Who We Are

Before starting Networked Insights, I co-founded Market Performance Partners, guiding companies in market ownership through customer intelligence. Prior to that, I worked for Scient as the Director of Strategy. Scient was the fastest growing services company in history; it had a successful IPO, grew to over 2000 colleagues and launched over 40 ebusinesses. Before Scient, I was at Deloitte, working on the team that launched esurance, the first online insurance company. I graduated from the University of Georgia.

Apart from my work with Networked Insights, I am most passionate about cooking and wine. I am a foodie, I love it and I am always trying to learn new techniques and ways to use new ingredients. I have come to realize that being an expert in food is not about being a head chef at a five star restaurant, but rather experiencing food with others and figuring out the subtleties that make the food experience amazing for everyone.

In my spare time, I enjoy giving back to the community, especially children. Every holiday season we host a party that I cater for 150 people to benefit Toys for Tots. We call it the Senator's Annual Ball—If you see me sometime ask me why. I also volunteer as a big brother for Big Brothers, Big Sisters of America.

My personality has always been my biggest trait. I pride myself on being a problem solver and always having my own point of view. That said, I am not "set in my ways." I believe anyone can be the holder of the next big idea; the smartest person may not hold the biggest title. Outside of work, I have heard great ideas come from the uninhibited imagination of a child. In the office, I am humbled by the great minds that surround me.

A human factors generalist by training and experience, I have a number of convergent interests that include artificial intelligence, mobile and web situation awareness, mirror worlds, attention, pervasive gaming, unified profiles, augmented social networks, human information processing, compressed language, living timelines, relationship management, decision management, simulations, predictive displays and auto-animated stories.

My 'pet project' since late 2000 has been simplifying the web and mobile interface for an integrated information and communication environment that is designed to help people better capture, visualize, share, understand, manage and change what's going on around them. I can often be found pacing and sketching interface ideas that leverage the potential for social networking as it moves into the mobile arena.

I am also passionate about music, improvisation and composition; I minored in music (guitar and voice) and sang opera for a year in college (portraying the character Mephistopheles in Faust!). I also played congas and keys in a funk band in San Francisco in 1999 and 2000.

I'm a connector and a listener. I have a strong desire to bring people on this planet closer together by helping them see how much more alike everyone is than they are different.

When not obsessing on my vision I am scratching the belly of Schroeder (perhaps the greatest polydactyl cat on the planet), playing music, hiking, traveling and snowboarding.

I have a BS in Psychology and a MS in Human Factors Psychology from the University of Idaho, and a PhD in Human Factors Engineering focused on Human-Computer Interaction from Virginia Tech.

Having worked previously as Senior Programmer/Analyst, and before that as Senior Production Control Analyst, at American Girl, I have had experience in all levels of the programming and software development cycle. Prior to working at American Girl, I was a Software Developer at global moving company Graebel Companies. I have a BS in Computer Science from University of Wisconsin at Madison.

I'm most passionate about problem solving, from software challenges at work to home repair. I love figuring out how things work and finding ways to make them work better. I'm like the little kid who takes apart the phone just to see what's inside. This relates to my fascination with gadgets that are solving old problems in new ways. I like to follow the development of tech gadgets and am a quick adopter of new technology.

When I have the occasional spare moment, I enjoy playing unconventional sports, like kickball, tailgating for University of Wisconsin Badger football and hockey games, reading mystery novels and visiting zoos and theme parks with my wife. I'm also the proud owner of four parrots: Oscar, Manja, Chico and Sonny. All have distinct personalities, and they're like 2-year-olds, so much of my free time is spent caring for them.

Before joining Networked Insights I was the National Director of Sales for Umbria, a marketing intelligence firm focused on social media. Prior to that, I worked as a sales manager for Brandimensions, a technology company that helps businesses manage, protect, and grow their brands through the utilization of Internet data.

Aside from social media and engagement marketing, I'm extremely passionate about baseball — I even own a collection of baseball cards, about 500,000 of them! My first entree into entrepreneurship was as a sportscard dealer at the age of 13.

As a former athlete, actor, and musician, I enjoy both sports and the arts. I'm a naturally curious person who thrives on exploration, discovery, and making connections — both personal and intellectual. In my free time I enjoy running, delving deeper into the world of craft beer, fly-fishing when I can get out of the city, and entertaining the idea of someday writing a revolutionary book.

In the 1980s I created and marketed a computer BBS platform, similar to what we now call a social network, called Searchlight, and I appear in a 2005 film called "BBS: The Documentary." I joined my first BBS in 1985 and still have friends today that I can trace back to meeting on it. Having seen the progression of social networks from the very beginning, I have a unique perspective on what we do with social media today and what actually constitutes real innovation and forward thinking in the space.

Prior to Networked Insights I worked at a web design company called Industry Connection, and with Electronic Arts as a senior JAVA engineer where I contributed to the development of Madden 2005, Earth & Beyond and other video games.

I enjoy bicycling and in addition to commuting to work everyday on my bike, I ride in a 150 mile race every year to benefit Multiple Sclerosis research. I am also a photographer and own an eclectic collection of lenses from around the world for my Canon Digital SLR.

I have a strong passion for music. I graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a music degree in percussion performance, am a published composer and perform as a free-lance musician with the Madison Symphony Orchestra and other groups in Madison. I specialize in playing the marimba, and have a variety of performing, teaching, composing and arranging experience, including 13 years with the Madison Scouts Drum & Bugle Corps.

Just prior to Networked Insights, I was working as Executive Director of the Madison Ballet, where I helped them to broaden their business and visibility in a number of ways, including tripling its performance schedule, moving it into a new home, starting a ballet school with its own rehearsal facilities of over 300 students per year, and starting fundraising and volunteer activities. Before the Madison Ballet, I was financial planning manager at Lincoln Financial Advisors, helping to transition 25 registered representatives to fee-based financial planning.

Some of the things I love most are playing with my kids, performing music, carpentry, swimming, and watching the Brewers, Packers and Badgers.