Career Adventurer helps people uncover career possibilities through story. We chronicle personal journeys through the world of work. We do this simply to help people navigate today's non-linear job jungle a little more purposefully.You can subscribe on Substack or find Career Adventurer on major podcast platforms like Spotify and Apple Podcasts

Ursos Ventures provides fractional CMO and Head of Growth services to growth minded companies. Companies grow confidently with Ursos. Ursos helps companies by catalyzing their most distinctive and innovative products, communicating clearly in the right markets, and collaborating to close deals. Ursos methods have been derived by working with dozens of Fortune 1000 companies and startups / early stage growth companies over 20 years.Core services include the following:Persona Mapping, Marketing Strategy, P&L / Profit Strategy, Innovation Planning, Go-to-Market Activation

Global Strategy and Innovation Leader for Biore in North America, Europe, Latin America, and Australia.Lead Global Marketing Strategy for the brand within the facial skincare market. Lead team direction setting and focus including overall brand strategy, positioning, and architecture. Lead collaborative strategic and competitive analysis with cross functional team including R&D and development partners.Lead new product roadmap and master-planning process focused on launching new innovation both in store and digitally.Led the launch of multiple new products with traditional mass retailers, on Amazon, and via the Kao DTC site.

Innovation & Growth leader for one of the Top 10 Public incubators in the world. Lead marketing strategy, innovation, and business development for HCDC's Office of Innovation & Creativity, a program focused on helping startups and early stage growth companies build innovative products and scale them.Lead innovation and growth marketing consulting efforts for disruptive, high growth companies. Help dozens of clients build, launch, and grow new products. Clients included some of Cincinnati and Ohio's most promising startups. Leverage sophisticated strategic research tools to help clients identify valuable insights, build innovative products and product roadmaps, and scale the businesses. Clients grow revenues approximately 20 - 30% after working with me. Clients cross many industries including manufacturing, professional services, technology, healthcare, CPG, SaaS, and more.Tripled my client base and grew social following 30% in just seven months by repositioning the product's value proposition. Included a fresh content marketing plan, website redesign, and targeted social / SEO strategy.

Led multi-functional teams delivering new product innovation and strategy consulting engagements for Fortune 1000 companies in a variety of industries, including beverage alcohol, specialty coffee, consumer packaged goods, agricultural products, financial services, and more. Clients included Constellation, Kraft-Heinz, Nationwide Insurance, Newell Brands, Cargill, and more. I helped them define high value market opportunities, explore consumer resonant product platforms, and build distinct businesses.Led a team of strategists and managers in traditional and new product innovation approaches. Employed multi-faceted innovation tools such as social listening, ethnography, rapid concept and prototyping, Lean Startup, Design Thinking, and other tools to help clients innovate more effectivelyGrew company sales 20% in one year by securing new business opportunities.

Brand leader for premium, professional haircare brand Nioxin, the #1 brand for thinning hair. Lead a cross functional team of eight people on overall brand strategy, innovation planning, agency management, advertising, communications, pricing, and all aspects of business management for this $50 million business.Led business and brand redesign and relaunch that captured new consumers and leveraged more digital technology tools. Developed new product, communications, and digital marketing plan utilizing newest digital media and marketing tools.Led product innovation planning for the business. Owned the identification of new market opportunities within the traditional hair care business. Led innovation strategy, alignment with the business CEO, and launch for five new products in two years.Led "Stories of Nioxin" marketing campaign that increased brand awareness 5%. Increased media impressions 100% via 'tech savvy' marketing plan that focused on paid/organic search, influencer marketing, digital video, and programmatic advertising.Digital Marketing leader for $300M North America Salon Professional business. Identified best practices for eCom advertising, targeted ad buying, & SEO / SEM strategies.Increased sales $1M in 3 months via Facebook, YouTube, and Google Adwords advertising campaigns.Led influencer and PR advertising campaigns. Led Nioxin's sponsorship of the ATP Western & Southern Open. Drove +15% Google page one landing frequency by focusing on improved creative copy content, website updates to improve search terms recognition, and PR enabled influencer focus driving news.

Business strategy, market research, financial analysis, pricing, and innovation leader for critical E.&J. Gallo Winery subsidiary. Led monthly, quarterly, and annual strategic planning and market opportunity evaluation process for the business. Defacto COO that supported the business CEO in the identification of core business opportunities and aligned those opportunities with the E.&J. Gallo Winery CEO, CFO, and Board of Directors. Led team of eight employees including strategy, finance, customer service, and marketing. Included annual prioritization, salary planning, and organizational direction setting.Turn-around leader returning business to profitability. Lead price change with buy-in from CEO. Implemented new price strategy and in less than 12 months achieved break even from a $5M loss.Refocused business strategy, marketing plan, and leadership team by valuing market opportunity to expand revenues by 30% in the fast growing natural and organic product (i.e. - CAGR of 12%) space.Doubled Natural Product business line volume within two years with a marketing budget that had been cut 30%.

May 2014 - September 2014Finance & Strategy leader for P&G's Personal Health Care Digestive Wellness Brands. Provided financial, strategic, ROI, marketing budget, and initiative leadership for the Digestive Wellness brand portfolio with sales >$500 million. Brands included Pepto Bismol, Prilosec, Metamucil, Align, and New Chapter.Aligned Sr. Management to New Chapter business strategic plan. Plan expanded customer acquisition and distribution in new retail channels and established a vision to increase sales 50% over five years.Co-lead Prilosec Brand's $200M leading market share via co-leadership of the $30M marketing mix investment plan during Nexium 24Hrs entry into OTC heartburn market.

Financial and initiative leader for disruptive innovation initiatives within P&G's internal incubator. Provided financial, marketing, and strategic leadership on three disruptive product platforms.Co-led Swash Business (www.swash.com), a P&G / Whirlpool Joint Venture, creation. Led transition on time / under budget via coordination of marketing, sales, operations, legal, and design teams.Recognized by P&G and Whirlpool New Business Creation leaders for creating "Best in Class" strategic planning systems for JV. Required integration of two highly complex / bureaucratic systems.Supported CMO on $20M digital, influencer, and eCom marketing plan to drive customer acquisition.

Led P&G Family Care's financial planning and analysis group. Ensured the Bounty, Charmin, and Puffs brands were strong financially and met company return targets.Enabled Global Leadership team to increase revenues ~$300M and profits ~$200M as financial reporting leader for Family Care component of $15B Baby/Family Care SEC reporting segment.Lead strategic analyses for Global President to clarify quarterly / fiscal year financial position and drive goal setting for the business unit and its VPs (e.g., volume, sales, gross margin, SG&A, & operating profit).

Enabled category leaders to enroll P&G CEO/CFO in business plan growing Bounty, Charmin, & Puffs revenues ~$500M and profits ~20%. Shareholder return grew 14%, ~4% ahead of P&G average.Developed global expansion vision to increase sales ~20%; created volume, sales, price points, margin, and personnel targets to successfully expand presence in global tissue market.Co-developed marketing plans increasing promotion and growth of mid tier “Basic” products (e.g. – Bounty Basic) allowing the business to maintain leading share amidst a hypercompetitive market.

Pioneered P&G’s first, standard capacity expansion analysis model enabling senior management to assess >$2B in capital expenditures saving P&G ~$500K in annual overhead costs.Obtained CEO/CFO support for >$500M in production lines enabling Bounty and Charmin megabrands top line sales to grow ~4% annually and bottom line profit ~10% annually.