I have had one of those fortunate careers during which I have been able to move from idea to idea, without falling flat on my face each time. My experience spans financial markets, online media, software and wireless industries.

Presently, I am in the PhD program at Vanderbilt University, within the Owen Graduate School of Management. I try to look beyond the gizmos to understand how information technologies play an integral role within the socio-technical systems that are modern organizations. More discreetly, I am studying how work and organizing changes as the technologies with which we get things done become increasingly capable and even <gasp> intelligent.

EDUCATION

COURSES TAUGHT or ASSISTED

• Foundations of Entrepreneurship
• Organization Design (TA)
• Controversies/Debates in Business, Management, and Society (TA + a few lectures)
• Corporate Social Responsibility (TA + a few lectures)

PROFESSIONAL

While in graduate school, I have consulted for a small set of clients in the media industry.  Most recently, I have worked with the chief economist (Will Page) of the MCPR-PRS Alliance on various projects related to the licensing of new internet music providers, and the opportunities/challenges presented by new media services.  A version of one of our projects was released publicly, and while apparently controversial, was meant to open a discussion around how equity, or other financial instruments might bridge the gap that exists between online service revenue and the terms for music licensing.  The piece was covered by Wired, Digital Media Wire , ContentAgenda, and other media news outlets.

In the summer between my MBA and the PhD program, I worked as a research assistant for the Community Development Venture Capital Alliance, in New York.

While completing my MBA, I worked for fun as a writer and features editor for Joystiq, a video game news site within the Engadget domain. The site was acquired by AOL as part of the Weblogs, Inc. acquisition.

In 2002, I led a team of consultants on a wireless (cellular and data) project for McDonald’s corporate. MCD wireless, in the form of a system of cellular options and WiFi hotspots now exists throughout the United States.

In 2001, I was invited to lead the marketing for Kick, Inc. The team at Kick had built an awesome system for personalizing the media experience- primarily music. Online profiles, personalized media portals, all based upon actual, individual listening behavior. Kick was acquired by Sony later that year.

In 2000, I began work on a site called MyFilms.com, a community for sharing digital videos online. Hosting and bandwidth costs for video at that time were rather intimidating, so I shelved the project (i.e., I failed). Five years later, YouTube, Revver and a number of other ventures would prove a market might actually exist. I recently sold the domain to a firm representing the UK Film Council

At Sonique, I led marketing and online content for what became one of the more popular, software-based media players. In a matter of months, Sonique was downloaded tens of millions of times and the site became a popular destination for skins, plug-ins and music. In late 1999, Sonique was acquired by Lycos. At Lycos, we worked alongside the Wired Digital folks, and I continued my role in marketing and media strategy.

In 1998, I founded two digital music websites - Noisebox and Audiodiner. Both sites were featured in a number of news outlets (e.g., Wired, Chicago Tribune, Crains, Hong Kong Morning Post, PCMagazine) for their experimentation in legal, online music delivery (subscriptions and alternative royalty models). Being legal has its shortcomings however, as the music industry felt no real drive (yet) to shift distribution online and experiment with new models. These sites were eventually acquired by Sonique, a media player company.

Immediately after my undergraduate degree, I worked as a trading assistant, and shortly thereafter as a market maker at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. My experience on the floor crossed currencies, index and commodity options. I eventually founded my own firm (Vega) and focused on currency options (primarily the Japanese Yen). In my time trading (seven years), I never experienced a losing quarter. As the exchange became more “electronic,” coincident with a good proportion of currency operations moving over the counter, I decided it was time for a change.