At age 14 and with a brand new Canon 310XL Super 8 film camera in-hand, my career trajectory seemed vividly clear: by age 15, I would become North Carolina’s pre-eminent D-grade horror movie director.
Several decades and gallons of fake blood later, this early ambition remains on hold thanks to a fortuitous detour into the world of advertising after earning a BA from the University of Pennsylvania; a 20+ year detour that has led to key leadership positions at some of the industry’s top agencies and the creation of iconic, award-winning, business-driving work for some of the world’s most influential brands.
Over the course of this detour, the work I've created with countless talented collaborators has garnered gobs of awards from the industry’s top shows including Cannes, D&AD, CLIO, One Show, the Art Directors Club, ANDYs, London International, New York Festivals, The Webby Awards, Effie Worldwide, Radio Mercury, FWA. My work for both Nike and Häagen-Dazs are permanent residents of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The integrated “Help the Honey Bees” campaign for Häagen-Dazs earned the first-ever Green Pencil awarded by The One Club, and the rebrand work for Hyundai helped turn the struggling carmaker into a screaming success story that continues with gusto today.
Currently, I’m with Goodby, Silverstein & Partners (SF) as Executive Creative Director overseeing Comcast/Xfinity, the agency’s largest, most enduring and highly-awarded account. Prior to this, I served as CCO at Arnold Worldwide (Boston/NY) and prior to that I was CCO at Y&R (NY). And prior to that, I was at GS&P (SF) for the first time.
Most importantly, I'm the proud father of two boys (human) and one girl (K-9) and the proud husband to one wife (human).
Last thing: I still own that Super 8 camera and occasionally threaten to rekindle that long-ago dream of becoming a horror film director. Especially if this detour into advertising is met with a gory demise.
