Life In Internet

Over my 11 plus years with NRF and Shop.org, I’ve had the opportunity to develop relationships with so many amazing and inspiring people in this great industry.  The decision to leave Shop.org and join an internet start-up is bittersweet. As anyone who leaves a great job for a new opportunity can attest, this new adventure is leaving me excited, yet anxious and nostalgic, and also hopeful.

To those who may be curious about how I came to this decision, the answer is pretty simple:  I’ve been surrounded by innovative, entrepreneurial people and companies for over a decade.  At Shop.org, I’ve had a front row seat to all the excitement of the digital retail industry.  It’s been fun and intellectually stimulating, and the growth of Shop.org is an enormous source of pride for me.  Now, I have an opportunity to jump into the game.  Thanks to a super supportive wife and family, I have the opportunity to scratch an itch and eliminate any regret later in life that I didn’t try something like this.

I am eager to share more information about my next adventure, the details of which will be available in September.  What I can say for now is that I will be the co-founder of an early stage start-up that ties virtual goods to retail.

In the meantime, I still have almost a month left at Shop.org. During this time, I will be busy helping to make the Annual Summit bigger and better than ever (like everything else in Texas) as well as working on a variety of transition-related activities.

I want to thank NRF CEO Matt Shay for being gracious and more supportive than one could ever expect from a boss in this situation.  The same goes for the amazing team at Shop.org and the Board of Directors, who are the heart and soul of this organization.  With such a talented and committed infrastructure, I know that Shop.org’s best days are ahead of it.

Even though my last official day at Shop.org is August 13, I’ll always feel incredibly indebted to and tied to this organization, which means so much not only to me but to thousands of people in our industry.

P.S. NRF is conducting a search for a new executive director of Shop.org.  Feel free to contact me if you want to learn what an awesome job it is.