: I was born and raised in a small town, Glenwood, MN. I had a great support system with my family, friends, and teachers. I was always involved, taking leadership opportunities seriously and dedicating my time to being a high performer in academics, the arts, and other activities. This laid a foundation for my current involvement and passion for the community.
I have been in the metro area since 2019. I absolutely love living, working, and playing here! I focus on internal communications and change management in my current full-time role at Dakota Supply Group (DSG). We doubled in size in the last three years and only have more growth on the horizon. I develop strategic messaging, manage corporate communication campaigns, and administer culture-driven initiatives that engage our thousand or so employee owners across eight states.
Q: How did you become involved with YPN?
A: I moved to the area after graduating from the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) in December 2018. I knew no one except my wife (then girlfriend), who was wrapping up her senior year at Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM). The summer prior, I had interned with the Alexandria Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce and became quite involved with their young professionals’ program because of it. If I wanted to optimize my network and create meaningful relationships, I knew I needed to be present, familiarize myself with every aspect of the community, and challenge myself to learn something new (or meet someone new) every day.
Q: What motivated you to choose your current career path?
A: My educational background is non-traditional, to say the least. With a theatre degree in one hand and a psychology degree in the other, and having graduated in just three short years, I had to be nimble and openminded about how I could apply what I learned in school to the business world.
My passion for storytelling and hands-on collaboration, combined with my study of human behavior and being data-centric and analytical, was a well-rounded fit for the field of marketing. So, I went old school and cold-called two marketing agencies in town and asked if I could shadow them to learn the trade. They took me up on it.
Swim Creative and Flint Group were wonderful resources during my last semester and helped me land the first “real” job I ever applied for; I got the opportunity of a lifetime at Aldevron in Fargo. The timing of being there could not have been richer with experience. Ellen, my incredible leader, opened doors for me to learn and grow, exploring nearly every discipline of modern-day marketing and communications in a period of exponential growth. I eventually found my niche in internal communications and change management; the rest is history. DSG was a natural career progression a few years later, and I have been able to develop these focus areas even further since I started in 2022.
