Gordon Ordering Platform
Enterprise e-commerce at $11B+ scale.
Short Bio
Based in Michigan, USA
IT & Digital Transformation Leader
I'm an IT leader with 20+ years of experience building digital solutions and leading engineering teams. Currently at Gordon Food Service, I lead digital transformation initiatives and oversee online ordering for North America's largest privately held food distributor.
On This Site My experience in digital native technologies · My leadership philosophy: Empowering people to drive change · What drives me: Building AI-first solutions · InnovationEQ coaching curriculum · Writing on AI strategy and leadership
About
Enterprise scale meets AI-native thinking
I've led technology at organizations processing billions in revenue—and I build AI products on nights and weekends. I care about making things clear, helping people grow, and shipping work that matters.
At my core, I care about serving others, building trust, and designing systems that help people do their best work.
Over the last two decades, I've helped organizations modernize their technology, re-imagine customer experiences, and bring AI into the everyday tools people rely on. My work spans enterprise e-commerce platforms processing billions in revenue to MyndHyve—an AI-first app builder I'm creating that turns plain English into clickable, data-connected prototypes in minutes.
I write to share what I'm learning about AI, leadership, and the future of human-computer interaction. Mentoring and coaching let me pass those lessons on.
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Technology & Product Strategy
E-commerce & digital experience · Cloud (AWS, GCP) · APIs & microservices · AI & automation adoption · Data-driven decision making -
Leadership & Delivery
Distributed teams (US, UK, LATAM, APAC) · Agile/SAFe/Scrum at scale · DevOps & CI/CD · Coaching & talent development -
Business & Operations
Budgeting & vendor management · Change management · Stakeholder & executive communication · Security & compliance -
Languages
American English (native) · Brazilian Portuguese (native)
Experience
20+ years leading engineering teams
I've run e-commerce platforms processing $11B+ in orders and led global teams of 30+ engineers. I know how to ship reliable software, grow people, and keep the business happy.
IT Manager - E-Commerce, Web, Mobile & Marketing Technology
Gordon Food Service · North America's Largest Privately Held Food Distributor
Lead the technology organization behind Gordon Ordering, the enterprise e-commerce platform processing $11B+ in annual online orders. Direct a cross-functional team of 30+ engineers, architects, and DevOps professionals.
- Own technology strategy for customer-facing digital ordering—ensuring scalability, security, and reliability for high-volume transactions
- Drive roadmap definition and delivery across product and platform teams in partnership with business, product, and marketing leaders
- Oversee Agile and DevOps practices (CI/CD, automated testing, feature flags, observability) to accelerate delivery while maintaining quality
- Manage budget, vendor relationships, and contracts for cloud infrastructure and implementation partners
- Champion security, privacy, and compliance standards in collaboration with InfoSec and risk teams
Senior Global Director of Software Engineering & Director of Information Services
Our Daily Bread Ministries · Global Operations (US, UK, APAC, and LATAM)
Senior technology executive leading ~30 software and IT professionals across engineering, infrastructure, and operations. Responsible for technology strategy, delivery, and operational excellence across multiple countries.
- Defined and executed multi-year technology roadmaps spanning web, mobile, content platforms, data, and infrastructure
- Implemented SAFe across engineering—improved alignment, predictability, and speed to market
- Established DevOps capabilities (containerization, CI pipelines, automated deployments) reducing deployment friction and production risk
- Applied Lean Startup principles and analytics to measure user engagement and inform product decisions
- Built inclusive culture with employee-led teams focused on women in tech, engineering excellence, and agile practices
Manager of Mobile and Web Development
Our Daily Bread Ministries · Global Digital Platforms
Built and led a global team of software engineers and designers focused on mobile apps, web development, e-commerce, and digital content distribution.
