In the summer of '91, I came to a fork in the road - follow the Grateful Dead on summer tour or get a job. Assuming the Dead would travel forever, I searched for a job that would utilize my communication skills and liberal arts education. I landed a job selling tradeshow displays and simultaneously worked in the warehouse. Those early years taught me about the front of the house and the back of the house - both incredibly important!In 1996, I had lunch with a future mentor, Jim Hoffmann. Our lunch concluded with me committing to join Optima Graphics in a sales capacity. Over the next four years, I sold for the company, but also helped build the brand, infrastructure, and customer base by listening to what our customers told me. In 2000, I joined Exhibitgroup / Giltspur and spent the next two years getting an on the fly "MBA" of sorts riding the tech slide and post 9/11 industry-wide "icky period". The network of people I was exposed to was phenomenal and the scale of projects was fascinating. In 2002, I returned to Optima and was thankful to return to such a great group of people and an organization that lives and breaths "Customer Centricity". Customers write our paychecks, make our days frustrating and always rewarding. I enjoy the ability to brainstorm and create ideas with customers that will benefit their company and in turn Optima. Fast forward to the present day and it seems everyone know two definitions for the term Supply Chain and the opportunity to use portable GPS / sensory trackers to monitor assets in real time is no longer science fiction. Providing visibility to help customers gain new found control of their unique supply chain is a new found value proposition. Tive has its eye on supporting its customers!!!Outside of work, I love to swim, bike, participate in endurance races, and enjoy a nice meal and fine glass of wine. Swimming the English Channel is one of my greatest physical accomplishments, but spending time with my wife and two kids trumps that hands down. However, I am pretty sure I am going to ride my bike across the country as soon as I find that right long long weekend.