I am a 22-year veteran at Octagon and focus my efforts on the future of our business. Be it the start-up ecosystem, venture investing, technological advances or products and services that will change the interaction between sports/entertainment and fans…or simply where we and our clients should be heading in the future. It’s a daily effort to create, evolve, innovate and often disrupt the status quo.  

But in the early days at Octagon, I ran a business of marketing, selling and publicizing celebrity talent. Along the way, I discovered a marketplace gap: the need for brands and non-profits to better understand when, how and why (need to nail those questions before you get to the who question) to use people of influence to amplify their business and business objectives. And equally important, when not to use them (as important as ever now). 

With this in mind, I created Octagon First Call (which in 2019 was transitioned to ITB agency), an influencer strategy business — to make the process straightforward, smarter and more efficient. In today’s world, a celebrity/influencer can be anyone from a business CEO, athlete or actor to a chef, futurist or entertainer, and of course simply a video game streamer or being Tik Tok famous. Brands have so many talent choices, making the right decision so much more important. I am proud of the work of my colleagues including helping the Partnership for a Healthier America launch their Fruits ‘n Vegetables initiative in which former First Lady Michelle Obama was the Honorary Chair, Super Bowl & Emmy Awards ads, integrated marketing campaigns, social media programs, Grammy-winning artist corporate performances and in total, 3,000+ partnerships.

I have a huge passion for the positive outcomes between non-profit and celebrity. In addition to the Fruits ‘n Vegetables program, I have been fortunate to create the Celebrity Friends of Ronald McDonald House Charities program, partnering Lebron James and Magic Johnson with President Obama’s Affordable Care Act and most recently, launching an Athletes for COVID-19 Relief with more than 200 professional athletes (including helping connect Stephen Curry & Dr. Fauci for a live instagram chat about COVID). The Athletes for Relief effort fundraised for the Center for Disaster Philanthropy COVID which in total, raised more than $40 million dollars for COVID relief. Other past non-profit work includes the National Fitness Foundation, St. Jude, Susan G. Komen, UNICEF, the World Health Organization, Department of Education and Special Olympics.

For learning and growth, I host The Bond podcast, examining the dynamic relationship between fans and their deep passion for sports, entertainment and culture. I am also a proud Miami University alumnus and proud of the work we do as part of Miami’s Entrepreneurship Board of Advisors (my former podcast Beyond High Street featuring Miami alumni has now been transitioned to the Jenny Darroch, the Dean of the Farmer Business School at Miami).