Growing up in a small town there’s not much going on. Other than competitive swimming, I spent my time playing with the latest in tech. However, not being able to afford the best technology I spent my time figuring out how to either build things myself or hack a cheap product to do the job for me. Little did I know it at the time but I was learning how major technologies were architected.

Partnering with my local college I started taking formal computing coding courses while in elementary school and continued through high school. They helped me launch my first business when I was 12 as a tech repairman for server equipment or helping others launch their own web presence. I had a knack for being able to do things as cheap as possible and I was selling that service to others.

My other passion at the time was swimming. Just like everything I pursue, I’m deeply passionate about it and pursued every avenue the sport offered. Swim coaches recognized this in me too and I was nominated to serve on Indiana Swimming’s Board of Directors when I was 15. I eventually even moved up the ranks enough to later become an executive board member of USA Swimming.

I loved being able to represent others while also leading the sport. So I naturally fell in love with how businesses and organizations operate and run.

I accepted a swimming scholarship to attend Eastern Michigan University where I would double major in computer information systems, a business degree, and also communications. I figured being able to not just navigate business systems but also be able to speak towards what was happening would be great skills to have for a career as a technology leader.

I started my career interning for and later joing General Electric’s Digital Technology Leadership Program. It was an amazing experience placing me in four, six month rotations all over the world. Each different rotation involved learning a new technology domain against the company’s most pressing problems. It was a blast and had me in data engineering, science and some early AI roles as well as being a full stack cloud and front end developer. Even had some exposure to cybersecurity for their military applications.

While piloting for their Corporate Audit program I had the tremendous opportunity to use my technical skills towards the company’s most pressing financial issues. I was able to reverse engineer how some of their core processes flowed so that they could take action and fix them. Ultimately I turned down the business position to pursue solving the problems I identified.

This brought me into the field of product management and being able to lead teams of designers and engineers towards solving problems. I was able to initiate one of GE’s first blockchain pilots with a Hyperledger based system that better handled the many disparate EDI data connections plaguing the company. Altogether my findings and applications helped GE save over $1.2 Billion in either savings or optimization.

Wanting to take on a more consumer centric product I joined Procter & Gamble’s newly created Alchemy innovation group. It was a phenomenal experience allowing me to work in start up like environment but inside a massive corporation. Better yet I was able to find a position where it really helped to be a hardware nerd, IoT products.

I was able to lead the software product creation across everything from the device firmware, to mobile app and then to cloud. It was a blast being able to work through all of the challenges it takes to bring IoT devices to market across various SKUs and technology platforms. Most fun of all was being able to be in the same room as Google and Amazon’s voice assistant platform owners. In many cases we were out in front of them and were in the great position of having them design new features around our requirements. Truly helping shape IoT standards for the industry.

Our team was also one of the first of P&G’s teams to be run in a true Agile like fashion. I was able to learn a lot how big organizations need to shift thinking and processes around new ways of software-driven dependencies. Most of all how to blend IoT’s need for software agility while still remaining compatible with Waterfall hardware requirements.

Having lead innovation inside of two large companies, I discovered a lot of insight into how Digital Transformation takes place and the various key components it requires to instantiate. At the same time I started connecting the dots around how our country was also going through many of the same problems.  I spent a lot of my time researching where technology and methodology gaps were emerging across the country’s landscape. I tried to use my social media platforms as a sounding board for new ideas and where things could be improved.

After a couple months of research, I came to the conclusion that traditional financial metrics lack the insight needed for effective transformation around more modern management styles and philosophies. Primarily, there was no way of measuring the actual change elements towards the bottom line. This lead me to trying to wrap my head around one of the most crucial aspects of our economy, valuing intangible assets, the things that can’t be seen.

I believe the real-time valuing of intangible assets will provide the metrics needed for more successful transformations facing the world. The solution, though, is only made possible by a blockchain system powering businesses. My research culminated in a 28 page report outlining how the economy may change given the framework of what technology may provide.

After wrapping my head around some of the most interesting problem areas facing the economy I wanted my next role to be someplace where I could start bringing forth the changes in the economic system I identified.

EY Foundry is the corporate venturing unit at EY dedicated to making new digital businesses. I focused more on finding market gaps than innovation.

I quickly realized their corporate partner structure did not allow for the collaboration necessary to bring the ability to transform into an agile organization required through my research. Effectively, accounting firms will struggle to disrupt themselves. Although I was in a product role, it was in name only and did not instill its modern day principles.

I’m a huge proponent of learning skills on the job. It's the best way to learn and it shouldn't take a fancy degree to be given a chance for success.

However, it’s also worth highlighting I’m completing my MBA through Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business.

Some of the best classes I’ve taken have involved deeply thinking through various strategies facing businesses today and it’s been a blast being able to be in groups trying to solve them.

I opted out of completing the degree as I find the traditional MBA mentality a hinderance towards shepherding the change and mentality needed for digital transformation in organizations.