NORCAL TO SEATOWN
Fresh air, family, and fitness are guiding participles that have heavily influenced by personal and professional live.
I was born and raised in the far northern reaches of California, outside the small town of Redding. Both my parents worked in the timber industry, and I’ve always enjoyed being outside. In my youth I played team sports - football, basketball and baseball - but also loved to spend free time fishing, snowboarding, or skiing.
I attended college at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington (Go Zags!), earning my bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering. After college I moved from the Inland Northwest to the Pacific Northwest to start my career in the Seattle. After a brief stint in the Bay Area, I returned to the Seattle where I now permanently call home. I’ve been fortunate to be married to a wonderful wife and raise two rambunctious children in what I consider one of the greatest cities in the world - even with the grey skies.
I completed my MBA at Washington State University (Go Cougs!) in December of 2021 with the hopes of growing my career experience beyond innovation and engineering disciplines. I wanted to give myself a solid business foundation to build upon.
Through it all I have maintained that love for outdoor activities. These days trail running, skiing, golfing, and yoga have taken priority when not chasing my two kids around in local parks and activities.
I’m always looking for that next adventure and love sharing my passion for the outdoors!
SKILLS & EXPERTISE
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Cross-Functional Team Management | Coaching & Mentoring | Creative Direction | Goal Setting | | Creative Studio Leadership
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Product Development Lifecycle (PDLC) | Market Research | Competitor Analysis | Consumer Insights | GTM Strategy | Project Management | Strategic Planning | Design Thinking | Product Road Mapping | Continuous Improvement
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Innovation Engineering | R&D Strategy | Design Engineering | Manufacturing Processes | Metal Fabrication | Plastic Injection Molding | Packaging Engineering | Footwear Product Development | Softgoods Product Development
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3D CAD (Solidworks) | Adobe Creative Suite | Smartsheet | Oracle PLM | Centric PLM
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
PMI WORLDWIDE (TMS)
Director, Engineering – Stanley and Starbucks, 10/2021-6/2023
Led a cross-functional team of design engineers and product developers to oversee the full product development lifecycle to create consumer reusable food and beverage solutions. This included defining vision and requirements, innovation engineering, prototyping, color, material, finish (CMF) innovation, and product sustainability initiatives.
Selected Achievements:
Expanded the engineering and innovation team from six to 20+ during a period of hyper-growth, aligning new team member skillsets with business growth objectives while prioritizing team culture and professional development.
Accelerated product lead-times by up to 40% while maintaining product quality and functionality by improving global collaboration and implementing continuous improvement methodologies to optimize product development lifecycle efficiencies and GTM strategy.
Conducted market research and integrated consumer insights to inform future product line plans and create product development roadmaps aligned with key consumer needs and the broader organizational strategy.
Director, Research & Development – Stanley and Starbucks, 10/2015-10/2021
Built and led a global R&D team consisting of Innovation, Prototyping, Product Testing, CMF, Packaging Engineering, and Consumer Insights to identify target markets, analyze emerging trends and technologies, and resolve the company's most challenging consumer issues.
Selected Achievements:
Drove annual revenue growth 500% to $1B+ in six years by identifying new product opportunities in collaboration with senior leadership and brand marketing teams.
Championed a global collaboration model for innovation with teams in China, Europe, South America, and other U.S. satellite offices, resulting in a 300% increase in R&D project success in market.
Reduced GHG emissions by 3K+ MT annually by leading a global initiative to remove plastic packaging materials from the supply chain.
Improved brand leadership through aesthetic innovation by launching 120+ category-first CMF treatments to market.
Creative Development Director - Stanley, 9/2014-10/2015
Led a cross-functional creative team of industrial designers, design engineers, and graphic designers to innovate and expand product lines. In addition, I led the Design Engineering functional team in creating food and beverage-ware solutions for the Stanley and Aladdin brands along with the Starbucks-focused business unit. I also collaborated with key leadership on features, pricing, strategy, GTM planning, and conducted market research to ensure products met customer and industry needs.
Selected Achievements:
Increased gross revenue 15% YOY though expansion of the Stanley brand product line by identifying new product opportunities in current and adjacent categories.
Boosted project throughput 25% with no negative impact on product quality or functionality by implementing continuous improvement methodologies to maximize efficiency and productivity.
Elevated product development capacity 30% by restructuring the design engineering team to better align with key business needs and objectives.
ADDITIONAL ROLES
BRG SPORTS, Senior Product Developer, Advanced Concepts (2 years)
Spearheaded implementation of the Custom Fit helmet program from initial concept to retail commercialization, becoming the halo product for the brand that helped to achieve 30% YOY growth for Bell Powersports.
PMI WORLDWIDE, Design Engineer – Stanley, Aladdin, and Starbucks (2 years)
Managed 25+ projects simultaneously for the Stanley and Aladdin brands, as well as serving as primary Design Engineer for Starbucks-branded products.
HO SPORTS, Product Manager and Developer – Boots and Bindings (2 years)
Designed and developed the industry’s first outsole footwear products for Hyperlite, which was named Innovation of the Year at the 2011 WSIA Leadership Awards (Hyperlite System) and has become an industry benchmark.