On Jan. 6, Dave Duncan began a new career when he officially started work as president of the Iowa Telecommunications Association.

Among his greatest challenges is representing the diverse interests of the association’s members, who offer a wide range of telecommunications services, including local service, long-distance service, wireless telephone, Internet and high-speed Internet access, and cable television.

“I enjoy the challenge of trying to find that common ground,” Duncan said.

A native of Iowa City, Duncan received both a bachelor’s degree in business and a law degree from the University of Iowa. After graduation, he worked for the Des Moines-based Grefe & Idney law firm as a general litigator. Deciding to change careers six years later, he joined the Iowa Automobile Dealers Association, serving as in-house legal counsel and eventually as the group’s vice president. In that position, he lobbied state legislators on automobile dealer-franchise and general transportation issues. He also provided legal advice for association members.

“I liked providing members with counsel for their particular businesses on how to avoid litigation,” he said.   When he was in private practice as a litigator, both sides were usually too conflicted to resolve their differences without legal intervention, Duncan said.

“This way I can help keep people out of trouble,” he said. “I’ve only changed jobs a couple of times, but each job I had gave me skills that helped me move above and beyond.”

Duncan’s latest move came, in part, because he’d heard about the position from a friend, and it seemed a good fit for his skills and experience. But he also has interest in the telecommunications field. The job allows him to focus the efforts of his volunteers, applying the organization’s long-term plans and pondering the mercurial nature of the business he has entered.

“In the next decade, everything will change – literally everything,” Duncan said. “The change is exhilarating. In telecommunications, we have to catch up and stay up to look forward to the future.”

Outside of work, Duncan’s interests lie in eating his wife’s “gourmet food creations,” collecting coins with his 6-year-old daughter and watching his artistic 4-year-old daughter dance. He also is in line to become president of Mentor Iowa, “a non-profit organization near and dear to my heart,” which pairs at-risk children with positive role models.