What does true business leadership look like? For Ben Wolk, Managing Partner at ZTransform, it’s about serving others and building genuine relationships. In just five years, he grew a media engineering and integration company from $970K of revenue in 2020 to $18 million in 2024, proving that authentic leadership combined with relentless work ethic can yield remarkable results.
Transitioning from TV Engineering to Leadership
Ben’s path to business leadership started in television operations and engineering, where he spent 14 years working at four different stations. “I was fixing things at an early age and had a strong propensity for math” he shares. “I’ve always been driven to improve and advance my career and have been willing to take risks, I welcome the uncomfortable circumstance of fixing problem.”
After moving to senior management across several companies Ben took his first company president job in 2014 bringing a European equipment manufacturer into the U.S. Over the next 18 months Broadstream Solutions became a common name in the broadcast community. “We opened an office, built a team that was customer focused, and deployed several systems in record time.”
Embracing the Immigrant Work Ethic
Ben credits much of his success to lessons learned in his childhood. “My mom was born in Italy and married my dad while he was in the Navy,” People that have been raised by an immigrant parent will understand the work ethic that is instilled in you from a young age.” the hard work environment has stayed with him throughout his career. “talent cannot be fully exploited without tremendous dedication and work ethic.”
Building Through Relationships
At ZTransform, Ben has implemented a character first culture. “We want the most talented people who understand that no one person is more important that the team. This approach extends to everyone, employees, customers and vendor relationships. “when your business is providing very complex systems, the people who are purchasing your services must trust that you are able to deliver what you’ve promised, the most important thing you can convey is trust, through character, talent and quality.”
Leadership Through Service
When asked about essential leadership principles, “the higher you rise in an organization the more you are obligated to support others”
- Service First: What do I spend my day doing? I spend my day making sure my team has what they need to accomplish the work in front of them.
- Risk Management: Leaders must be comfortable handling risk and making tough decisions.
- Authentic Relationships: “If your goal is to make a lot of money, your business is not going to work, create an amazing offering that people want and need, the money will come.
Looking ahead, Ben remains focused on steady growth while maintaining the company culture that got them here. His leadership style, combining technical expertise with genuine relationship-building, has created a strong foundation for ZTransform’s future. Challenges will always come, but his ability to tackle problems one at a time while keeping his team’s needs at the forefront has proven consistently effective.
For those aspiring to build successful companies, Ben’s message is clear: Leadership isn’t about authority or status – it’s about service, authenticity, and relentless hard work. “make your intensions genuine” he emphasizes. Through his journey from TV engineer to managing partner, Ben demonstrates that true success comes not from chasing money or status, but from building real relationships and maintaining unwavering dedication to both your team and your customers.
To learn more about Ben Wolk and his approach, check out his LinkedIn profile.