Build the brand that outlasts you.
Operator-led leadership for founder-led consumer brands, with deep roots in outdoor, hunting and footwear. I step in as your fractional GM, COO or CEO, and I leave behind a business that runs without me.
- REI
- Bass Pro Shops
- Scheels
- Sportsman's
- MEC
- Zappos
Growth is real. Running the business got harder.
Most of my clients are founder-led brands doing roughly $3M to $30M in revenue, plus the private equity and family-office investors who back them.
They have product-market fit and loyal customers. What they're missing is senior operating capacity. Margins slip as channels multiply. Inventory ties up cash. The systems that worked at $2M break at $10M, and every decision still lands on the founder's desk.
I've spent my career on both sides of that problem: inside large global companies and a top-tier strategy firm, and building a heritage footwear brand's North American business from a standing start. I bring that operator's judgment to your business, at the level of commitment you need.
Built in the backcountry. Proven across consumer goods.
My deepest experience is in outdoor, hunting and footwear, where I've run the P&L myself. The same playbook carries across active lifestyle and into consumer brands with similar economics: wholesale plus DTC, seasonal inventory, and a brand that has to earn loyalty.
Core · Where I've carried the P&L
Hunting, outdoor and footwear, including work and duty footwear.
Hunting & Western Big Game
Specialty and big-box hunting channels, technical product, seasonal sell-through.
Outdoor & Mountain
Hiking, trekking and alpine brands selling through specialty outdoor retail.
Footwear
Sourcing, SMU development, landed cost and size-run inventory discipline.
Work Footwear & Apparel
Safety, duty, wildland fire and trade products built to spec.
Adjacent · Active lifestyle
Board sports, snow and active apparel. The same channels and customers.
Extended · Consumer goods
Brands with similar economics outside the core.
Senior leadership, sized to your business.
Most engagements start with a short diagnostic and grow into an ongoing fractional role. Some clients need only one piece. Either way, you work directly with me.
Fractional executive leadership
An experienced GM, operations chief or CEO, one to three days a week. I take ownership of the business the way a full-time executive would, without the $300K salary and the 12-month search.
- Fractional GM / President
- Fractional COO / VP Operations
- Fractional & Interim CEO
Growth & Profitability Diagnostic
A fast, hard look at margin, channels, inventory and operations, ending in a ranked 90-to-180-day action plan.
DetailsGrowth Strategy & Go-to-Market
New categories, channels or countries, sized and sequenced. Includes market entry for international brands coming to North America.
DetailsOperational Due Diligence
An operator's read on how a target really runs, where the risk sits, and where EBITDA can be created after close.
DetailsMeasured in doors, margin and years.
These are results from businesses I've built and run myself, not advice I handed off to someone else.
From first call to running cadence.
- Week 0 · 30 minutes
Conversation
You describe the business and where it's stuck. I tell you candidly whether I'm the right fit, and if I'm not, who might be.
- Weeks 1–2
Diagnose
I dig into your numbers, channels, systems and team. You get a clear picture of what's working, what isn't, and the five moves that matter most.
- Month 1 onward
Operate
I step into the leadership seat part-time, run the plan with your team, and build the systems and people that let the business run without me.
Let's talk about what's next for your brand.
A 30-minute call is free. You describe where the business is stuck, and I tell you candidly whether and how I can help.