
Build a Culture That Never Loses Customers with Field Fastener President Adam Derry
From Driven by DCKAP by DCKAP
May 14, 2026 · 19 min · Episode 102
About this episode
Adam Derry discusses the culture-first operating model and growth strategies of Field Fastener.
Adam Derry, President of Field Fastener, grew up watching his father and uncle build a 12-person fastener company into a 400-person operation growing at 18% year over year. He wasn't sure he'd join. He did anyway — and in 2022, he stepped into the role of President. In this episode, Karthik Chidambaram sits down with Adam to talk about the real mechanics behind Field's growth: a culture-first operating model, 30 actionable behaviors called the Fieldamentals, and a mission to make sure every customer loves working with them. They also get into the harder stuff — family business governance, second-generation leadership, succession planning, and what it actually means to have higher expectations for family members than everyone else.
People in this episode
Host: Karthik Chidambaram
Guest: Adam Derry
Topics covered
- customer retention
- business culture
- family business
- leadership
- succession planning
Keywords
- customer loyalty
- Fieldamentals
- family business governance
- second-generation leadership
- business growth
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Field Fastener
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