I love cultivating/leading teams and building robust infrastructure in dynamic, high growth, service-minded environments. I've built companies from the ground up, acquired domestic and international companies and turned them around, and grown through some of the toughest times on record in heavily regulated industry. One of my core strengths is the ability to easily and quickly zoom from high level strategy down to the operational details as required. I like to keep one eye on the horizon and one on the next step.My experience in manufacturing, brand development, hospitality, management consulting, education, legal and regulatory affairs, retail, writing, and aviation give me a unique perspective and a valuable array of cross-functional, multi-disciplinary, and multi-cultural tools for solving the problems and seizing the opportunities that my teams and I face as we collaborate and innovate.On a more personal note, I am a pilot at heart. I've been flying since I was 15. I soloed on my 16th birthday after picking up my driver's license and driving to my local airport in Michigan. I love aviation--the freedom it affords us, the mobility, the productivity, the romance--all of it. I've owned and flown airplanes in my companies and have an impeccable safety record. Recently, I started training to earn my flight instructor's license so that I might continue to refine my flying skills. Continuous improvement is my mantra...ever onward and upward! Aviation fascinates me as it merges adventure and predictability, systems-thinking and creativity, vision and attention to detail. It is a field that gives evidence of man's greatest accomplishments and yet it is oddly humbling, while demanding respect and care. I'd love to parlay my experience into aviation in some way and am always open to discussion.My goal in life is to leave the world a better place than I found it, while treating everyone who crosses my path with dignity and respect. I love working with great people and people who have a strong desire to become great.