Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

University of Virginia

Marist School

Executive Consulting //
Strategic focus, compelling communication, innovation

Atlanta, Georgia

I've led teams at several startups with a skeleton staff on a shoestring budget, and a fifty-person staff with a budget in the tens of $ millions.I'm passionate about and experienced in discovering the essence of a business or ministry opportunity, inspiring people and organizing resources around that opportunity, and measuring precise outcomes.

Self Employed

Executive Consulting

- Re)Built a vision, team, strategy, culture, partners, operations, fundraising, and communications for ABS’s national organization- Migrated a (200+ year!) company from a decades-long “analog” strategy to an integrated digital strategy, leveraging advanced research, big data, analytics, media, and machine learning- Launched a ground-breaking project to reach people through digital invitations, serving partners in cities across the country- Recruited, hired, equipped, and developed 40+ teammates across four core teams (Outreach/B2C, Partnerships/B2B, Content, and Research & Intelligence)- Managed a $12MM+ budget, two external agencies, tens of strategic partners, and an eager Board and leadership team- Launching an Innovation Incubator and Ministry Research & Development venture

American Bible Society

Managing Director

While launching New Denver Church, I consulted with several organizations, including E3. The small team at Explore God wanted to launch a citywide media and small group initiative in Austin, TX, and eventually across the United States. To do so, they needed to build a strategy, creative and technical assets, a relational network, and a marketing plan. I was hired to help with each of these components.Over 2+ years we built a tight strategy, a world class media production team (<a href="http://ditoremayo.com">http://ditoremayo.com</a>), a website (<a href="http://exploregod.com">http://exploregod.com</a>), and compelling curriculum and marketing collateral. We launched in Austin in the summer of 2013 with over 2,000 churches and organizations participating. Then we created a national relational network and began marketing EG across the country. To date, two dozen additional cities have deployed Explore God campaigns, reaching several hundred thousand people. And website engagement has reached even more people both in the U.S. and around the world.Key Learnings:1. People resonate with authentic storytelling.2. Hire the highest quality talent you can afford. I am privileged to have collaborated with some of the best writers, directors, and producers anywhere. And the results show it.3. Building a relational network is hard but worth the effort. Collaboration across organizations doesn't come naturally. So it's critical to find incentives that inspire people to work together.4. The ability to create operational efficiency is a rare but invaluable talent. Our team's Ops guru is the best I've ever met, and kept the team fully optimized.

e3 Foundation / Explore God Network

Senior Strategist

New Denver Church was a dream of three families. We wanted to create a community where people could come as they are, learn about faith, meet others who are on the same journey, and ultimately make the world a better place. And more than a decade later, NDC has achieved that and more, and continues to grow and thrive.As a founder, one gets to wear lots of hats. So over the years, my roles and responsibilities included:1. Recruiting and equipping leaders2. Casting vision constantly3. Fundraising4. Hiring staff5. Building operational infrastructure (technology, human resources, processes, communications, reporting, etc…)6. Event planning and execution7. Oh, and I'm sure I swept, mopped, and cleaned the bathrooms plenty as well.Key Learnings:1. Perseverance - Launching a venture is hard. And only the committed get to reap the rewards.2. Focus - There are only so many hours in a day. And in a small startup, there's way more to do than is physically possible. So prioritizing, planning, and focusing only on what's essential is critical.3. Vision-casting - To create something from nothing requires zeal and diligence. When most people don't care about your thing, you gotta keep sharing until you find that person who cares.4. Guerilla marketing - With a modest budget, we needed to do a lot with a little. So we got creative in getting our message out.5. Teamwork - One person cannot do it all. Having co-founders was incredibly helpful. (I'm forever grateful to Norton and Stephen for their partnership in this fantastic venture!!) And recruiting volunteers exponentially increased our capacity.

New Denver Church

Founding Pastor

North Point Ministries is an umbrella organization that comprises one of the largest church and leadership networks in the world. With 8 campuses in the Atlanta area, 100+ network partners throughout the United States, hundreds of global network partners, and over 100MM views PER YEAR across various television and digital channels, NPM has significant reach and influence.I was fortunate to join the team long before these impressive and far-reaching endeavors were a thing. In fact, my purview was a small group environment that served several hundred people... per year. However, by 2004, we'd expanded to several campuses, were training numerous network partners around the country, and equipping leaders around the world with translated materials. (including Rwanda, India, China, Bosnia-Herzegovina, England, Brazil, and Jamaica, among others...)

North Point Ministries, Inc.

