BA in Economics from Lafayette College. Graduated in 3 years. 

Studied more Philosophy than Econ. Didn’t know about double majors. 

Chase Manhattan Bank (now JPMC). Credit training and Leveraged Finance.

Learned to identify and model quantitative and qualitative risk. A key life and business skill. Learned to finance growing businesses and actually get paid back.

MBA in Finance from New York University. Completed it in 13 months.  

Learned credentialing is overrated. Learned a little more, got interested in Psychology along the way.

Columbia University. MA., Ed.M. Counseling Psychology.

First time doing what I loved, not what was expected. Learned to read power and group dynamics (Tavistock model). Did tons of clinical work. Got interested in Psychology for men. Helped found Division 51 of the American Psychological Association (Society for the Study of Men and Masculinities).

Ph.D. Psychology University of Florida. Completed in three years plus internship.

Discovered a Ph.D. was about execution, not ideation. Inpatient Psychiatry (clinician not patient), the fastest learning curve ever. Even more clinical work. Loved teaching psychology to undergrads. Published a few papers on Psychology of Men. Amazing doctoral advisor - taught me to navigate academia and do real research. Still good friends today.

Doctoral Intern, University of California, San Diego.

Thousands more hours of clinical work. A few great teachers. Helped people make existential decisions - made a real difference. Learned I needed a faster paced environment.

Killer job at Keilty, Goldsmith & Co. (now Leadership Research Institute), a boutique human capital consulting firm. Served McKinsey and Goldman Sachs and Fortune 100s. Learned about leadership from senior leaders at great clients. Spoke truth to power and flourished. Counseled hundreds if not thousands of executives at all levels.

Hired by Goldman Sachs Investment Banking to co-head leadership development and training. Co-led global team of 200+ people. Learned about building credibility inside an organization. Met great people, counseled many senior executives along the way.

Left to start a Fund of Hedge Funds for a family office. Already knew how to spot Wall Street talent (manager selection). Learned to run an investment business, advised and counseled private clients on the side. Found out about family businesses the hard way. Sold my share of the business.

Moved to NC, Ran the MBA career Center for UNC’s Business School. Decided to try academia. Every Ph.D. should do it once. Worked in Executive Education coaching US Navy Flag Officers (Admirals) and Federal SES Executives. Loved coaching students and military officers. Loved psychology of life and career choice. Didn’t love the politics of academia.

Relaunched consulting / coaching practice - served Wall Street, (Banking and Investment Management) and local individual clients and companies. Leadership development and coaching for senior execs, existential psychology for individuals. Counseled successful people on life, meaning, work, and career transition. Advised entrepreneurs and closely-held businesses on taking companies to the next level (hiring talent, making buy-sell decisions, raising capital).  

Hired by client to be COO and managing partner of $2.5 Billion NYC based Registered Investment Advisor (institutional money manager). Five-year run, hired and managed team, ran day-to-day ops. Still counseled private clients. Founder retired in 2020 and we closed up shop. Came back to NC for good (I think). 

Psychology Fellowship in large NC group practice. Worked in a busy group psychology practice doing psychotherapy with individuals, couples, and teens. Specialized in executive psychology, high-conflict couples therapy, and psychology of men. Helped a lot of people. Continued coaching executives in my down time (as usual). Decided I liked working independently. 

Rented a nice office in Durham, NC and started serving clients my way. Doing my own thing. Sometimes it’s practicing psychology and sometimes it’s executive coaching and consulting. It all depends on how I can best help clients. 

Contact me for a free 15-minute phone consultation to see if we are a good fit.