What was your route to the top? I worked nearly full time through undergrad at a complex civil litigation firm in a staff position. After holding various law clerk positions during law school, I graduated in the height of the recession. I left law school without a job offer but passed the bar on the first try. Shortly thereafter I was offered a job making $17.00/hour as an associate attorney at a small civil litigation firm. While not the salary I had hoped for, I viewed it as an opportunity to get great practical experience in the courtroom and within a month after receiving my license, tried my first insurance defense case. I managed a heavy, busy docket. Thereafter, I was offered a role in-house at a privately held German company's headquarters north of Detroit. While much of the automotive industry was going through bankruptcy, I was able to help position the North American operating company for future growth. We established the first regional law department outside of the company's central legal department in Germany. This model was later scaled to Austria, Russia, and China. I was promoted to Director of Legal Affairs sometime thereafter and traveled to Europe often. Thereafter, I was offered an opportunity to come to Gordon Food Service and build their legal function. It will be five years in February.

What keeps you up at night? (i.e. What are your biggest business-related concerns?) As the world has become so much more dependent on technology, unique legal considerations have followed. Cybersecurity is on the forefront of every General Counsel's mind, and the pace at which bad actors mature their campaigns and become more sophisticated keeps me awake at night.

What is the best leadership advice you provided, or received, and why do you think it was effective? It doesn't make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do. —Steve Jobs. No one does this on their own; one person can not know everything and do everything. You need a team of good people around you who each bring unique gifts, and foster an environment where they are trusted, respected, and have a little fun once in awhile too.

Looking back, what do you wish you had known when you started out in the legal profession? Throughout our legal education, we are conditioned to think that the best lawyers will be successful. But in practice, many other skills, aside from those traditionally considered to make a great lawyer, are necessary to run a successful practice (i.e. leadership, communication, business acumen, financial acumen, etc.) These skills are not taught in law schools, but I was fortunate to have many great mentors and examples along the way to help me develop in these areas.

What is the most valuable career advice anyone has ever given you? “It's a marathon, not a sprint.” I didn't take that advice :o)