The World Bank has offices in more than 130 places and staff from more than 170 countries.
Starting more than a decade ago, one of those staff members worked from a wood-paneled office overlooking a small lake outside Mercer.
He was among the first telecommuters in Iron County, Wisconsin, a part of the first wave of work-at-home employees whose number has now spiked in the area.
Gary Theisen had lived for years in Washington, DC, working at the headquarters of the World Bank and traveling internationally.