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ABOUT

I grew up tinkering with LEGOs, building model airplanes, and playing in the woods in a small town outside of Charlotte, NC.  I realized early-on that building and creating things was my passion so I attended North Carolina State University and graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering.  While in school, I fueled my passion for bicycles by working in the shop at the newly opened Durham REI.  This experience, along with my degree catapulted me into my career in the bicycle industry and moved me to the mountains of North Carolina.

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Today, I live with my wife, daughter, and dog in Asheville, NC and spend my time exploring these mountains on foot and by bike.

PROFESSIONAL HISTORY

October 2019 - Present

Bound Transportation Systems

CONSULTING ENGINEER

  • Providing technical guidance and design leadership to the CEO

  • Working to disrupt the micro-mobility industry with last-mile transportation solutions based on renewable energy sources

July 2007 -  September 2019

Cane Creek Cycling Components

January 2019 - September 2019

PRINCIPAL DESIGN ENGINEER

  • Responsible for the design and development of critical products including the ground-up redesign of a very successful suspension seatpost that has been unchanged for 15 years

  • Provided leadership and mentoring to other engineers, product managers, and senior management to bring to market reliable, attractive products for the discerning cyclist

September 2015 - December 2018

DIRECTOR OF ENGINEERING

  • Led a team of six engineers and technicians in the development, sourcing, and manufacturing of the company’s first suspension fork. Succeeded in delivering on high expectations for quality and reliability despite extremely limited resources

  • Responsible for a budget that ranged from nearly $800,000 in 2015-2016 to under $400,000 in 2018.  Decline in budget a result of overall revenue contraction from approximately 10.5M in 2015 to under 9M in 2016

  • Spearheaded the development of product improvements that resulted in a 67% savings in warranty expenses in 2017 and 46% savings in 2018

  • Guided the expedient extension of several product lines through creative and cost-effective design modifications

  • Oversaw the expansion of the company’s product line to include new product segments requiring the development of new vendors, testing equipment, standards, and procedures

  • Traveled regularly to Taiwan to perform critically needed intervention in sourcing operations to repair damaged vendor relationships and restart stalled projects

  • Integrally involved in the company’s executive search and hiring process and supported new President’s initiatives in company turn-around

July 2017 - July 2018

INTERIM DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS

  • Volunteered for leadership role to address recurring problems of stock-outs and end-of-month chaos. Performed root cause analysis to identify issues and perform corrective actions resulting in 25% increase in labor efficiency

  • Responsible for an Operations budget of approximated $750,000.  During this time I was responsible for the two largest budgets in the company

  • Led a cross-functional team to identify problems and implement solutions for improved communication from long-range forecasting through manufacturing and shipping

  • Developed and executed ERP system training program for production scheduling

  • Acted as a cultural bridge between executive management and shop-floor managers to get buy-in, improve communication of strategic goals, and bolster employee morale

  • Identified and developed underutilized employee in the CNC area that resulted in an elimination of overtime pay while improving on-time delivery of goods and freeing-up machine time for production of R&D prototypes

April 2015 - September 2015

INTERIM DIRECTOR OF ENGINEERING

  • Led change management to unify a disorganized engineering group into a motivated, collaborative team

  • Implemented a “Scrum” style project management system to provide visibility of R&D progress to team members, executive management, sales, marketing, and purchasing departments

  • Reevaluated legacy design decisions on the company’s first suspension fork and refocused design efforts, decreasing time to market and reducing development expenses

  • Oversaw the installation of large, legacy capital investments in the form of a Roehrig EMA shock dynamometer ($100k) and a custom-built universal test machine ($50k)

December 2012 - April 2015

SENIOR DESIGN ENGINEER

  • Developed C-Quent damper design that represented the company’s first ground-up damper in 10 years

  • Led 7-day per week initial production of newly introduced DBInline shock with 20 assembly technicians to produce 300 completed shocks per day.  Quickly developed solutions and training to correct numerous manufacturing problems encountered during ramp from small sample runs to full production.

  • Responsible for taking patented Climb-Switch damper technology from proof of concept to production in less than six months with the introduction of the DBAir CS shock

  • Created and brought to market a bicycle headset design with an integrated adjustable steering damper, patented US10421517B2

  • Led continuous improvement of product reliability through warranty analysis and post release testing

  • Researched and designed advanced damper concepts outside of new product development projects that furthered institutional knowledge of damper function and performance

  • Served as primary point of contact for product quality and led the fire-brigade to quickly and efficiently solve problems with products in all stages of production and in the field

July 2007 - December 2012

DESIGN ENGINEER

  • Responsible for all headset product management, sourcing, quoting, and graphic design

  • Brought to market the industry’s first modular and coherent bicycle headset product line

  • Created new headset bearing design utilizing a tapered bushing instead of ball bearings to create the world’s lightest bicycle headset

  • Conceptualized and developed industry-wide headset naming convention (S.H.I.S.) to simplify headset purchasing decisions for consumers, dealers, and OEMs

  • Drove and developed high-profile headset projects to enhance brand image: 110-Reserve, 110-World Bicycle Relief

  • Performed a technical-sales role by traveling to US dealers and OEMs as well as Taiwanese assemblers to educate them on headset fitment, nomenclature, and reinforce the idea of Cane Creek as the inventors and experts in the headset market.

  • Worked closely with sales and marketing teams to provide accurate technical information to ensure headset fit and function across brands and platforms

October 2003 - June 2007

Recreational Equipment Incorporated

May 2004 - June 2007

BICYCLE TECHNICIAN

LEVEL II

  • Provided leadership in setting high standards of workmanship and customer service      

  • Assessed customers’ bicycle repair needs and quoted recommended repairs

  • Assembled and quality-checked new bicycles to be sold on the floor

  • Accurately documented repair requirements, special parts orders, and rental agreements

  • Provided instruction for the general public through advertised bicycle maintenance clinics 

October 2003 - May 2004

SALES ASSOCIATE

  • Assisted customers with their purchasing decisions in a retail sales environment

EDUCATION

NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE - MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

MINOR - ENGLISH

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