In this month’s Board Spotlight, we’re proud to share words of wisdom from James Lerner, President of Gelberg Signs, a member of WDCEP’s Board of Directors.
Lerner grew up in New Zealand and came to the United States through his career. Just over three years ago, he acquired Gelberg Signs, a Washington, DC sign manufacturer that has been operating in the city for more than 85 years. Most residents have read the company’s work without ever noticing it: in the region’s airports, across the Metro system, and inside some of the District’s best-known museums. We asked him about his path to Washington, what the city has given the business, and what he would tell a company weighing DC against somewhere else.
How did you end up in Washington, DC, and what made you stay?
My own path to DC has been a little unconventional. I grew up in New Zealand and ultimately came to the U.S. through my career. Just over three years ago, I had the opportunity to acquire Gelberg Signs.
What attracted me to Gelberg Signs beyond the business itself was its history in DC. The company has been operating in the city for more than 85 years, and once you start looking around, you realize just how much of Gelberg’s work is woven into DC’s built environment. In our own unique way, we’ve shaped how residents, workers, and visitors have experienced the city for decades, from finding their way through the region’s airports, to catching the Metro, and visiting some of the incredible museums that call DC home.
Taking ownership of a company with that kind of history comes with a sense of stewardship. DC has now become an important part of my own story, and I feel a responsibility to honor what Gelberg Signs has built here while continuing to evolve the company for the future.
What makes Washington, DC the right place for this business?
DC is an unusually strong market for a company like ours because of the concentration and diversity of projects here. Within a relatively small geographic area, you have the federal government, universities, healthcare systems, museums, hospitality, major commercial development, transportation infrastructure, and some of the most recognizable institutions in the country.
That creates opportunities to work on projects that simply do not exist in many other markets. DC consistently produces sophisticated projects where expertise matters. Around that has evolved a deep ecosystem of talented architects, designers, developers, general contractors, and specialty trades. That kind of network is difficult to replicate elsewhere, and it’s a privilege to be part of it.
What do you love about living and working in this city?
DC has an unusual combination of feeling globally important and still very local. You can walk past the White House, then a few blocks later be in a neighborhood that feels completely removed from all that. I love that contrast. There is also an extraordinary amount packed into a relatively small place. It’s difficult to run out of things to do or things to be impressed by. And the city is conveniently wedged between beaches to the east and beautiful wine country and mountains to the west.
Coming from outside the United States probably makes me notice that more. There aren’t many other places in the world where history, government, architecture, international culture, and everyday neighborhood life overlap the way they do here.
How does community play a role in your day-to-day at work?
Community is one of the key pillars of our organization. For us, that starts internally, creating a place where people feel connected to the company, to each other, and to the work they are doing. We have employees who have been with Gelberg for decades, and that continuity matters.
It also extends outward. Our work becomes part of the communities we serve, whether that is a school, hospital, museum, workplace, transit system, or neighborhood. There is something meaningful about building things that people interact with every day and that become part of the physical fabric of a place.
That sense of connection is important to me and to our team. We are not just manufacturing signs. We are contributing, in a tangible way, to the places where people live, work, and gather.
What’s your pitch to a company weighing DC against another city?
DC sits at the center of an exceptionally strong regional market, and businesses here draw on talent, customers, vendors, infrastructure, and opportunities from across the broader metropolitan area. Gelberg Signs does the same. Treating those jurisdictional lines as hard economic boundaries misses how this region actually works and the advantages that come from being part of a fluid, interconnected market.
Early in my career, a former Australian Prime Minister once said to me, “James, if you want a bucket full of water, stand in the middle of the river.” The economic river of this region runs right through the heart of DC. So, in whatever way makes sense for your company, you want to be standing in that river.