Bio

Back of the baseball card:

Current: Founder & CEO of virtual idea generation platform, Ideasicle X

Agencies: Wieden, Goodby, Arnold, Mullen, Boathouse, Leonard-Monahan, HBM Creamer

Forbes Contributor: The importance of creativity in modern branding.

College: Hamilton College

Most Valuable Skill: Knowing a great idea when I see one

Favorite Color: Sky blue

Favorite Book: Trinity, by Leon Uris

Favorite Band: The Beatles

Favorite Movie: The Godfather 2

Favorite Cocktail: Martini, Plymouth Gin, stirred, dry as the dust bunnies under your bed, with a twist

Favorite Quote: “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” - John Lennon

Favorite Moment: Receiving this PowerPoint slide signed by Paul McCartney (click image to enlarge)

It's always been about ideas.

Anyone who has worked with me knows that I love nothing more than either coming up with, or witnessing the birth of, a great marketing idea. Seriously, I get the chills. So it’s no surprise, I suppose, that I'm channeling my energy and experience into a unique and entrepreneurial endeavor like Ideasicle X where ideas are everything, consulting with brands about their “brand ideas,” and working to understand human creativity a little better through science.

Background:

In 2010 I founded the virtual idea-generating company, Ideasicle, and served as Lead Brand Strategist. At about the same time, I became a Forbes Contributor. But for over 20 formative years before that I criss-crossed the country experiencing the best creative agencies in the world.

I learned as a pup from creative greats, David Lubars and David Baldwin, at Leonard/Monahan in Providence, RI. I've witnessed the magic of Jeff Goodby at Goodby Silverstein in San Francisco, CA. I was immersed in the culture of unabashed creativity and attitude of Wieden & Kennedy in Portland, OR. I’ve seen ghosts in the old "mansion" of Mullen in Wenham, MA. I felt the power of an agency startup with Boathouse in Needham, MA. And I won over $1 billion in new business billings as head of business development at Arnold in Boston.

All the while meeting what would one day become my team of Ideasicle Experts, nearly all of whom worked at one of the agencies I worked at in my past. And now it has all led up to the launching of the first web application designed specifically for virtual idea generation, Ideasicle X.

Brands:

I have had hands-on experience with such amazing brands as Microsoft, HP, Titleist, Purina, Paul McCartney, Polaroid, Volvo, Progressive Insurance, Fidelity, RadioShack, Tyson Chicken, Umbro, Miller High Life, Stanley Tools, AMD, Staples, CVS, New York Times, Warner Music, Constant Contact, Vistaprint, AMD, Lowe’s, RetailMeNot, SharkNinja, Seybert’s Billiards, JobGet, and many more.

Through my branding experiences one thing has become clear: a company without a galvanizing brand idea is a company forced into random acts of marketing. No one wants that.

Sometimes I speak.

I have guest-lectured at the College of Communication, Boston University, Boston College, and Endicott College for years and speak at marketing conferences around the country - e.g. American Marketing Association (Dallas), The Magnet Group, In-house Agency Forum, Worldwide Partners, Liberty Mutual's In-House Agency, Vitamin T, Smith & Nephew, and more.

Topics:

Improving Creativity Using Science - I love doing this one because it reviews many of the fascinating scientific studies I've come across in my research into creativity.

Don't Just Brand The Channel; Channel The Brand - another fun one built upon a theme I hit on over and over on my Forbes blog, and that is that the best brands all have a singular idea that inspires everything they do. In this talk, I explain the theory, show some great examples of "channeling" the brand and then conduct a live group-exercise to prove my point.

Forbes Contributor (2011-2020)

I wrote about branding, advertising and the importance of having a powerful “brand idea.” All ten million articles are still there. (click image to view):