Back to the future. Sort of.

If you’re reading this, you’ve likely seen my update and know I’m headed to Stand Together as Head of New Builds.

You might wonder, “What does that mean?” I’ll be helping Brian Hooks and the team identify, structure, and launch new organizations, capabilities, and partnerships with and for changemakers. Smart people do this today inside ST’s initiatives and businesses. I’ll partner on transformational projects that span those boundaries or bring first-of-a-kind, frontier-pushing opportunities (or both).

You might also wonder “Why is a retail tech and startup guy headed to Stand Together?”

It’s simple. Sort of.

I’m super optimistic about the power of commerce, technology, and unique combinations of talent to expand human flourishing. And I’m super convinced that the principles underpinning domestic prosperity, social progress, and global peace deserve robust defense - “against all foes, and at whatever cost,” in Frederick Douglass’ inimitable phrase.

There’s not many places you can scratch both of these itches. I found exactly one.

Does this mean leaving retail/e-commerce? Sort of. I’ve always loved retail’s everyday magic of billions of individual choices adding up to satisfied needs and better lives. I’m not going far.

Does this mean leaving tech and startups? Sort of. First, we support tech startups - yep, for-profit startups. Second, new builds have that same, early-stage compelling chaos. And third, when we 10, 100, or 100,000X the people pursuing entrepreneurial ventures … we’ll take the W.

Does this mean going back to the future, ideologically? Again, sort of. I’ve helped build programs and organizations supporting our principles. I’ve fought for them as an executive sponsoring inclusion and diversity initiatives and as a volunteer campaigning against value-destructive policy. At ST, the principles don’t change, while “what’s relevant” and “what’s possible” scale very fast. Very.

I’m pumped. So is everyone I’ve talked with about helping changemakers - in policy, media, music, education, tech - accelerate and maximize their impact on big problems.

That’s it. Let’s go!