Throughout my 26-year marketing career, my passion was mentoring, managing, coaching and teaching business professionals. I started Make the Leap! Coaching to follow my own passions. Now I specialize in helping successful, smart & creative professionals and executives to create self-actualizing careers. The people I get to coach are fun, creative and intellectually engaging. I am always learning new things from my clients. Taking major leaps can be challenging, but ultimately rewarding. I am honored to be a part of your journey.

Professional Experience

  • Executive Coach, Make The Leap! Coaching (2008-Present)
  • Executive Coach, BPI group (2012-Present)
  • Executive Vice President of Marketing, Admissions & Corporate Sales, Lake Forest Graduate School of Management (2001-2011)
  • Adjunct Professor teaching Marketing and Leading Organizational Change, Lake Forest Graduate School of Management (1997-Present)
  • Adjunct Marketing Faculty teaching New Products and Services, Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management (1999-2003)
  • Principal at the new product development consulting firm Kuczmarski & Associates
  • Director at the marketing research firm Information Resources, Inc.
  • Brand management positions at the Quaker Oats Company and Miller Brewing Company

Education

  • MBA in Marketing, Strategy and Organizational Behavior, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
  • Master of Science in Positive Organizational Development and Change, Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University
  • B.S. in Accountancy, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • Coach U Graduate
  • Change Management Certified from Prosci
  • Change Leader Certificate Program from Cornell

Other Professional Activities

  • Boys & Girls Club of Lake County: Board Member (2011 – present)
  • Menttium Corporation: Volunteer Mentor to High Potential Corporate Professionals (Pepsi 2008, Hewitt 2009, Grainger 2010, Allstate 2011)

Personal

I live in Lake Forest, Illinois with my wife Barb and our two sons, Ryan 16 and Kyle 14. In my spare time, I am an avid practitioner of taekwondo and am taking ballroom dancing with Barb. I am a third degree black belt and enjoy full contact Olympic Style Sparring, taking the gold medal for my age group at the AAU National Competition in 2008. One of the ways I enjoy giving back is as a board member for the Boys & Girls Club of Lake County.