Director

ZapMedia was an early innovator in the "end-to-end" internet media business. We built an internet-connected CD and DVD player, controlled through ones television. It doesn't sound revolutionary now. But 25+ years ago, it was a game-changer! We raised a pile of cash, built hardware and software services, and marketed it like crazy. Unfortunately, the cost to produce such a sophisticated device was prohibitive (>$3-5k/unit), and we were unable to sustain operations.My role was to manage our online services business, inviting users to engage in a virtual media marketplace. In retrospect, I was creating the precursor to the App Store, which at the time, was COMPLETELY foreign. And, needless to say, it wasn't as big a deal as iTunes. (Though interestingly, one of my good friends now runs the App Store. I guess he figured it out! :)Key Learnings:1. Dream Big - Don't be afraid to envision where the market is going, even if others don't yet see it.2. In email, include only information and affirmation - I was corresponding with another co-worker about a client engagement, and accidentally copied the client. Unfortunately, some of what I wrote shouldn't have been written. I learned from that experience, and do my best to never make that mistake.3. Check and triple check before hitting "send" - Our CEO accidentally copied his entire address book with our pre-IPO financials. (OOPS!) Needless to say, we did not complete the public offering.4. Never violate customer trust - When our revenues weren't meeting projections, one manager invented a new revenue stream by selling customer emails. I'm as uncomfortable now as I was then with the practice, especially given that it was completely off-mission.5. Ping pong and foosball tables aren't a requirement for a cool office environment. But they're still pretty fun.

ZapMedia

Online Services Manager

Checkmate was a $30MM payment hardware and software solutions company. Back when you wrote a check to pay for your groceries, the cashier likely authorized it through our device. We also built credit card and signature capture devices.I supported the VP of Marketing, Les Cowie, as we built our corporate marketing resources. This included design, printing, PR, annual reports, trade shows, investor calls, websites, and other marcomm.To this day, Les is one of the most creative and energetic people I know. It was a privilege to work with him and be mentored by him. He patiently invested in me, challenging me with unfamiliar tasks and ventures, and rewarding me for both successes and learning from failures. I'm so grateful for the years I spent under his tutelage.Key Learnings:1. Pay attention - The internet was just becoming a thing, and I remember building a proposal for our executive team to consider investing in it. (i.e. Reserving a domain, building a website, creating online sales collateral, etc...) I remember the moment I discovered "Pointcast" which was a personalized news aggregation site, and thinking, "This is going to be big."2. Learn to prioritize and multitask - This was the first role when I had more to do than time to do it. I recall several meltdown moments when I was ready to give up. But Les and another manager/friend coached me on prioritizing and sequencing, which equipped me for life in so many ways.3. Take notes - I began writing down key learnings from each day and project. These simple--and sometimes profound--insights still inform what and how I do things. (Evernote sure helps these days!)4. Seek mentors - Wise counsel has always been a priority for me. But even (or maybe especially!) in business, learning from those who are wiser and more experienced can fast-track insights and avoid mistakes. Tommy, Les, Leslie, and my dad are four from whom I learned, and still learn, volumes.

Checkmate Electronics Inc

Assistant Marketing Director

I trained corporate clients in software technology and usability. Apple, PC, Microsoft Office suite, and other popular software tools.Key Learnings:1. Customer service - I got to know every one of my students, understood their baseline and needs, and then customized my classes to help them achieve their goals.2. Perseverance - We wiped and re-loaded every hard drive, every night. Using floppy disks. #Seriously3. Technology - This was my onramp to digital fluency. I was around computers and software 24x7, which forced me to consider the impact of these burgeoning devices.4. Lifelong Learning - Even then, technology was evolving SO quickly that if you weren't constantly studying, you were being left behind.

Appletree Technology

Certified Software Instructor

I was mentored by Joe Ledlie and Glen Jackson, two Atlanta-area PR and advertising gurus, as we served clients like RC Cola and Delta Airlines.Truth be told, I made a lot of copies and delivered lots of coffee. But it was a genuine rush dressing for work everyday, and taking the elevator to the 48th floor of Atlantic Station in Midtown Atlanta. And being around high energy people with a passion for public relations and advertising was inspirational.Key Learnings:1. You gotta start somewhere. And it's better to be in the game than sitting on the sidelines.2. Show up. On time. Dressed to play. (This is one of my dad's mantras. He says this is half of what it takes to be successful. And he was a very successful executive with IBM and Apple between 1970-1995.)3. A great job or paycheck--especially early in one's career--is LESS important than great mentors. I was/am fortunate to learn from high integrity, highly competent people, and continue to prioritize who I work for and with over most other factors.4. Communication, brand, and storytelling is much more complex and demanding than it looks. To position an idea well takes thought, time, and intentionality.

Jason Malec