‘She was cherished by everybody’: Former CEO of Pearson Packaging Pam Senske dies

Pam Senske came back to the Spokane-based company that her father founded as a non-paid adviser in the early 1980s. It led to a decadeslong run that ended when she stepped down last February from serving on its board of directors.

The woman who is credited with returning Pearson Packaging Systems to viability and leading it to become a local business stalwart died on Tuesday. She was 78.

Her son, Michael Senske, who has served as the company president and CEO since 2004, said he sent a note to the company’s 225 employees about his mother’s role in reshaping the business.

“I wrote that without her involvement, this company almost assuredly would have faded into obscurity,” he said. “I don’t think it probably would have survived without her.”

Senske said his mother’s secret to success was built on three principles: please customers, embolden employees, and shareholder successes will flow from the first two.

“She was a huge advocate of what I would call stakeholder capitalism versus shareholder capitalism,” he said. “She really believed that the mission of the organization should be to do good.”

After serving its customers, the focus turned to those providing services.

“The second thing was creating a financial or economic independence, as well as career opportunities, for the employees of the company and their families,” Senske said. “Finally, if you did those two first things well, the shareholders would earn a reasonable and fair return.

“I took that from her,” he continued, “and we really try to govern the organization that way ever since.”

Restoring glory

Pam Senske granted an interview to The Spokesman-Review in 2019 where she explained in detail about how she came to join the company founded in 1955 by her father, R.A. “Lefty” Pearson.

Lefty Pearson initially named the business R.A. Packaging Co. He previously worked for Bohemian Brewery, which handmade six-pack containers and cases. That led Pearson to invent an automated six-pack case erector in his garage. His invention was adopted across the country and in Europe.

When Pam was 8 years old, she was already learning about the family business from her father.

Later, during summer breaks from Washington State University, she worked at the manufacturing facility, picking up parts at industrial supply stores, copying blueprints and assisting the company’s accountant with bookkeeping.

“I became familiar with the different kinds of things they did on a daily basis,” she said in 2019. “That was really fun, and I was really interested in the business.”

But Pam and her husband, Michael L. Senske, moved to Cincinnati, where she worked in mental health.

When they returned to Spokane, she worked raising her two sons, Michael and Andrew.

After Pearson died in 1971, the family retained ownership of Pearson Packaging Systems. Pam’s mother, Alma, worked at the facility amid changes in the company’s leadership.

Although the company was growing at the time, customers couldn’t get parts on schedule because of an outdated delivery system.

“I had said to my mom, ‘I’m just going to come out there. I just want to talk to the managers of each department, just to get a sense of who they are, what’s going on and their suggestions,’ ” Pam recalled. “So I did that, and it was really interesting. I expected to maybe be there for two or three months. Well, it turned out being 30 years.”

She joined the company full time in 1986. Under her leadership, the company used computers to streamline production and continued to spend money on improving its processes. She took over as CEO in 1992.

“I just really felt the responsibility to do something when the company seemed to be struggling,” she said. “I felt a responsibility that you can’t just give up without trying. If you fail, you can at least say, ‘Well, I did everything I could.’ I really had that sense it was important to do that. (The company) was kind of a family legacy.”

Pearson Packaging Systems builds machines that form, pack, seal and palletize boxes for companies such as Dell, Procter & Gamble and Coca-Cola. The company has distributed more than 20,000 machines worldwide. It currently has about 225 employees who generate revenue that exceeds $100 million a year.

When she was presented the choice to sell or continue the family business in 1997, she asked her son Michael if he was interested in leading the company. He assumed the role of president and CEO in 2004.

Health problems

She served on the company’s board of directors until last year. But she stepped down in March after suffering a minor stroke in February, Michael said. While she responded well after the incident, her health recently began to spiral.

“She was a private person, but she really spent a lot of time with close friends and family,” he said. “She never said an unkind word about anybody, and I never heard anybody say an unkind word about her. She was cherished by everybody.”

When she wasn’t leading the company, Pam dedicated time to the Girl Scouts of America, the YWCA, Mobius Science Center, Second Harvest food bank and the Early Life Speech & Language program. She also served on the board of Greater Spokane Incorporated.

During this past year, she received daily care from her husband of 56 years, Michael L. Senske, who is 79.

Pam Senske is also survived by her brother, Jack Pearson, of Spokane; her sons Michael and Andrew; two step-daughters both named Jennifer and six grandchildren.

A celebration of life has been scheduled for 2 p.m. Feb. 1 at CenterPlace Regional Event Center, at 2426 N. Discovery Place, in Spokane Valley.