CAREER STORY (the why behind the what)

Interesting things ahead.

I love thinking and coming up with plans to accomplish goals. Whether it’s a company, an individual or the potential of a nascent idea. I’m stepping off the corporate ladder (it’s safe, don’t worry) to help those who could use my assistance. It’s me and my bench of quality collaborators. While our talents vary, we all believe that delivering seriously good work doesn’t have to be accomplished with radical seriousness.

Thought Greenhouse

Healthcare, health plans and humor, oh my.

Tip of the Month by Presbyterian Health Plan, Inc.Into the world of healthcare communications I came, with no healthcare experience. The challenge? Eighty percent of people are healthy and healthy people don’t think about healthcare. However, that same 80% want convenient options for care when they need it. We went to work with insights, technology, imagination, personality, and tenacity, putting ourselves in the shoes of the notoriously ambivalent healthy people and the highly interested not-so-healthy people.

We allowed the brand to speak to people as fellow people, not a giant company. Some of our creative was revolutionary for a 115-year-old healthcare organization and some of it was a bit funny if we do say so ourselves.

Our work has exceeded sales and volume goals, grown brand preference scores, and won quite a few awards. We’ve launched new products, built an enterprise website and intranet and democratized logos, photos, and templates for a workforce of 20,000. Presbyterian Healthcare Services and Presbyterian Health Plan are the state’s most preferred healthcare organization and health plan serving one in three New Mexicans. 

Don’t make a Medicare Advantage plan mistake.

7,000 people at a hospital grand opening? Yup.

Virtual reality groundbreaking to see the future.

Selling live plants online and in stores.

When times are troubling, and the country is in a recession, plants help. A well-loved local greenhouse was selling live plants online, via catalog and in local stores. The retail stores had one brand, the online store and catalog had another and the products were the same in all places. I redesigned their fragmented brands and the fact that sales grew during a financial crisis was very satisfying to me (1%, but still).

High Country Gardens Santa Fe Greenhouses

Financial services.

I’m no quitter. I tried residential mortgage lending two times. I was intrigued by how there are so many people buying homes, and yet mortgage marketing was so bland. Changed that with clever and beautiful ideas and similarly fantastic teams. Was able to ring the opening bell on the NYSE for an IPO, and propelled a Santa Fe, NM based mortgage REIT into the Fortune 1000 stratosphere. 

Zero Down Payment

Thornburg Mortgage

Dot com in the '90s.

Swan Media

I met a guy, and we were both fascinated by the internet. So, we assembled a group of programmers and built a company. We called it SWAN Media. SWAN stood for Something Without A Name. Please know I’d approach the naming differently if I had a do-over. Sold the whole caboodle to iXL in 1997. Affirming to know a big thing when I saw it.

Got in at the beginning of the cell phone industry.

Rollover MinutesAnswered an ad looking for a marketing person to promote car phones in the southeast. Got the job and traveled around the country and the world doing competitive assessments, pricing, advertising, merchandising, research and building a customer analytics team before that was a thing (late ‘90s). Also got the newest phones and free service which was cool at the time.

Roaming

Send End Campaign

Can of Air

Before gift cards and unlimited minutes, we did this. An idea ahead of its time (I think).

Consumer packaged goods.

I thought pens and pencils would be interesting since everybody uses them.

My first retail adventure.

Richway

The idea of being a buyer for a new chain of stores seemed interesting, as I do like to shop. I learned a lot. You must be quite aggressive to negotiate well and it’s hard to leave that trait at the office.