As the CEO of WebRecon, my primary responsibilities are to manage the growth and vision of the company. This includes sales & marketing, traveling to conferences to represent the company to the industries we serve, and developing and nurturing strategic relationships with other companies that serve the same markets. I also serve a role on the M&A team of our parent company to help identify and bring other interesting companies into acquisition conversations.

I bought a collection agency in 2004 and ran it until the end of 2008. It was a challenging time for me, and I learned that my skills were not the right ones for a job like that. So I sold it and developed the idea for WebRecon.

It would be shortsighted to ignore the impact of artificial intelligence on every facet of life, including the receivables industry. There are so many exciting and equally concerning possibilities that come from that.

My hope has always been for regulatory clarity. Without that, the people who do this important work are always vulnerable to the whims of consumers, consumer attorneys, local politicians and regulators.

Since selling the company in 2023, I have been able to shed many of the operational duties like
HR and accounting. That leaves me more time to focus on the fun parts like travel and relationship building.

You know, I have never shared this with anyone before, but there is a poem loaded with great quotes that has been inspiring me for decades. It moves me to be a better human being while also striving to be a better businessperson. It is Desiderata by Max Ehrmann. If I can take the liberty, I’d like to share the entire text with you.

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself
with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons
than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. Keep interested in your own career, however
humble; it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind
you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of
Heroism.

Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection. Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all
aridity and disenchantment, it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with
dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less
than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.

And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore
be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be. And whatever your labors and
aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul. With all its sham, drudgery
and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

Don’t try to be everything to everyone. Instead, solve a real problem for real human beings. Then spend every day delighting those humans with your dedication to their wellbeing.

Businesswise, it would have to be the sale of my company. After 15 years of building WebRecon into a gold-standard brand for the problem we solve, I reached the point where I truly believed I was no longer the right person to be at the helm. I sold it last summer, and to their credit the buyer found a way to keep me enthusiastically involved and engaged in keeping the company moving forward.

Ha! A forest ranger. Young me had no idea how much old me would enjoy money.

We spent most of the first dozen years in an office, transitioned to working from home like most companies in 2020, then ended up going hybrid after the pandemic eased. I work mostly from home now by choice. I live in a downtown high-rise condo, and I love being in the heart of the city (as well as the view from my window).

Book: The Dragons of Eden by Carl Sagan gave me a lifelong appreciation for science – it is a remarkable read. Pulp Fiction changed my expectations for all movies that came after it. And musically I am pretty eclectic. My playlist ranges from Manilow to Pitbull.

My first job was at a Chicago comic store at the age of 11, earning $1/hr. But the job that set me on my career trajectory was popping popcorn in the backroom of the world’s first 20-screen movie theater. The rest of that story is better shared over drinks.

I have two small dogs – a wire-haired Jack Russell named Seamus and a Miniature Dachshund named Weenie.