About Me

MY PERSONAL STORY

My life is centered around our family of three (plus, the dog). 4th Generation Californian. Native San Franciscan. Lifelong Giants fan. College hoops fanatic. Podcast aficionado. Pop culture nerd. Frequent planner of family road trips, beach camping and backyard movie parties.  Uber Dad and travel agent for youth lacrosse practices and tournaments everywhere. First job out of college was for a Minor League baseball team in West Virginia. I took a few breaks from the rat race in my 20s and hitchhiked and backpacked through Europe, SE Asia, Mexico, Central America and Alaska. I’ve visited all 50 states in the USA. Bad golfer. Played Jim Bowie in a musical comedy about The Alamo. Produced a DIY documentary film about my family. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve become obsessed with gardening and landscaping. Tacos and beers.

This is me in a nutshell. 

MY PROFESSIONAL STORY STARTED WITH A LIFE EXPERIENCE

I began my career as a marketing & promotions intern for the Huntington Cubs, the Chicago Cubs' Single A Rookie League team.  I was hired sight unseen and drove from San Francisco to Huntington, West Virginia for a job and adventure in minor league baseball.  My  first day of work consisted of hanging billboards on the ballpark's outfield wall, painting the floor of the women's bathroom and writing a press release.  I didn't earn much money ($1,000 for the season), but I was rewarded with amazing experiences and friendships that continue to this day.

Most of my early career involved 'fun jobs' (jobs that didn't pay well) in baseball, sports marketing and events.  

CAREER EVOLUTION: FROM AN AGENCY GUY TO STRATEGIC AND CREATIVE LEADERSHIP

I swerved out of sports and refined my marketing, creative and business skills in the demanding world of advertising, managing accounts for agencies in San Francisco for such clients as Franklin Templeton Investments, Seagate, UC Berkeley, Logitech, AMD and Palm.  In 2008, I was relocated by Y&R San Francisco to Austin, TX to start a flagship office servicing the global Dell business. Me, my wife and our two-year old daughter left our hometown for a Texas family adventure that eventually lasted almost seven years.

After three years of running the Dell global consumer marketing account for what became Y&R Austin, I took a quick break to help get an independent agency off the ground. We launched a successful integrated Super Bowl campaign for Homeaway.com, the world’s largest vacation rental company at the time. I then transitioned 'in house' for a job with Dell, hired by one of my former client. I built rich experience in dealing with the pace and complexities of a big company, and I'm proud of the work we did there.  After almost seven years in Austin, I had the good fortune of getting a job at Dolby Laboratories, Inc., giving my family and I a chance to return to our native Bay Area.  

I led global digital marketing for Dolby -- a pillar of the San Francisco business community, founded by the kind genius Ray Dolby. A great place to work for anyone interested in technology, creativity, film, music and pop culture. Still considered one of the most respected and innovative brands in the world.

I currently lead marketing for MacPherson’s, an employee-owned company based in Emeryville, CA. North America’s largest retail distributor of creative products and fine arts supplies. It’s a brand new challenge - leading the business and digital transformation for a 35-year-old company confronting the demands of today’s consumer experience. A diverse company brimming with artists, logistics experts, retail gurus and people who are passionate about bringing creativity to the world.