Fascinated by Widgets
My first internship was with an aluminum extrusion and machining company. From there I have worked on everything from PowerBars, Glade candles and Windex, third-party logistics, pharmaceutical drugs, medical devices, packaged coffee, and casual footwear. I don’t have one product that is my passion; rather I’m deeply fascinated by understanding the process by which a product is made and the business model it helps deliver against. I bring an industrial engineering background to my work at Innosight, which gives me the unique ability to think about problem solving and resource management through a systems lens. As a self-proclaimed “generalist” at Innosight, I am able to do this for a variety of organizations across all industries. You will find me most excited when I am able to dive into a new client context, but with a robust toolkit for problem solving, to help uncover the critical barriers getting in the way of growth.
Fan of the Founders
Innosight was founded on the brilliant theories of the late Clay Christensen, whose work continues to inspire us and help us navigate—and solve—our clients’ most pressing problems. When I took the class that Clay designed at Harvard Business School, I was immediately bought in as I saw the incredible impact his thinking could have on helping large companies survive and positively impact the communities that depend on them. That mission is what attracted me to Innosight and what keeps me deeply committed to the work we do every day.
Forward-Looking Examples
Before joining Innosight, I had the privilege of working for S.C. Johnson (a fifth generation, privately held, family company) on its Manufacturing Strategy and Supply Chain teams, where I saw firsthand how leaders can make forward-looking decisions based on the triple bottom line and a longer time horizon. I’ve also spent time working at organizations that are completely rethinking the status quo – building houses for Habitat for Humanity and interning at a fair-trade clothing manufacturer in Kenya that reinvests in key animal migration corridors. These long-term views are worthy fights that become much more difficult in a public company. Our work helps to enable leadership teams to move beyond the current planning horizon to think about much bigger ways to create, capture, and share value.
Third Culture Kid
When I was eight years old my family (parents and five kids between the ages of three and eight) moved from Cincinnati, Ohio to Kobe, Japan. After a few years, we continued hopping and lived in both Guangzhou, China and Beijing, China before moving back to the US when I was in high school. We quickly fell in love with being immersed in new cultures, the adventure of places to be explored, and the close family dynamic that resulted from frequently uprooting and replanting. I am still learning decades later the ways in which that time shaped me, but I do know that it instilled in me a love for the stories that we all have to tell and, for better or worse, left me with a frequent craving for just a dose of instability and adventure.
Aspirational Self
My husband and I have a white board in our kitchen with the next 52 weeks listed out. The rule is: if it’s not on the whiteboard it’s not happening. We’re a bit old school. The thing that I love about the whiteboard is that it reminds me to look ahead and fill life with the things that are important. This year, that means throwing more dinner parties where people have space for meaningful conversation, going to Milwaukee Bucks games (we live in Milwaukee), planning a few trips to explore and visit family, and, maybe most importantly, leaving enough open weekends to just go to a bar, order an Old Fashioned and play a couple rounds of Gin Rummy.