Well, a constant supply of our excellent products to eat at my desk is pretty great, but I love connecting with the moms and dads that are buying our food and learning from them on how we can continue to improve as a company.
Usually my 2nd or 3rd backup alarm. Not exactly a morning person, but once I'm up…an ever-present need to be just a little bit better than I was the day before is what keeps me going – a better husband, a better dad, a better leader, a better marketer.
The location. My family and I live just south of the Adirondack mountains and we love to get outside and hike as much as possible.
When I'm at home, I do my best to unplug and spend that time with my amazing wife and 18-month old daughter. Outside of that, I exercise to de-stress. I work out at the company gym or swim a few times a week.
Our organic Banana, Blueberry, Avocado pouch was the very first Beech-Nut product I ate, and it's still my go-to choice for an afternoon snack.
Analytical, thoughtful, methodical, and principled.
Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia. He's lived a fascinating life, and I have such admiration for him as a business leader and an environmentalist.
I have a borderline unhealthy obsession with social media, so I can't pick just one. As a marketer, I love following other purpose-driven brands like REI, Chobani, and Unilever. I also like to keep tabs on some of the brands that just kill it on social media, namely Wendy's, MoonPie, Moosejaw, and Charmin. On the personal side, I try to follow people that inspire me and challenge me to think differently, like Seth Godin, Richard Branson, Malcolm Gladwell, or even Bill Murray.
Hike and camp in the winter. There's an incredible calm and serenity in the woods during the winter. Bonus: it's less crowded and there are no bugs.
I'm learning (and continue to learn) that a simple vision, executed flawlessly can be massively impactful.
I don't know if it qualifies as weird – but the most unique job I've had was installing above ground pools during the summers while I was in college. 10 hours a day, 6 days a week in the bright summer sun can do wonders for an Irish guy's tan.
I've gotten the opportunity to work on some great teams thus far in my career, and I'm proud of a lot, but if I must pick one, I'd say the launch of Degree Black+White. One might assume there's very little innovation in the deodorant category…but I led the team that launched Degree Black+White – a breakthrough formula that protected against yellow or white marks on your clothes. It was a huge success and continues to be a key differentiator for the brand today.
Getting as much feedback from my team as I can and always learning from other leaders that inspire me – both internally at Beech-Nut and outside the company.
My wife, my daughter, and spending as much time hiking as I can.
Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss. It's a collection and distillation of the tools, tactics, and life lessons from the 200+ world-class performers Tim has interviewed on his podcast over the last couple years.
In my current role, it's my responsibility to ensure we're delighting parents with our communication and engagement at every digital touch-point.
I consume a lot of biographical and nonfiction content. I especially like reading stories of success or failure across other industries or disciplines and translating the lessons learned to some aspect of my life or work.
Setting a strategic road-map for our team and seeing the progress we're making in connecting with parents digitally.
Hike the John Muir Trail, start my own business, and live in another country for at least a year.