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The Woodruff Arts Center in Atlanta, GA is one of the largest arts centers in the world, home to the Tony Award-winning Alliance Theatre, the Grammy Award-winning Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO) and the High Museum of Art, the leading art museum in the Southeast.

Elevating Humanity Through Conscious Business Leaders In Metro Atlanta

HIGHLIGHTS:+ We opened the third Look Listen office in Portland+ IBM highlighted our attention to marketing innovation and results in an IBM Watson Marketing case study+ Our work for AT&T won Best in Show at Celebrate ATL+ The Denver office almost quadrupled in size as it turned two years old + Our thought leadership around Connected Cohorts is ready for mainstream+ I joined the board of The Growth Society, led by longtime friend and mentor, Steve Beshara

HIGHLIGHTS+ Delivered an unprecedented 8X ROI and record setting YoY results for Look Listen's two largest agency-of-record clients+ Using Connected Cohorts, our proprietary marketing and sales framework, Look Listen launched a global site for the new sustainable technology business unit at Arrow with a dedicated cross-office team at Look Listen+ Formalized three centers of excellence for Look Listen: Performance Media, Marketing Automation, and Brand Experience+ Achieved three consecutive years on the Inc 5000 list and the Atlanta Pacesetters list as one of the fastest growing privately-held companies+ Vindicated by Yik Yak's shutdown (see Work in 2014) and a sense that we should always trust our gut, especially if it's fine tunedLOWLIGHTS- Adapting to the changing competitive landscape, which is less friendly to full service agencies- Administering the first layoffs in Look Listen history when a client left after two years of service- Conducting search, buildout, and move of office locations in Atlanta and Denver at the same time- Seeing competing agencies in Atlanta and Denver go through layoffs or shut their doors (even though we may be competitors, people's lives are still effected when this happens)

HIGHLIGHTS+ Achieving a 512% three year growth rate took us to #783 on the Inc 5000 list+ Kept Look Listen in the top 100 fastest growing privately held companies in Atlanta (we were #76)+ Opened the second Look Listen office in Denver+ Acquired Big Scary Cranium, former Silverpop Agency of the Year+ Began building out an Internet of Things platform for the second largest electronics manufacturer in the world+ Gracefully bought out my Look Listen co-founder and kept our friendship intact in the process+ Named the 6th Top Middle Market Entrepreneur by TiE AtlantaLOWLIGHTS- Migrating our financial operations to NetSuite was a distracting drain on resources and took much longer than anyone could have imagined- Managing internal and external perceptions in a year of leadership change at Look Listen (I had to accept the fact that some people will draw their own conclusions and it's a waste of energy convincing them otherwise)- Integrating an acquisition and opening a second office was more difficult than I expected

HIGHLIGHTS+ Look Listen hit the Inc. 500 as the 408th fastest growing company in the United States + Look Listen won an Atlanta Pacesetter award as the 64th fastest growing company in Atlanta+ Established an amazing management team at Look Listen that became a trusted group of counselors and supporters+ Became digital agency of record for Char-Broil, the famed grill brand, thanks to a committed team and proven track record to Make Ideas MatterLOWLIGHTS- Missed our growth target for hiring and revenue- Admitted that a couple of startup ventures were failing or in the process of failing- Admitted that we made a couple of mis-hires during our fast growth and taking the painful measures to correct it- Fired a client (easy) and an employee (hard) for disrespecting fellow human beings

HIGHLIGHTS+ Continued to lead the growth of Look Listen to a digital agency of 35 employees (up from just 5 employees 24 months before)+ Added several well-known names to our client list: GE, Steve Harvey, Synchrony Financial, NCR+ Hit the growth target needed to place our company on the Inc. 500LOWLIGHTS- Led the decision to buy out a business partner that wasn't working out. It's one of the toughest and easiest decisions I've ever made.- Spoke without having enough information. While sitting on a SharkTank-style panel at DIGSouth, I told the CEO of Yik Yak I thought their platform was having short-lived success in a crowded space. Within 7 months, it would be valued at close to $400 million :(- Juggled chaos after our office building was hit by copper thieves. It displaced our whole company for two and a half weeks and led to one of the worst months of the year.

