What I Bring
Experience That Translates
Most leaders at this level have managed each of these areas from above. I've worked deep inside every one of them — built them from the ground up, hired and trained the people running them, and stayed close enough to step in when it mattered. Here's what that hands-on depth looks like as a set of capabilities I can bring to the right organization.
Operations & Business Building
Building physical retail and e-commerce operations from concept to execution — site selection, lease negotiation, store design, supply chain, inventory systems, and full P&L accountability. Knowing what it actually takes to scale a business that operates in the real world.
Brand & Marketing
Building a 130-product consumer brand from zero — product development, sourcing, regulatory compliance, packaging, positioning, and staff training. Plus the marketing operation around it: brand strategy, PR, paid advertising, social media, in-store experience, community partnerships. All built and run in-house, no agency.
Technology, Data & Systems
Formal IT education applied directly to real business problems. Building enterprise-level data infrastructure, business intelligence systems, and custom software applications — at a scale most independent operators outsource entirely or skip altogether. Understanding both the technical architecture and the business problem it has to solve.
People Leadership
Hiring, training, and developing teams across multiple distinct employee groups. Building staff models that become real competitive advantages — the Wellness Advisor program (nutritionists, personal trainers, dietary specialists) was a genuine differentiator that came directly from how the team was built. Creating workplaces people want to stay at.
Governance & Industry Leadership
Six years on the Board of Canada's largest natural health products association, two of them as President of the Board. Representing thousands of retailers, manufacturers, and distributors at the national level. Sitting in the room where industry policy, regulatory direction, and industry-wide strategy get set.
And Now AI Multiplies All of This
What changed in the last three years isn't what I bring — it's what one operator with this kind of experience can now produce.
I built this website using AI. I run my workday inside an AI stack: researching, drafting, analyzing, building, iterating at a scale that wasn't possible a few years ago. Brand strategy work that used to take weeks compresses into days. Financial modelling that used to require help I can now run myself, with sharper output. Code I would have outsourced I now build, refine, and deploy in an afternoon.
AI doesn't replace the operating depth — it multiplies it. The judgment of twenty years still has to decide what's worth doing, what the answer should look like, and when the output is actually right. But the output volume of an experienced operator with genuine AI fluency is fundamentally different from the same operator without it.
That's the combination I bring.
Who I Work Best With
I work best with small teams of high performers. I thrive in environments where people are expected to figure things out, where bureaucracy is minimal, and where the priority is getting it right — not getting it through committee. If you're looking for someone who waits for instructions, I'm probably not your person. If you're looking for someone who will own the problem and deliver the solution, let's talk.