pastoral artisan cheese bread and wine chicago

My marketing training was instrumental in my being able to assimilate into brand management and convinced me that marketing is not a support function! Fuqua does an outstanding job of creating well-rounded managers. I learned that while a specialty is a great thing, being a strong generalist is critical to being an effective manager.

What is the most important thing you learned during your time at Fuqua?< I am very involved politically and civically and enjoy the social responsibility aspect of our business by volunteering with orgs that match our ethos. Travel is a passion, especially adventure and culinary travel. I enjoy creating solutions by matching talents with needs and opportunities. I always thought I would enjoy and be a successful executive recruiter or executive coach. Second, another entrepreneur advised me to spend as much time as possible on my Unique Abilities, and while I can and would spend time doing other things, we make our greatest organizational impact doing the things that we do expertly.Īside from your current role, what is your dream job? The temptations to do a million things are great. Simple and seemingly obvious, but hard to do. First, at Colgate, the mantra was always “Focus and Prioritize”. Two great pieces of advice are quite related. What is the best professional advice you’ve received? The best ever trip was our car trip through the Netherlands, Belgium, Champagne, Burgundy, Isle de France, and Paris was a defining moment and the most magnificent trip. Our regular visits to Vermont, Wisconsin, and Northern California’s Sonoma, Napa, and Marin re-charge our batteries. That said, attending the Slow Food World Cheese festival in Piemonte, Italy was amazing. It is really hard to pick a favorite place because our business is all about the producers and the origins of the great products we sell. What sorts of interesting places has your position taken you? Do you have a favorite? We leave big Corporate America to focus on the passions and the subject matter we love, but we still spend way too much time on logistics and HR! This industry has a tough P&L and cash flow is always a challenge. My global business career actually helped inspire this business so travel has always been central.Īs with most small businesses, it always looks easy from the outside in. Oh yes, and working with amazing makers of cheese, wine, charcuterie, etc., from some of the most beautiful places on Earth isn’t exactly rough.

As a marketing guy who built brands for a lot of big companies like Colgate-Palmolive, Motorola, and Verizon, it is especially gratifying to build and nurture your own brand. I love the variety of things that occur in my day I get to apply my skills to an industry that fuels my personal passion.

What is the most enjoyable part of your job? So we are basically ying and yang! View a Citi commercial Pastoral was recently featured in. My partner serves as CFO, CTO, head of HR, and head of the physical plant. In my role with Pastoral, I serve as Chief Operating Officer, Chief Marketing Officer, and I also head up procurement/purchasing. For those familiar, this is the organization that annually produces the Fancy Food Shows in NYC and San Francisco. I also serve on the board of the Specialty Food Association, also the largest industry association of its kind in North America. I have gotten very involved in my industry and my community, having served as the president of the American Cheese Society, which is the largest industry association for cheese in the United States. We also have a wholesale cheese business to over 100 restaurants and hotels and an online e-commerce store that ships nationwide. We have four specialty food and wine shops in Chicago along with two wine bar restaurants. Along with my life and business partner, Ken Miller, I am co-owner and co-founder of Pastoral Artisan Cheese, Bread, & Wine and our family of businesses.

Pastoral artisan cheese bread and wine chicago