Business Career

• I started out at W.R. GRACE & CO. (1975-1979) as a financial analyst in Corporate Finance and Assistant Director of Financial Planning in the company's Retail Group. I was primarily involved in the design, control, and analysis of financial reporting systems, capital expenditure programs, acquisitions, annual profit plans, five-year forecasts, and strategic plans, as well as supervising the integration of newly-acquired subsidiaries into Grace's planning systems and culture.
• From 1979-1983, I worked for AVON PRODUCTS INC. I began there as Manager of Strategic Planning, where I was responsible for directing Avon's annual strategic planning process and biannual competitive reviews. I created and managed a process for the identification and assessment of corporate objectives, alternative growth strategies and resource productivity, as well as the evaluation of competitive, economic, and demographic environments.
  
  After two years, I was called up to the Chairman's office on April Fool's Day and appointed by Avon's Chief Executive to design TIFFANY & CO.'s first strategic planning process and plan. This included a complete restructuring of the organization; strengthening the basic infrastructure to support existing operations; developing a game plan for growth; and coaching a senior and second level management team in the process of identifying, evaluating, and resolving strategic and operational issues as a team.
• Next (1983-1991), it was time to strike out on my own and I founded BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATES, a consulting firm helping Fortune 500 and entrepreneurial companies to navigate through complex change. My focus was to assist clients in managing their mission, strategies, structures, systems, and culture as an integrated whole. I coached clients in strategically managing their relationships with employees, customers, investors, and suppliers. My services included: team building, strategic planning, executive coaching/counseling, and conflict resolution.
• In 1991, I hit burnout and chose to reinvent myself. Having already been a weekender in the Hudson River Valley, I grew to love my life in the country and felt a need to have my hands in the dirt in my gardens on a more regular basis. So, I left New York City and moved about 2 hours north to Rhinebeck, N.Y. I did not return to the world of business again until 2003 when I joined forces with A&R CONSULTING, a firm specializing in change management technologies yielding quantum improvements in productivity. Our executive coaching programs optimize human performance and achieve measurable business results and breakthroughs in innovation.

Teaching Career

• From 1992-1999, I was a member of the Adjunct Faculty of Dutchess Community College in Poughkeepsie, NY, teaching both on campus and through the Inmate Education Program in area prisons. I taught primarily in the departments of Behavioral Sciences and Business Administration. Courses included Social Problems, Group Dynamics, The Sociology of Religion, and Self Development.