John draws on his deep executive expertise with brand titans Hallmark, American Greetings, Discovery Channel, The Body Shop, Intl., Kathy Davis Studios, Mary Engelbreit Studios, and The Gap/Banana Republic to strategize and execute the mission of ideaologie.
Earlier in his career, John quickly ascended the ranks of The Gap where he earned a senior management title. Shortly thereafter, he was appointed vice president of stores for Banana Republic, responsible for the company’s meteoric rise and national launch. Tapping his industry skill, John also created and developed Streamers, a chain of highly recognized party goods stores; served as Vice President/General Manager for The Body Shop, Intl.; and led the Discovery Channel/The Nature Company’s retail operation as Vice President of Retail.
In 2000, looking to create a new branding and product strategy for one of its subsidiary brands, Hallmark approached John to develop and articulate its product and sales message. As Senior Vice President of Product, Marketing and National Sales, he was responsible for leading the entire creative team and all product decisions, including marketing and licensing strategies; as well as oversaw sales to the company’s key accounts.
A call from Kathy Davis and a subsequent move to Philadelphia placed John as the President/COO for Kathy Davis Studios, where he led the business to national recognition, acknowledgment of the company as a superbrand in the social expression world, and double digit revenue increases with new branding, licensing and identity strategies. While doing consulting work in 2010, John was asked by Mary Engelbreit to run her company, where he served as President/CEO for three years. During this timeframe, embracing his knowledge of both brand and consumer from his dynamic past, the foundation of the business was rebuilt, a significant number of new licensees were added to the mix, and the entire marketing strategy was revamped.
John earned his Bachelor of Arts degrees in biology and psychology from the University of Colorado.
Get to know some different sides of John...
What do you do when you aren’t working?
I must admit, I tend to work far too much! But when I am not working, I love to play basketball. I have always loved the game, but did not play competitive basketball (if one could consider my play competitive!) until about ten years ago. Since then, I play whenever I get a chance; and I learn with each game from the folks that “school” me during the games. Who knows . . . maybe some day I can attend the Coach Krzyzewski Basketball Camp for old guys like me!!
What is your passion?
Family is always the first answer for this type of question! But I also truly believe in paying back to the community-at-large for all of the blessings I have received in my life. Nothing is more gratifying than to be able to help someone else, for no reason other than you have the skill and knowledge, and they have a need. One of the ways I love to pay back is each year I try to get to Mexico during the summer to help build houses for families that have no stable means of shelter. I cannot possibly put into words how utterly gratifying it is to “present” keys to a new home to a family that had been living in a series of stacked plywood sheets. The best part - those families give and teach me more than I could ever give to them!