I am excited to announce that I have joined Proof Integrated Communications as Chief Strategy Officer, effective yesterday. I am a managing director at parent company Burson-Marsteller as well.
It’s a compelling next step in my career, as I’m charged with defining a variety of roles in an environment much different than the autonomous, scrappy startup I’d built at Canopy. From business development to corporate strategy, internal evangelism to organizational details, I’m going to have my hands in a lot of things, working with 70 colleagues in three offices to build upon their successes to date.
I leave behind a bustling agency in Canopy that has become a trusted destination for ecommerce and user experience projects, and an expanded Alexander Interactive that just moved its award-winning organization (and the Canopy team) to huge new digs on my last day at work.
Departing a nice environment is always strange, especially after four years of collaborative, impactful project work. But having successfully built something new for Ai–twice–I am ready for another set of challenges, starting with the ping-pong table directly outside my office. All in a day’s work.
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According to LinkedIn, 1% of my profile views in the last 90 days came from searches–more than one!–for (marketing or product or strategy or cmo or intelligence or ceo) and management and director and not president and not sales and manager and not social and not budget and not plan and not direct and strategy and not solution and business and not product and not develop and online. (Oddly, I get no results from that link. Maybe I don’t know anyone like that.)
For the seventh consecutive year I’m chronicling in this space the places I visited over the past 12 months. Per the annual rules, only overnights are listed; repeat visits are denoted with an asterisk, and places visited prior to this year–all of them, it seems–get a dagger. (Hat tip to Jason Kottke, who seems to have given up on this, although I still enjoy doing it.)
New York, NY *† (home base)
Lake Buena Vista, FL †
Orlando, FL †
Livingston, NJ *†
New City, NY *†
San Diego, CA †
Boston, MA †
Palm Beach Gardens, FL †
In short, between the little guy and the hands-on nature of work this year, I really didn’t go anywhere. We’ll see if 2012 produces more exploration.
The Los Angeles Angels have agreed to pay Albert Pujols $254 million over the next 10 years.
Just eight years ago owner Arte Moreno bought the Angels (the entire team, that is) for $184 million.
Southwest is the only airline that was formed before the deregulation of the airline industry that has never filed for bankruptcy.
Related: US Airways is raising its $118 Philadelphia-to-Pittsburgh fare to $698 when Southwest stops flying the route next month, leaving US Air as the sole option.
“In other words: we could all be descendants of Martians.”
November 2: Syms and Filene’s Basement file for bankruptcy.
Company CEO Marcy Syms said in statement the two discount chains were burdened by increasing competition from department stores offering the same brands at similar discounts and by a rising number of private label discounters. She also said there was less overstock for her company to buy as businesses continue to manage their inventory carefully during the tough economy.
September 22: Century 21 opens a 60,000 square foot store on the Upper West Side.
“The expansion is giving another area of the city a chance for everyone to look good all the time,” said Director of Organizational Effectiveness Boyd Howell. … “Brand-driven guests can come in and find their brand instead of having to dig through hoping they’ll find something.”
I missed the big day last week, but Ideapad turned 13 on November 1.
It isn’t often a blog becomes a bar mitzvah, so let us briefly celebrate the occasion. (I suppose I should really post this on a Saturday.)
For comparison’s sake, this site is thee years older than the original iPod.
“I believe that if all the truth were known about everything in the world, it would be a better place to live.”
—Andy Rooney, 2011
“I set it down as a fact that if all men knew what each said of the other, there would not be four friends in the world.”
—Blaise Pascal, 1660
The news was released with little fanfare on a Monday evening: the Yankees came to terms on a contract extension with ace CC Sabathia, averting a crisis and a major free agency story.
The basic news wasn’t all that noteworthy, as Sabathia is a) handsomely paid, b) happy as a Yankee, and c) receiving another twenty-five million dollars to weigh 290 pounds and throw around a baseball. Sabathia, after all, will be receiving $122 million over the next five years–not too shabby.
But subtly, the signing reveals that Sabatha is one of baseball’s good guys, the players that do what’s best for them personally and professionally, and not just financially.
He didn’t force the hand. Sabathia had an opt-out clause in his contract that would have allowed him to seek unmentioned riches on the free-agent market rather than honor the four years remaining in his existing deal. He used this as leverage to get the extension he sought. What he did not do, though, was actually opt out of his contract: he remained with the Yankees, didn’t play competing offers off one another, didn’t push his employer to the brink. He and his agent and the Yankees’ general manager instead said, “Okay, what’s the equitable way to address the situation?” Fine-tuning the existing deal turned out to be the best answer.
He didn’t seek excess. As a free agent, Sabathia could have hunted for longer deals or more money than he ultimately received. Of course, he’s extremely well paid, by the wealthiest team in baseball; but that doesn’t preclude one of the other wealthy or big-spending or splashy teams in the sport giving him even more money to land a prized asset and stick it to the Yanks. But Sabathia didn’t play that hand at all. The value of the additional year on his deal is in line with the ones already in place, and it pays him handsomely, without the free-agency dancing that could have landed him a few million dollars more.
He kept it quiet. The public heard next to nothing about Sabathia’s contract, not from him, at least: lots of media speculation, near-certainty that he’d opt out, then, at deadline, an announcement that a deal was done. Credit goes to the Yankees on this one as well (unlike their handling of the Jeter affair last year) for playing it cool. Ultimately, though, Sabathia looked at his situation, figured it couldn’t get much better, and made a deal that was rational for both sides, and to fans.
This also speaks kindly about agent Brian Peters, who certainly did right by his client, securing him another $25 million while maintaining a positive relationship with the ball club.
Sabathia’s extra year is still great money, and it’s not quite Jered Weaver spurning free agency (and his very powerful agent) to re-sign with the home team below market value. But in some ways it’s not far off. Kudos to Sabathia for admitting his comfort and sticking around.