Corporate Transformation

I have twice been appointed by a Board of Directors as an Interim CEO to turnaround an organization in crisis. Both cases were deeply rewarding success stories.

The American Alpine Club Board of Directors

appointed me Interim CEO in April of 2022 to turnaround a 120 year old organization mired in legal, financial and internal culture crises. It was clear that the organization could not survive another year on the present trajectory and immediate solutions were required.

I quickly onboarded a new CFO, created a revenue team tasked with innovation and delivery, and built a modern HR department focused on the incentivizing and resourcing of that innovation. This changed the culture within the organization dramatically and combined with a mitigation of the greatest existing risks, resulted in the best year for top and bottom line growth since 2015

In Early 2014

I was recruited to create and implement a new corporate vision and business strategy as CEO for Rockwerx, a declining construction & manufacturing fi­rm, that had previously been the leading climbing wall manufacturer in the U.S. The brand was damaged, morale was low and debt piled high. Investors demanded solutions and a change.

Just one year later, in January of 2015, I had transformed the company’s leadership team, restructured its corporate debt and streamlined operations, leading to a renewed, innovative corporate culture. The fresh operational structure and liberated innovative spirit within the firm help us turn a 50 percent operating loss into an 11 percent operating profi­t year on year.

I finished the corporate turn around with flair as Executive Producer for the Grand Canyon Experience at Super Bowl XLIX in Phoenix Arizona. The project began in March of 2014 with a 5 month concept >negotiation > design process. Winning this bid was central to my strategy because it gave everyone in the firm a quick win and a point of navigation throughout a year of difficult cuts and uncomfortable changes. In the end Rockwerx were winners: Creators of Super Bowl Central - The Grand Canyon Experience.

• Aligned the vision of multiple invested constituencies with widely divergent perspectives
   

• Managed rapidly changing design requirements, multiple teams and test builds on a project without a comparable blueprint
   

• Implemented clear and disciplined systems that were consistent across project components and between partners
   

• Delivered to spec, on time, and on budget