HIGHLIGHTS+ Participated in the Google Glass Explorers program+ Artfully navigated Look Listen from a digital "studio" to a digital "agency"+ Took a real vacation (unplugged from email and the phone) for the first time in over 10 years+ Institutionalized independent service lines of Digital Advertising, Digital Marketing, Digital Products & eCommerce at Look Listen and hired an amazing management team to lead the way+ Co-founded ChangeBrush with a simple mission: Change your toothbrush. Change a life.LOWLIGHTS- Recruiting for Look Listen and Pixel Perfect Code takes away from the energy of leading these two companies, I know it'll pay off though- Shortage of parking is holding back our long-term company growth #NeverThoughtThisWouldBeAProblem- Didn't hit the Inc 500, but there's always next year!

HIGHLIGHTS+ Began living and working from only an iPhone and iPad+ Invited to keynote at dmexco in Cologne+ Traveled to India to put faces to names and do some field research on mobile in emerging economies+ People emailing me from all over complimenting me on my LinkedIn profile; risk taking pays offLOWLIGHTS:- The quality of apps for running a business are so limited it's ridiculous; my businesses and day-to-day work suffers for it- Traveling around the world takes me away from my sweet family- Feeling (constantly) speechless when someone asks me "so what do you do?" - Prematurely aging due to stress; risk taking pays in wrinkles sometimes

HIGHLIGHTS+ Spoke at the opening ceremony of the World Children's Festival on the National Mall in Washington, DC+ Launched FindPost, the first social lost and found on the web+ Joined HurryHurry! as Chief Brand Officer, officially my most pretentious title ever+ Expanded our studio at Look Listen to include some amazing talent+ Video I produced with some amazing people for the Dead Battery Anxiety Campaign showed in Times SquareLOWLIGHTS- Nearly 100% of my flights were delayed or cancelled due to weather or mechanical issues- Admitted the need to move back to Atlanta for a better international airport and an extensive network to take care of my family when I travel (Long live Charleston!)- HurryHurry! was over just about as fast as it started; the closing window of the daily deal market and development delays to blame #ThatsLifeInAStartup

HIGHLIGHTS + Interviewed by Stuart Elliott of the New York Times+ Led packaging, retail, and online design direction of >$50 million product portfolio+ Directed successful collaboration with global packaging powerhouse MWV and global electronics powerhouse Philips Consumer Lifestyle to create innovative packaging structure+ Collaborated on rebranding the online experience of the largest dental care provider in the US+ Joined the corporate board of the International Child Art Foundation (ICAF)LOWLIGHTS- Unable to give my direct reports the care and feeding they needed because of the demands of my job- Worked almost every night and weekend of the summer- Spent almost all downtime working during two trips to Hong Kong

HIGHLIGHTS+ Completed the redesign of a >$3 billion healthcare business's online experience+ Began working on the redefinition of the communication design for Digital Lifestyle Outfitters and Philips MP3 and Mobile Phone accessories+ Led portfolio acquisition of sports marketing businessLOWLIGHTS- Did not anticipate cultural change management required during the redefinition of communication design for Philips & DLO (Acquisition, meet acquirer. Enough said.)

HIGHLIGHTS+ Began redesign of massive healthcare online experience and lead generation strategy, driven by multi-continent user research+ Spoke on topic of "Dethroning Conventional Brand Thought" at FUSE conference with the likes of Stefan Sagmeister, Milton Glaser, and Malcolm Gladwell+ Analyzed organizational processes and co-wrote internet guidelines for one of the top 10 global web sites, philips.com+ Directed video for NYU (a dream of mine to produce something for such an important New York institution)LOWLIGHTS- Spent most of the year focused on one or two strategic projects

HIGHLIGHTS+ Redefined the online experience of premium baby care brand AVENT+ Collaborated on the redesign of sonicare.com+ Completed studies at MIT+ Traveled to Kenya to work on humanitarian mission outside of NairobiLOWLIGHTS- Stopped working with the design partners that groomed me since my start-up failed in 2000; it was time, we agreed- Experienced New Orleans one year after Katrina; the city was still horribly destroyed by the storm- Lost a dear friend to Leukemia

