About

I’m the CEO and Co-Founder of Bonvera and the host of Taking the Leap Podcast and the author of The Leap: Launching Your Full-Time Career in a Part-Time Economy and Love Your Work: 4 Practical Ways to Pivot to Your Best Career. After working with many people since 2007 who were entering the workforce unable to find full-time work or who lost their jobs due to downsizing or companies closing, I felt compelled to write these books and host a podcast to help people understand and navigate the changing economy.

My personal journey in life consisted of many different kinds of leaps to lead me to where I am today. I crafted an approach so these leaps would not be of reckless abandon but of intentional design with a well-formulated plan due to many mentors and coaching giving the insight to help me make the best decisions for me, my family, and now the companies I lead.  Making a leap is the only way you can substantially change the course of your life and your future. You can read more about my journey in this blog post, From Welfare to CEO…My Dream For a Better Future. I believe that hope for the future is what will propel us to find our dream job, advance in our profession, leap to a new career, or start a new business.

They say that experience comes from trial and error and that our failures teach us the most.  I have my fair share of failures.  Luckily I have survived and I am not embarrassed to talk about them…they have given me my best stories!  In some respects, they gave me a better education than the ones I received in college.  The real world has a way of doing what a book cannot.  So here’s a little of my background.

The Present

On May 1, 2018, I stepped down as President of Crown where I served for 7.5 years to become the CEO of Bonvera, an e-commerce company crazy enough to think we can disrupt the e-commerce and gig-economy revolutions taking place globally today. During my tenure at Crown, I was blessed to be a part of a great international team that helped expand operations into 104 countries with content translated into over 30 languages.  During my time at Crown, I had two books published and was a frequent contributor on national radio/tv outlets while having opinion pieces and articles published by USAToday, FOX News, The Washington Times, The Boston Business Journal, The Wall Street Journal Market Watch, and The Federalist.

I am a “hired-gun executive” which basically means I have been hired by companies to come in as a CEO and President to tackle a challenging environment and to help the organization scale.  I am also a consultant and I love working with companies and teams in that capacity.  Every consulting job offers something new and unique and I love using my past experiences to help a team overcome a challenge.  I’ve worked in the military, private business, and non-profit sectors during my career and love all three.  Although I have helped companies in multiple phases to include start-up, high-growth, and turn-around environments, my favorite is the start-up phase and team building and coaching.

 

The Military

Before I entered the business world I served for over 6.5 years as a captain in the United States Air Force in various assignments that afforded me the opportunity to travel and experience many cultures firsthand.  I almost didn’t join the military when I was in college and a last-second dinner with my mentor convinced me it was a good decision and it turned out to be one of the best decisions of my life.  I was blessed with incredible mentors in my first two commanders in the military, LTC Gibbs and LTC Springer.  Both had a tremendous impact on my life and the lessons they taught me I carry to this day.  I was fortunate to have many great experiences but the one that had the biggest impact on me was when I was the Aide-de-Camp to Four-Star General William Begert, Commander of the Pacific Air Forces. I learned so much by watching him and serving under his leadership.  I got rare behind-the-scenes knowledge on many visits to Washington, D.C where I was able to meet with members of Congress and Pentagon officials. I was in daily contact with the highest levels of the US Government, foreign militaries, and civilian and industry leaders as we traveled around the world. This experience and insight into the operation of industry and worldwide government was a pivotal time in my career and I stay in contact with many of those leaders to this day.

Post Military – My Leap into the Private Sector as a “Hired Gun CEO”

I received an offer in 2004 to become the CEO for SMT, an international retail and training company that serviced the direct sales and network marketing industry.  It was a great opportunity and I learned and grew a lot as a leader in this role.  As the CEO of SMT, I was blessed to be a part of a great team and we added many fine members to the organization that helped lead a turnaround and eventual M&A.  As a team, we helped SMT more than triple in size from 2004 to 2009.  It was pretty exciting.  This chapter of my life is filled with great memories. I love and respect the members of that team and am still close to most of them today.

