As the world prepared for the millennium change and dot com mania was in full swing, Mike changed career paths, a move from the world of global advertising agencies to launch Parallel Thinking Inc. -- a marketing resource company founded on the principle that assisted self-discovery is a powerful catalyst for creative thinking. Once this is stimulated Parallel Thinking guides the intersection of strategic thinking and creativity.

Twenty-five years experience in the advertising world directing strategy development for Mercedes-Benz, American Home Products, Kraft General Foods, Castrol, Citibank, James River, Merrill Lynch, Nikon, Ralston Purina and Sony has given Mike a perspective on problem identification, differentiated marketing strategy and brand communication that transcends conventional wisdom about category boundaries. This skill set enabled Mike to lead a team from Lowe and Partners, an agency with no technology experience, to win Sun Microsystems global advertising account in 1996 and ultimately helped Sun to claim the position of being the dot in .com.

This win caused Mike to give up his snow shovels and move west to open a Lowe and Partners office to service the Sun business and expand the agency’s presence in the San Francisco market with the addition of Oral-B, Eddie Bauer and Schwab as clients.

Over the past seven years, Mike’s experience helping traditional and technology clients, which include BEA Systems, BusinessObjects, Cisco Systems, Inc., Doremus Advertising, Dow Jones, Fleishman-Hillard Inc., J. Walter Thompson, NetDeposit, Sun Microsystems, Qwest Communications, The American Stock Exchange, Verifone and Young & Rubicam, led him to cross paths with Marsh-Wetherell Market Relations and The RevenueLaunch Company. Working together as independent consultants for multiple clients, Mike, BMW and Gerry realized the powerful potential of a joint service offering for clients in any market segment.

Complementary skill sets, non-conventional approach to problem identification and contrarian views on how to tell a client’s story in a way that will entice and motivate became the growth medium for the development of ExecutionAdvantage Partners, LLC.

Mike lives in Danville, California with his wife and two children and is an ardent follower of the farmers’ market circuit.