I use design research and design thinking to deliver opportunities for clients: from immediately implementable solutions to blue-sky future possibilities, and from high-level strategic product recommendations to fully developed digital prototypes. 

See more of my skills, beliefs, education and experience 

Skills

  • Consumer and cultural trend investigation

  • Opportunity assessment

  • Strategic recommendations

  • Customer journeys and user experience strategy

  • Use case and feature development

  • Product rollouts and roadmaps

  • The intellectual flexibility of a sideshow contortionist

  • Large-scale qual, primary + secondary research

  • Consumer insight development

  • Workshop and ideation facilitation

  • Competitive evaluation and marketplace analysis

  • New business pitches and presentations

  • Hiring, professional development and mentorship

  • Team, discipline and product leadership

Beliefs

The best work starts with a close look at the people you’re building for: use research to develop insights, use insights to fuel empathy, and use empathy to build more human solutions and compelling products 

Brands are not logos, taglines and ads: they are the sum of all experiences between people and companies

Innovation is a muscle. It can, and must, be trained. Innovators have more in common with athletes than artists

Do small, good things.

Diversity is the mother of innovation: bring multidisciplinary teams, a variety of perspectives and diverse backgrounds to bear on problems

Never stop questioning: the assumptions, the received wisdom, the initial conclusion, the prevailing best practice

Multi-disciplinary teams beat solo geniuses; insights beat ideas; work beats inspiration; action beats thought; doing beats saying; done beats perfect

Education

Yale University: B.A. with distinction, History of Art

Summa cum laude

Elected to Phi Beta Kappa junior year

Experience

download my resume

6/2019 – present: executive director / digital products manager, JPMorgan Chase

NY site lead for an innovative, design-led transformation team that is reimagining JPMC's customer experience and driving the next generation of financial products and services

1/2018 – 6/2019: Consultant

9/2014 – 12/2017: group strategy director / mbInnovations

Led a team of nine strategists and researchers as director of the strategy discipline for this in-house innovation and product development consultancy whose anchor client was Verizon.

We created new products, services and experiences by identifying actionable opportunities at the intersection of business goals, consumer needs, proprietary assets, and chinks in competitors’ armor. Our initiatives spanned telecommunications, digital and mobile video, IoT- related areas like smart home and connected car, digital identity and security, sports and entertainment media, and several other technology verticals.

Key accomplishments:

  • Key to the development of their Go90 mobile/OTT video platform, which established Verizon within the video content and media space

  • Supported the creation of Verizon products currently in market, including Hum+ and Fios TV, as well as several in development related to Cloud, 5G mobility, tracking and monitoring, premium and prepaid products, and more

2012 – 2014: VP, director of strategic planning / Publicis


Lead strategic and brand planner for several 360-degree accounts. Responsible for all strategy, planning, research and consumer insights functions and deliverables.

Key accomplishments:

  • Strategic lead for the $35-million-dollar re-launch of the AXA brand in the US

  • Member of pitch team for new business wins, including Kohl's and Sleepy's

Major Accounts: P&G Oral Care, AXA, US Bank, SuperValu, Merck, New Business

2008 – 2012: VP, director of strategy + analysis / Publicis Modem

Director of digital strategy for the General Mills account. Led the strategy team in creating holistic, integrated, effective digital engagement strategies in search, social, programmatic, display, content and owned/earned media.

Key Accomplishments:

  • Strategic lead for General Mills product line extension launches and site redesigns

  • Launched General Mills’ first big social media campaign and social command center Major Accounts: General Mills (Cheerios, Yoplait, Pillsbury, Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks, and more), L’Oreal, PayPal, Sanofi-Aventis, New Business

2005 – 2008: VP, creative experience director / Publicis Dialog

Director of interactive experience planning and content strategy for large interactive and transactional websites and digital media. In addition to day-to-day creative and strategic development, also responsible for building and leading the Experience Planning and Content Strategy disciplines, including all hiring and managing, and advocating the discipline’s capabilities internally, to the larger agency and holding company, and to current and prospective clients.

Key Accomplishments:

  • Key member of a core team of five who grew interactive's share of Publicis Dialog NY's revenues from close to zero to 45% – $9.5 million – from 2005 to 2006

  • Strategic lead for General Mills’ first product customization and e-commerce site Major Accounts: General Mills, Sanofi-Aventis, Wyeth, New Business

2000 – 2005: Experience planner / Arc Worldwide (part of Publicis Groupe)

Versatile member of the company’s interactive division, which specialized in user- focused website development and marketing media. Lead experience planner for several large transactional websites. Responsible for total user experience, including strategy, research, business requirements, site architecture, and content development.

Major Accounts: Procter & Gamble, General Motors, General Mills, Continental Airlines, Starwood, Columbia Laboratories