After spending the first part of my career in brand strategy, retail design and new product design, I focused my next step on the front-end of innovation. Working with some exceptional consultants from my past, I took on the challenge of building the business and reputation of a firm focused on design research, human-centered design and UX/UXD. Over the past five years, I've helped build Lextant into a sought after resource for market success in the automotive industry. Our work has won the recognition of the industry with Ward's Automotive UX Awards, Car of the Year (Honda Accord 2018) and Truck of the Year (Lincoln Navigator 2018) as well as Best New Hybrid of the Year (Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid 2018). -Build teams in account management, business development, marketing, project management-Integrate marketing and sales efforts to maintain and grow long-term relationships -Develop and manage relationship with organization's first AOR and and social media efforts-Build relationships in key industries: automotive, CPG, financial services, healthcare and retail -Develop sales process, funnel, CRM tools and reporting -Lead the contract negotiations with key partners and clients-Plan and strategize Lextant's overall business as a member of its executive management teamClients: Chrysler, ConAgra, DICK's Sporting Goods, General Motors, Hewlett-Packard and Honeywell among others.

After working at FITCH during the height of its influence and then a start-up, I returned to FITCH to lead its business development and marketing efforts as part of its new Management Team. The mission was simple: grow the business and return it to prominence. My role: develop the strategy for business development and marketing for North America, build a team of world-class talent and then execute on those plans. In just short of three years, we gained the following accomplishments: -recognized as Design Firm of the Year 2012-2013 (DDI Magazine)-earned 30+ industry awards for branding and retail excellence-grew team size and specialty talents -developed significant partnerships with both WPP and non-WPP companies-established a strong pattern of referrals -increased revenues among existing clients and generated business in targeted industries-turned new clients into accountsClients: Buffalo Wild Wings, Dell, M&M Mars, Nickelodeon, Sports Authority, and Starbucks.

As Big Red Rooster grew, my role evolved from inside sales to outside sales. I oversaw our inside sales team, its targeting, strategy and reporting. It was in this time that I helped Big Red Rooster grow its presence in the shopper marketing arena and develop accounts that grew into $1M+ accounts lasting for multiple years. It was also at this point in my career with Big Red Rooster that I led a partnership that resulted in one of its signature clients in the restaurant industry. Clients: McDonald's, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Pizza Hut, and Schick among others.

As an original team member, I was part of building a successful firm from the ground up. I was responsible for executing the sales and marketing strategy that I developed with the senior partners. Primarily, I was responsible for pipeline development, lead generation and marketing. This role took me from the world of product design into brand development, retail design and category management. Our early sales enabled us to grow and become recognized (twice) atop VM+SD's Top 50 Design Firms (by revenue). Clients: Albertsons, General Mills, PepsiCo North American Beverages, and William Wrigley Jr. Company.

My first experience in the creative services industry was with FITCH: a global powerhouse in product design at that time. I was fortunate to join the organization as part of its Interactive team during an era when it was well established and regarded as the Design Firm of the Decade by Business Week. My sole responsibility in this role was marketing and lead generation for our teams dedicated to product design, interaction design, branded communications and retail design.Clients: Hewlett-Packard, Liberty Mutual, Nissan and Vtech Toys.