Answer: Why wouldn’t he want one of the most senior and lucrative communications jobs in the industry? What else was Nathan qualified to do? Instead of being lured to a Fortune 500 company which was an offer he could have accepted as CCO, about 6-years ago he accepted a promotion into a management role. He became Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer with a highly respected luxury brand, at a company he knew well, in the industry he loved.

This was a major career shift. He saw the potential to have a significant impact on the company, if he succeeded. It gave him an opportunity to explore new ways he could develop as a leader/manager. Since the learning curve was short, and it was small scale, his impact could be felt quickly. He could see if his ideas would be effective and productive–or not. He did not know if he could be successful in a sales capacity in related categories from his core strength in transportation. Nor, did he know how he would feel about shifting away from transportation as the company extended the brand into new markets.

Tackling this challenge was rare opportunity to stretch in new directions. He assessed the risk and decided it was worth making a non-traditional career decision but one which could open new options for him.

It was a company with a tightly knit leadership group that took great pride in its product and reputation. The challenge was to refresh the brand and find new ways to create excitement about the company. It would also mean the company would be entering new product categories, away from transportation.