The global licensing community is powered by an incredible group of professionals whose diverse backgrounds and creative energy drive innovation and excellence. Each week we profile one of these professionals in this ongoing series.

How did you get into licensing (or how did licensing find you)?
Licensing found me through product storytelling. I started my career with Abercrombie & Fitch on the brand and design side, building assortments and campaigns that were designed to connect emotionally with consumers. The deeper I got into creative direction and product strategy, the more I realized that licensing was the sharpest tool in that kit. It lets you take cultural moments, characters, and nostalgia and translate them into something people want to wear, gift, and share. What drew me in wasn’t the deal structure, it was the product outcome. At IT’SUGAR I used to say anyone can logo-slap, but the real work is creating something more than that. At Odd Sox, we operate by that same principle. Licensing isn’t just a revenue line; it’s core to how we create demand.

What’s a “typical” day in your current position?
There’s no real “typical,” which is exactly what I love. My mornings usually start with performance data, looking at what the site and campaigns did overnight, and using that to make real-time decisions on optimization. From there I’m usually in creative reviews, aligning on product storytelling, or evaluating licensing opportunities through the lens of what our customer wants next. The connective tissue is making sure the product, the content, the marketing, and the customer journey are telling one cohesive story. At Odd Sox, we’re a lean team moving fast. That integration isn’t optional—it’s the job.

What’s your biggest personal or professional accomplishment?
Leading work that shifts consumer behavior at scale. At IT’SUGAR, that meant building experiential concepts that made licensed IP feel like a destination, like the first Sour Patch Kids Store in NYC, the first OREO Café at American Dream, and the Stranger Things confections line and related activations. Each of those required aligning creative, product, retail ops, and PR around a single brand narrative. At Odd Sox, the accomplishment I’m most proud of is building a framework where everyday essentials and licensed products coexist without diluting each other. That balance is harder than it looks and getting it right is what drives real, sustainable growth. Those projects only work when a lot of different teams are aligned, so I’ve learned to value great collaborators as much as great ideas.

What are the most significant trends or changes that you’ve seen in the business in recent years?
The biggest shift is how fast culture moves and how directly that velocity hits product planning. Licensing used to operate on long development cycles with stable IP windows. Now the consumer is setting the pace, not the licensor. TikTok has collapsed the distance between cultural moment and purchase decision. A sound goes viral on a Tuesday and by Thursday your DMs are full of collab requests. The brands winning today are the ones with the systems to move quickly and the judgment to know which moments are worth chasing. Speed without judgment is just noise.

What keeps you up at night? What’s your biggest challenge these days?
Speed and focus, in equal measure. The opportunity landscape in licensing has never been bigger, but that also means the cost of distraction is higher than ever. The real challenge is knowing where to place bets, building the processes that let you move fast without losing brand clarity, and maintaining that tension between short-term performance metrics and long-term brand equity. In eCommerce, everything is measurable in real time, which is a gift and a trap. The numbers will always tell you what’s happening but the hard part is knowing what they mean for the brand three years from now.

In your opinion, what is the top skill every licensing executive should have in order to succeed?
Taste. Data matters, but it won’t save a bad product. The best licensing executives understand culture, timing, and the difference between what’s possible and what’s actually worth doing. Just because something can be licensed doesn’t mean it should be. That judgment comes from staying close to the consumer, seeing what resonates in the real world, and being honest about what people will buy versus what just looks good in a deck.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received, or what’s your favorite quote?
“Make it make sense for the customer.” It sounds simple enough that it almost doesn’t register the first time you hear it. But it applies to everything: product, pricing, storytelling, partnerships, and campaign strategy. If it doesn’t clearly resonate with the customer, it won’t work no matter how compelling the deck looks in the boardroom. I use it as a filter constantly, because it cuts through a lot of noise fast.

What is your favorite licensing deal of all time? (It doesn’t have to be one that was signed by you.)
There are a lot, but the one that stays with me is the Sour Patch Kids Store in NYC. Being embedded across every dimension of it, including design, construction, product, PR, and events, gave me a 360-degree view of what it takes to bring an IP to life as a full brand experience rather than a product extension. That’s the standard I hold licensed work to. The best deals don’t feel licensed, they feel inevitable.

If you weren’t in licensing, what would you be doing now?
Still building brands for sure, and focused on direct-to-consumer product development and marketing. I’m most interested in how products come to life and how they connect with people, regardless of category.

The last licensed product I bought was…
Our recently launched Odd Sox OREO, Sour Patch Kids, and Cheetos BASIX. They’re the perfect blend of function and personality, which is exactly where the market is heading.