Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.
Founder instincts, Fortune 500 execution
My path hasn’t been typical. I started two technology companies before I graduated, and one of them, BrandYourself, raised more than $2M in venture funding and was featured on Shark Tank. That’s where I learned to make calls with incomplete information, test before scaling, and stretch every dollar.
At Deloitte Consulting I advised Fortune 50 and Fortune 10 clients on strategy and transformation, and launched StartUp Deloitte, which gave 650+ practitioners a path to build and pitch new offerings. At Citizens Bank, as Senior Vice President, Head of Innovation, I built the enterprise innovation function, including a CEO-sponsored fund that co-incubated 22 ideas with business leaders.
Since joining Northwestern Mutual in 2021, I’ve held four roles. I turned around the company’s innovation accelerator and cut its monthly spend by more than $200K. I incubated Active Listening AI, then launched and scaled it as business owner. Today 22,000 advisors use it, with 95%+ positive ratings on accuracy and time saved. In 2025 I led the multi-year strategy refresh, and now I’m designing and implementing the operating model that came out of it.
Outside work, I’m usually building something
I’m a commercial pilot and fly whenever I can. I’m a SCUBA divemaster with dives across the Caribbean and Hawaii. I raced motorcycles at the regional and national level for years, and my woodshop always has a few furniture projects in progress.
In New Hampshire, my family makes and sells maple syrup as Sherman Acres. Every holiday season I run Sherman’s Rockin Illuminations, a light show synchronized to music that’s become a neighborhood tradition. It’s also the reason I know more about power distribution than any strategy executive should.
Each of these shows up at work. Flying taught me to plan carefully and still adapt fast. Racing taught me to commit once I’ve picked a line. Diving taught me to stay calm when the plan stops working.
I attended Syracuse University for undergrad and graduate school
I hold a Master’s in Information Management and a Bachelor of Science with a triple major in Finance, Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises, and Information Management and Technology, all from Syracuse University.
My time there shaped how I think about building things. I won the Creative Core Business Plan Competition with BrandYourself, became an Engagement Fellow working on regional economic development, and spent years mentoring fellow students on turning their ideas into actual businesses. Syracuse gave me the foundation to think like both an entrepreneur and a strategist, a combination that’s defined my entire career.
Today I serve on the iSchool’s Board of Advisors, helping shape the next generation of information leaders.