I was born to be a change agent, someone who speaks truth to power and transforms people and organizations.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been committed to converting ‘good enough’ to better.
I’m uniquely qualified to coach and advise executives on their professional journeys because I’ve been there. I’m in the 2% of women globally who have made it to the CEO role. In 2021, I founded Themy, a one-of-a-kind executive coaching practice dedicated to advancing more female executives and strong male allies to the C-suite and boardroom. I’ve awarded over $800k in scholarships to executive women in transition and early-stage female entrepreneurs. 65% of those women are in the global majority.
I’ve worked in a variety of industries including entertainment, retail, consulting, manufacturing and sports. I use this mosaic of experience to apply best practices from one industry to another.
I was the youngest chief marketing officer (CMO) in television history at The Outdoor Channel. My gift for strategy landed me the CMO role at HGTV where my groundbreaking playbook took the network from #17 to #4 in the ratings in only 18 months, generating an additional $250 million in revenue and crossing $1 billion in advertising sales for the first time in the brand’s history. I revived the flagging brand by taking it to unexpected venues like Comic-Con and SXSW and attracting a younger demographic.
Sounds fantastic, right? My achievements at HGTV don’t tell the whole story. During my 3-year tenure at HGTV, I was bullied, mobbed and harassed by a small group of influential employees led by the head of human resources. I used that traumatic experience to inform my leadership style and create healthy work cultures in my next professional chapter: becoming a CEO.
In 2014, I accepted my first CEO role with Iconic Group, an e-commerce photography company backed by private equity. The three-unit seasonal business had 10,000 employees and global operations. In three years, I grew revenue by 30% and EBITDA by 73% and led the company through a successful exit to a strategic buyer at a 7x EBITDA multiple.
In my next CEO role, I turned around a private equity-backed retail business with 30 brick-and-mortar locations throughout the Northeast. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, I launched a digital streaming extension that revitalized the business.
I’ve been on numerous boards including serving as a director for Salon Lofts, a business in the beauty sector. In 2022, I was appointed to the Gunstock Area Commission (GAC) as the 5-member board’s financial expert. The GAC is a public commission governing the Gunstock Ski Area, an all-season resort in Gilford, New Hampshire.
I’m a facilitator, public speaker, top leadership influencer and author. I received a BA in Political Science from West Virginia University and a MA in Social & Public Policy from Duquesne University. I live on a 7-acre farm in New Hampshire with my husband and four golden retrievers.