Career Highlights and Work Experience
January 2009 - Present
New York, NY –> Norwalk, CT
Nash Footwear Studio – Owner
Full-service consulting service across the entire footwear creation cycle including product line assortment planning, seasonal creative direction, color and material palette selection, innovation research, concept design, technical design and engineering, product development, prototyping, production sourcing, and vendor management. Recent clients include SKYLRK, Tory Burch, Vimazi, and Solarcore.
June 2022 - May 2023
New York, NY
TYR Sport – Director Design and Product Development – Footwear & Hardgoods
Responsible for innovation, design, and development for all footwear and hardgoods product lines (sunglasses, swim goggles, bags, etc.) across all product categories including running, training, weightlifting, recovery, lifestyle, and swimming. I planned and executed brand strategy with cross-functional partners to position TYR as a competitive brand in the marketplace. I also implemented a 3D scanning and printing workflow there with an Artec Spyder 3D scanner and Stratasys J850 printer for rapid protoyping and concept visualization.
January 2021 - November 2021
Portland, OR
KEEN – Director of Footwear Innovation Development
As director of innovation development, I worked closely with business units, factory partners and suppliers to achieve buy-ready product on-time, on budget and aligned with company growth objectives. I revamped the KEEN research lab and led a team of designers, shoe makers, developers, engineers, chemists, and experts in biomechanics to create industry-changing innovations. The lab was located at the KEEN direct inject facility in Portland, OR allowing for in-house research and development of innovations in direct-inject polyurethane compounds and methods of make.
January 2019 - September 2020
Portland, OR
Adidas – Senior Manager, Prototype Engineering – Advanced Creation Technologies
Mananged the footwear prototype engineering team in conjunction with the adidas sample room, MakerLab, digital creations, and athlete services teams to innovate adidas advanced creation and prototyping technologies. Produced R&D prototypes for all adidas business units, creative direction, and advanced concept teams. Brought designs to life through hand modeling, 3D cad, 3D printing, casting, CNC milling, knitting, and digital printing.
January 2017 - January 2019
Calabasas, CA
Adidas – Director, YEEZY Innovation Studio
Worked closely with Kanye West to establish the Adidas/YEEZY sample lab at Yeezy HQ in Calabasas, CA. Designed facility layout, infrastructure, and machinery purchases for a world class innovation laboratory. Recruited and trained a team of experts to drive YEEZY innovation and success. Prototyped concept models and refined details for production. Worked on many of the most successful Yezzy models including the 350V2, Calabasas, 500, 700, and 700 v2.
September 2016 - January 2017
Brooklyn, NY
Adidas – Senior Manager, MakerLab at Brooklyn Creator Farm
Led the startup of the Adidas Brooklyn Creator Farm in Greenpoint Brooklyn. Planned and oversaw facility construction, setup and optimization. Recruited and trained the MakerLab team to create innovation concept prototypes using advanced technologies. Led innovation workshops for designers of all Adidas categories to bring concepts to life through realtime design/making of physical prototypes and concept models for creative direction and innovations for the brand.
December 2013 - July 2016
New York, NY
Cole Haan – Footwear Designer and Senior Product Developer
Lead product developer and design partner for all Men’s Grand Family products, Responsible for ZeroGrand 2.0, Grand Pro, and many other leading model groups. Worked closely with merchandising, demand planning, materials, and marketing teams to bring highly successful products to market. Managed over 400 skus per season. In addition to the main line products, I also designed a Cole Hann collaboration collection for Todd Snyder and worked on a golf shoe model for Bill Murray.
April 2011 - December 2012
New York, NY
Jimlar Corporation – Design Director
Responsible for design and development of all categories of outdoor footwear for the Mountrek brand. Managed design and development teams to produce innovative and successful product. Arranged development and production calendars to optimize team work-flow and productivity. Oversaw material purchasing, team travel, sampling, presentation schedules, and team work delegation. Worked closely with brand and sales management to grow profits and market share. Responsible for approving final confirmation samples for fit, QC, and spec validation prior to production. Mentored junior teammates and direct reports for professional development.
January 2008 - April 2011
New York, NY
Jimlar Corporation – Senior Footwear Designer
Designed men’s footwear for Tommy Hilfiger, Tommy Bahama, William Rast, and multiple private label accounts. Responsible for all trend direction, concept generation, technical design, and communication with suppliers and factories. Worked closely with business partners for line building, design presentations, and prototype reviews.
September 2005 - December 2007
New York, NY
ES Originals – Footwear Designer
Designed and developed multiple footwear lines across a wide variety of categories. Extensive international travel for trend research and forecasting, and to suppliers and factories to review and guide product development and production. Sourced new materials and technologies to implement in future designs. Adjusted lasts, patters, and specs for optimal fit, appearance, performance, and quality within cost an calendar restraints.