HIGHLIGHTS+ Directed creation of massive retail visual standards web site for BP Amoco and their master brands of Arco, Aral, and TNK+ Contributed to annual design cycle model for global energy company and designed online tools to facilitate business processes+ Led roll-out of four concept retail prototypes for Valvoline Instant Oil Change+ Led creative integration of Nascar sponsorship and Sunoco's retail sites+ Co-developed humanitarian business model under venture capital funding, which lead to Nobel Peace Laureate reference (they aren't allowed to "endorse" things, only "reference")+ Began studying strategy and innovation at MIT SloanLOWLIGHTS- Failed to launch high-end home furnishings line - Unable to contribute strategic thought to execution of Cadbury Adams packaging

HIGHLIGHTS+ Spoke in roundtable at College Art Association conference+ Designed book for Sasha Barab and Craig Jackson's virtual world education experience, Quest Atlantis+ Finally finished my BFA after starting undergrad almost 10 years ago, presidential scholar, cum laude, and all that jazzLOWLIGHTS- It took almost 10 years to finish my undergrad degree- Declined offer to attend RISD and SCI-Arc for my masters degree; it just wasn't the right time

HIGHLIGHTS+ Contributed to "evolutionary" redesign of Sprite packaging+ Contributed to redesign of entire packaging design architecture of iconic Bubblicious brand+ Presented virtual graffiti project at the CURO symposium+ Participated in the mathematics and visualization seminar of the NSF funded VIGRE program+ Featured in UGA's "Amazing Student" campaignLOWLIGHTS- Sprite packaging is only rolled out worldwide, the US work is scrapped and another agency proceeds with a "revolutionary" redesign

HIGHLIGHTS+ Contributed to new product packaging design and line positioning for Gillette Sensor 3 disposable razor+ Began to finish BFA in Digital Media at University of Georgia, finally+ Awarded Ideas for Creative Exploration (ICE) research grant for the project "All Day and All Night"+ Awarded CURO research fellowship for virtual graffiti project, "Tagging," a mobile application for Pocket PCs.LOWLIGHTS- "All Day and All Night" had major technical difficulties and the opening was delayed- "Tagging" didn't receive widespread adoption because very few people had Pocket PCs; remember, this was 4 years before the iPhone and iOS apps

HIGHLIGHTS+ Took three month sabbatical to Avignon, France and made experimental film+ Assisted in primary and secondary packaging design of Budweiser, Bud Light, Bacardi Silver and other Anheuser-Busch products+ Assisted in packaging design of new product entry for Lipton+ Assisted in designing co-branded retail environment for Coca-Cola and McDonald'sLOWLIGHTS- Survived the pressures of working for demanding clients like Anheuser-Busch and BP while other designers came and went- Missed many dinners with friends and family to make sure the work was "designed until the end"

HIGHLIGHTS+ Became an expert juggler by being a graphic designer, FedEx runner, model maker, production designer, whipping boy, and resident lunch fetcher+ Was lucky to have a job after the .com collapse so I could pay rent and eatLOWLIGHTS- Continued to flounder and search for some kind of professional direction after my start-up failed- Forced to work through 9/11 and pretend like nothing happened because client was in the office; guess I was just a sensitive kid

HIGHLIGHTS+ Founded digital agency start-up Drowning House+ Made my first solo presentation in front of a company's board of directors; I was a little nervous+ Designed some of the first web sites for companies in Nashville+ Received an invaluable education in pitching work and delivering value to clients, all motivated by the fact that if I didn't get the work, I couldn't eatLOWLIGHTS- Working at CompUSA as a Mac sales rep to balance out feast/famine revenue stream of a small agency- Our start-up failed like most companies in their first year- Admitted defeat in the start-up game and went to work for traditional agency focused on branding in retail in packaging

HIGHLIGHTS+ Taught myself HTML in a local Nashville coffee shop+ Decided to drop out of school to experience the .com madness first hand+ Hired as assistant corporate art consultant for Dollar General's corporate art collection, boy was I in over my headLOWLIGHTS- Spent second summer sleeping on friend's couches because I didn't have a place to live- Living paycheck to paycheck

HIGHLIGHTS+ Convincing people with $ at a small liberal arts school to fund my idea for a multi-disciplinary publication+ Teaching myself "graphic design" over spring break so that I could send the publication to press+ Discovering graphic design paid better than yard work and odd jobs+ Selling my first few projects for identity and print designLOWLIGHTS- Sleeping on the floor of a friend's apartment because I didn't have a place to live- Being stiffed on my first freelance job because I didn't know what I was doing