Principal Members
Peter H. Wendel
Wendel possesses a powerful combination of media experience and public relations and marketing know-how. His 12 years of D.C.-based journalism experience includes Gannett News/ USA Today, Congressional Quarterly and Campaigns & Elections Magazine, where he served as managing editor for five years.
Wendel began his career in communications with the grassroots PR pioneer Direct Impact, a wholly owned subsidiary of Burson-Marsteller, where he worked as senior media relations manager overseeing a variety of high-profile programs, including executive-outreach efforts and public affairs campaigns for such powerhouse clients as Ford Motor Company and BlueCross BlueShield. Prior to founding DIRECT DESIGN COMMUNICATIONS Wendel held the position of managing director for five years at Qorvis Communications, the largest independently owned public relations shop in the District of Columbia. While at Qorvis, Wendel managed a raft of grassroots public affairs campaigns, including a tremendously successful national program for Cord Blood Registry, a for-profit stem cell bank. Other client experience includes: Astra-Zeneca, the Committee to Protect Mesothelioma Victims, Merrill Lynch, Yahoo!, GlaxoSmithKline, Artistic Realization Technologies, EarthSearch Communications and Microsoft Corporation. As a principal of DDC, Wendel provides cutting-edge, results-driven consulting services to corporate clients, nonprofits and political campaigns.
Wendel received his undergraduate degree from Boston University and a master's degree in political science and communications from American University. He is a former U.S. Marine; he received an honorable discharge in 1989.
Peter William Cook
Cook brings a diverse legal, business and media relations background to Direct Design Communications. As an attorney for a number of small and large law firms, Cook practiced in the areas of toxic tort litigation, personal injury, medical malpractice and anti-trust litigation.
Specifically, Cook was engaged litigation surrounding illnesses brought about by asbestos exposure for a number of years. Later in his legal career, Cook was immersed in mergers and acquisition activity that pervaded the telecommunications industry during the nineties.
Drawn to the business world, Cook joined First Index Inc. in the mid-nineties as one of its founding members. First Index, an e-marketplace that matches buyers and suppliers of custom-manufactured parts and assemblies, is now a leader and innovator in the world of domestic and strategic sourcing globally. Cook led the sales and marketing efforts of the company for over 10 years, where he was instrumental in driving substantial year over year growth. Among the many duties as V.P. of Western Operations and Supplier Sales, Cook would assist U.S. contract manufacturers gain new business opportunities and increase sales amid the challenges brought forth by the global economy. For over 5 years, Cook conducted sales training seminars for hundreds of small businesses throughout the United States, Mexico, Europe and Asia.
Cook played an integral legal and infrastructural role in founding global offices in Mexico, Hungary, China and India. In 2004, Cook led the process of identifying and profiling small and medium-sized suppliers of manufactured parts in Mexico, Brazil, Eastern Europe, China and India. In addition, Cook planned and orchestrated multiple national and global buyer-supplier seminars and purchasing fairs involving hundreds of participants coming from fortune 500 OEMs and supplier companies.
Joining Direct Design Communications in late 2006 as a partner, Cook brings a wealth of business and media contacts and legal acumen to the firm's already powerful portfolio. Recently, Cook was instrumental in assisting a global customer involved in Navigation and GPS products----with offices in Sao Paolo, Brazil and Atlanta----to secure coverage in the New York Times, Car & Driver Magazine and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Cook is also responsible for vetting all outbound and inbound communications, from a legal standpoint, for the firm.
Cook is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Rutgers College, Rutgers University. He also holds a J.D. from The Dickinson School of Law of Penn State University, where he was a member of the securities law moot court team.