APRIL 6, 2018

This article appeared in the Portland Business Journal’s Women of Influence section on April 6, 2018 on page 21.  It has been reprinted by the Portland Business Journal and further reproduction by any other party is strictly prohibited.  Copyright ©2017 Portland Business Journal, 851 SW 6th Avenue, Suite 500, Portland OR 97204

PORTLAND BUSINESS JOURNAL

BY SEAN MEYERS Contributing writer

B lending an accountant’s native caution with an entrepreneur’s stomach for calculated risk has served Peggy Miller well over the years.

It hasn’t hurt Pacific Star Communications Inc., either. Revenues at the Portland technology company have doubled over Miller’s 11-year tenure as CFO and then CEO, with 40 percent of that growth over the past year.

“This is the year we’ve been looking for,” Miller said.Miller began her career in public accounting at Arthur

Andersen, and she also worked at Price Waterhouse, where she helped establish one of the first technology practice cores in Oregon.

Miller has held successful leadership roles in several businesses in addition to co-founding Virtual Relocation.com, where she served as CFO of the company, helped raise $6 million in venture capital and spearheaded an $80 million sale to Monstermoving.com.

“She led all of the detailed negotiations that resulted in this sale and was a warrior through the process. Peggy took a risk with us on a startup company and it worked out for her,” said Virtual Relocation.com co-founder Scott Taylor.

Miller has won a lot of other admirers in the business community over the years.

“Few business leaders (men or women) have had a successful business career that followed the trajectory and embraced the variety of Peggy’s career. Even fewer leaders have met their success while earning the well-deserved reputation for solid business ethics and civility that Peggy has earned,” said Fred Granum, director of James Beard Market.

As a high-profile accountant and business adviser, Miller has helped rescue many companies over the years and has donated her expertise to numerous nonprofits.

“She doesn’t put a lot of varnish or spin on her updates like other CEOs may do on occasion,” said Pac-Star angel investor Irving Levin. “She is direct and thorough.”

“Without Peggy’s skills and leadership, PacStar could have failed at various points in the past and would not be the company that it is today, where employees thrive and prosper and don’t want to leave,” said George Stroemple, PacStar chairman and founder.

Few can match Miller’s ability to move seamlessly from spreadsheets to team-building, said Paula Barran, founding partner, Barran Liebman LLP.

“There’s a lot to admire in how Peggy treats the human capital at PacStar.”

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Company: Pacific Star CommunicationsTitle: CEOKey accomplishments: Doubled PacStar revenues; co-founded Virtual Relocation.com and spearheaded $80 million sale; pioneered technology core in Oregon public accounting; served as CEO of Astoria-Pacific International and president of Concero