A Rowan County native’s new advisory company is helping local firms navigate the decisions made in Washington, Raleigh and locally.
Colton Overcash is the founder of Vertex Strategies, a new public relations company, that bills itself as a go to for those looking to understand policy to make informed business decisions.
“In practical terms, Vertex helps clients understand how decisions in Raleigh, Washington, or local government can affect a project approval, funding opportunity, contract award, regulatory issue, or public challenge before the path forward becomes harder to change,” Overcash said, adding that his company has an ear toward local issues as well.
“Rowan is already part of the larger growth and infrastructure debate Vertex is focused on — from major industrial projects and data center-related development to power demand, local approvals, and legislation moving in Raleigh.”
The company takes its name from a mathematic principle.
“In geometry, a vertex is where lines meet and direction is determined,” reads part of the company’s website. “It’s also the highest point where you can see what’s coming before anyone else does. We built our practice around both ideas.”
While the company is based in Charlotte, Overcash touts his family’s Rowan County roots.
“Rowan County is part of the foundation behind this launch,” Overcash said. “My family’s North Carolina roots trace back to Rowan County in 1748, and my father served the county for over 35 years in EMS. That history has shaped how I think about public service, community, and building something of my own here.”
A graduate of Western Carolina University, Overcash has experience in both the private and public sector. This includes staff roles in the office’s of U.S. Senator Thom Tillis’ and Virginia Foxx, an appointment to the Department of Homeland Security and government affairs work at Motorola Solutions.
“My career in government started the way I think it should — on the ground, in communities that don’t always make the headlines but carry the full weight of the decisions made in Raleigh and Washington,” Overcash said. “I worked across nearly a third of North Carolina during my time in Congress — from Charlotte to the Virginia state line and everything west to Murphy — meeting people in places often missed on a map and long forgotten in conversations happening hundreds of miles away. I learned what government looks like from the ground up. More importantly, I learned what it feels like to the people engaging it directly. That never left me. It’s why I’m selective about the work we take on and why being effective in this business means being principled about how you do it. That perspective — and that standard — is the foundation Vertex was built on.”
His time at DHS was spent working as a senior communications officer. That experience coincided with the pandemic in 2020, which he said was particularly formative.
“That work helped inform how state, local, tribal, and foreign governments understood and responded to the crisis in real time,” Overcash wrote in a release.
Overcash said he wants Vertex to represent more than just his work experience.
“When I started Vertex, I wanted it to reflect more than the career I had built across Congress, the Trump Administration, national security, and the private sector,” Overcash said. “I wanted it to reflect where I come from and the values that shaped me. Rowan County may not always make the headlines, but it has a way of producing people who understand work, service, community, and responsibility.”
Overcash said the company is well situated in North Carolina.
“North Carolina is one of the most important and dynamic government affairs arenas in the country right now — and many organizations operating at the federal, state, and local levels are engaging too late, too narrowly, or without a full picture of how the political, regulatory, and market forces around them are moving,” Overcash said. “The window to shape outcomes is almost always earlier than people think. By the time most organizations show up, the decision is often already made.”
He added that the region surrounding Charlotte and Rowan County is of particular importance.
“Charlotte was chosen as the firm’s home because it sits at the center of many forces shaping North Carolina’s future — from unprecedented energy demand and advanced manufacturing investment, to the technology, aerospace, and defense activity stretching across the Piedmont, Research Triangle, and one of the largest military footprints in the country,” Overcash said. “From that vantage point, North Carolina offers a clear view of the issues facing fast-growing states and regional economies — and how local decisions increasingly connect to Raleigh and Washington, D.C.”