Having helped the organization more than triple in size and then merge it with another company I was ready for another challenge and I eventually resigned in 2009 to take another leap to co-found a technology company and launch a consulting practice.  This was a great time to gain new perspectives, do some soul-searching, and review the past five years of my life.  I pursued a passion project that helped unlock a lot of creativity that I was unable to release before.  I learned never to make decisions based on money, failure is not permanent, trust is everything, partners are key, never sacrifice your values, don’t be afraid to walk away, and always be thankful for opportunities and mentors and the roles they play in your life.  Life is not easy but each chapter offers something special and it is important to focus on the positive.

In 2010 I started to consultant with Crown to help with a turn-around project that included multiple initiatives.  I immediately connected with the mission and the people.  The Crown family is one of the most dedicated and impressive groups of people I have worked with in my career.  I was asked by the board to become the President of Crown in 2011 and so I made the next leap in my career.  It was a difficult journey with Crown at the start. We had to transform the organization for the future and this meant rebuilding with new competencies and unfortunately, some members of the team had to be let go. Those are always some of the hardest decisions to make. It was painful because each member of the team operated with passion, character, and integrity.  It has been great to see them transition to other roles where they continue to serve and make a difference in the world.

Family

I’ve been married for 28 years to my wife Brandi who is better than me in all respects and is the one constant in my life always encouraging me to keep pressing forward no matter how difficult the path may be.  We have been blessed with six wonderful children (Lachlan, Tristin, London, Amaris, Charlize, and Zev) who show me daily the beauty, innocence, and incredible potential of this world.

A Little Extra – The Things I Enjoy

I have served on multiple non-profit boards and as anyone who has served in charity and mission work will tell you, I feel I have received far more than I have given.  I don’t think it is possible to truly enjoy life if we don’t live a life of service to others.  It is the greatest experience and joy one can have.

I am an avid mountain climber because up on a mountain away from technology and the connected world, I become one with the environment, can suddenly hear my inner voice, see the world through a different lens, find clarity, and feel the closest to God.  I am a runner because and love the pureness of the sport. Everyone can participate and it comes down to who works the hardest, has the most guts, and can endure the most pain. It was a great sport to prepare me for life and it was the perfect place for a no-talent kid like me to excel because I had tons of grit and a no quit attitude.  I eventually found out that running could take you far in life.  I was blessed to receive an athletic scholarship to the University of Tennessee where I was captain of the track and cross country teams, named All-SEC, and set a track record. Later in the military, I was named the Air Force Athlete of the Year in 1999 and was the third American finisher in the Boston Marathon in 2003.  Running taught me that pain is temporary and that those who work hard, never give up, and are dedicated with a relentless drive to do their best can surprise themselves and others and go farther than they thought possible.

My Vision

Now that you know a little about me I’d like to hear about you.  I’d like to hear about your journey, your successes, failures, and stories of how you overcame obstacles in your way.  More importantly, your stories and insight will be an encouragement and will provide inspiration to other readers who may be going through a similar circumstance.  My vision is that the collective content of shared stories and experiences on this site will help everyone who is on the journey and navigating this new economy.

Get Started

To get started I recommend reading my post Take The Leap which explains why taking well-thought-out leaps in life is so important.  Then check out The 2007 Black Swan which highlights what happened in 2007 that fundamentally changed the economy and impacted how all of us move forward.  If you would like to read more that I have written on this subject after interviewing Harvard professors, CEOs, and entrepreneurs, I put together a 7-step plan of things everyone should be doing.  Start with Step 1:  Plan Deliberately. Finally, listen to the weekly conversations I am having with people who have taken strategic leaps in their life to start over, launch companies, change careers, overcome obstacles, or set out on new adventures. These episodes can be heard on Taking the Leap Podcast.

Thank You!

I would like to say thank you to those who have encouraged to pursue writing on this subject.  First, my wife Brandi has been a consistent encourager of my writing since the days I would write her reports from my travels in the military while she was home with the kids. She has been my first and most important audience. I’d like to thank my good friend Chuck Bentley who encouraged me to find my voice and has coached me along the way. Furthermore, the Moody Collective team to include Randall Payleitner and Natalie Mills who helped me on this journey. They have been amazing to work with.  Finally, all the people who have helped with Taking the Leap Podcast which has seen multiple producers, editors, and marketing over the last couple of years to get it fully launched.