BRAND LEADERSHIP
Some companies start without a clear brand foundation. Others outgrow the one they began with. Some are still building the plane while flying it. Over time, positioning drifts. Standards soften. Teams optimize instead of differentiate. The work becomes safe, reactive, and familiar.
That’s rarely a capability problem. It’s a clarity problem.
I work with brands at inflection points—when it’s time to define the foundation, reset direction, or make braver choices. Sometimes that means building from zero. Sometimes it means tearing down what no longer fits. Sometimes it means challenging assumptions that have gone unexamined for too long.
When direction sharpens, everything else changes. Teams align. Decisions accelerate. The work gains focus and force. Clarity makes bold ideas possible—and those ideas are what move business and shape culture.
For over three decades, I’ve worked across early-stage startups, growth-stage challengers, and global brands including Target, Google, Nike, and PepsiCo—inside independent agencies, in-house teams, ventures of my own, and university classrooms. That range allows me to see both how category leaders operate and where challenger brands can outthink them.
For a fuller professional history, visit LinkedIn.
SELECT CASE STUDIES
Brand Reset & National Launch — Upshot (formerly Gizo)
Context
A struggling 2-ounce energy startup with a limited budget, weak brand name recognition, and crowded category competition needed to reposition, increase distribution, and create demand in a space dominated by monster-sized “energy refreshers.”
Intervention
Led full brand repositioning and rename to Upshot—“the world’s smallest, most powerful energy shooter.” Defined the core positioning (“more power, less liquid”), developed visual identity and packaging system, and created an unconventional, earned-media-driven launch strategy designed to stretch limited marketing dollars while equipping the sales team with a differentiated national story.
Outcome
Extensive trade press coverage, expanded national distribution, increased brand awareness, and a cohesive platform spanning packaging, in-store displays, guerrilla marketing, sampling programs, sales materials, and digital presence.
Global Social Impact Initiative — Project Hello
Context
Public perception of homelessness had become flattened and desensitized—reduced to stereotypes and guilt-driven messaging. Traditional public service advertising often reinforced distance rather than empathy. The initiative was self-funded, with no client or media budget.
Intervention
Created Project Hello—an idea rooted in a simple shift: when you learn a person’s name, perception changes. Mobilized the creative community to donate talent and leveraged earned media to humanize individuals living on the streets without asking for money or relying on shock tactics. Built a platform that reframed homelessness through identity, dignity, and human connection.
Outcome
Over 3,500 signs distributed across 32 countries. 700+ photographs documented. 15 national PSAs. A traveling photo exhibition. Global media coverage in 50+ publications. Recipient of the Dove Award for socially responsible advertising (ACT). All with zero outside funding.
Luxury Retail Brand Launch — Sylvie & J
Context
A new upscale fashion retailer entering a crowded Los Angeles market with no clear point of differentiation and a marketing budget equivalent to a small regional print buy. The L.A. fashion community was notoriously difficult to reach and quick to dismiss.
Intervention
Reframed the brand around a core cultural truth: in luxury retail, the shopping bag is status currency. Built the entire identity system around making the Sylvie & J bag the most coveted in the city—developing a distinctive visual identity and extending the concept across retail design, launch events, editorial storytelling, loyalty programming, and press strategy.
Outcome
Became top-of-mind within three months. Generated international fashion press coverage across print, television, and digital. Increased store traffic by 300%, establishing the brand as culturally relevant in a highly competitive market.
HOW WE CAN WORK TOGETHER
I operate inside the business, not outside it—partnering with founders and leadership teams to clarify direction, raise creative standards, and guide high-stakes decisions before they move into execution.
This can look like:
• Acting as an embedded creative lead during periods of growth or reset
• Defining positioning and creative direction at the leadership level
• Aligning teams around sharper standards and clearer differentiation
• Challenging safe thinking before it becomes expensive
• Bringing this work into the room through executive workshops, strategy sessions, and keynotes