- Oversaw architecture and development of consumer-facing websites, mobile apps, and e-commerce solutions supporting international growth
- Partnered with senior leadership across regions to define digital strategies tailored to local markets
- Introduced modern UX/UI and mobile-first design practices to improve engagement and conversion
- Drove platform consolidation and modernization to reduce technical debt and operational overhead
Education & Credentials
Computer Information Systems (Senior Status)
Davenport University · 2011–2015
4.0 GPA · President's List
Associate Degree in Art
Grand Rapids Community College · 1999–2001
Technologies: AWS, GCP, REST APIs, microservices, web & mobile development, CI/CD, containerization, cloud architecture
Methodologies: Agile, Scrum, SAFe, DevOps, Lean Startup, IT service management
Methodologies: Agile, Scrum, SAFe, DevOps, Lean Startup, IT service management
Projects
Projects I've built and shipped
I don't just talk about AI—I build with it. Here's proof I can take an idea from concept to working product.
Featured Project
myndhyve.ai ↗
MyndHyve
An AI-first collaborative app builder—from plain English to clickable prototype in minutes.
Describe what you want to build, and MyndHyve's AI creates a plan: screens, layouts, and connections. Then it builds real, testable interfaces you can interact with immediately—while your team co-edits live.
Drag-and-drop or ask the AI to revise. Built-in quality checks ensure accessibility and consistency. Use your own AI provider (OpenAI, Google, or Anthropic). Connect your own data sources. Export designs now, working code coming soon—for web, iOS, Android, and desktop.
Watch MyndHyve generate a complete app interface from a natural language prompt
Architectural Door Configurator
Turning weeks of back-and-forth into minutes.
Leadership Training
Innovation struggles almost always trace back to mindset, culture, and emotional intelligence—not lack of ideas or talent. InnovationEQ equips leaders with frameworks and tools to prepare leaders who champion risk-taking, transform team culture through trust and psychological safety, and drive meaningful results.
Five Mindsets
Teams progress from Scarcity → Fixed → Community → Growth → Abundance. The single most significant change a team can undergo is to collectively embrace a Growth Mindset.
Three Mental States
Survival ("Am I safe?"), Emotional ("Am I loved?"), and Executive ("Am I making a difference?"). The Executive State is optimal for problem-solving and innovation.
Systems Thinking
Surface problems are symptoms of deeper patterns and mental models. The "Five Whys" technique peels back layers to find root causes—which almost always trace to misaligned values.
Disruptive Collaboration
"The lone genius is a myth." Adding unique perspectives dramatically increases innovation success—+3 perspectives = 300% better outcomes.
Emotional Intelligence
Six self-awareness tools: Label emotions, map values, understand control, choose leadership style, manage expectations, and author your personal narrative.
Empowering Behaviors
Replace inhibiting behaviors (gossip, blame, secrecy, perfectionism) with empowering ones (integrity, transparency, iteration, curiosity).
01
"Leadership is about going first into the unknown."
It doesn't mean you have the answers, and it doesn't mean you are right. It just means you stepped first. Only by being comfortable with uncertainty can we tap into our most creative selves.
02
"The lone genius is a myth."
Great solutions come from diverse teams with varied backgrounds and experiences. Adding one unique perspective increases success by 50%. Add three and it jumps to 300%.
03
"Where you spend your time and energy reveals your mindset."
Scarcity talks about how others failed you. Fixed talks about others' shortcomings. Growth talks about exchanging ideas. Abundance talks about changing the world.
04
"Give up power in favor of influence."
Empowerers invest in others' success. Inhibitors expand power by limiting others—controlling people control people. The best leaders trade positional authority for genuine influence.
05
"Unspoken expectations are unrealistic expectations."
Your emotional response is tied to the gap between expectations and reality. Leaders who clearly communicate expectations eliminate a major source of conflict.
06
"Focus on what you can control and have a plan for the rest."
The greater the gap between what you desire to control and what you actually can, the more frustration grows. Let go of what isn't yours to control.
"Change your story, change your life."
Belief systems are the stories we tell ourselves to define our sense of reality. Innovation starts with leaders who operate from an Executive State, embrace a Growth Mindset, and empower others to take risks in a culture built on trust, transparency, and collaboration.
Bring InnovationEQ to Your Team
Whether you're looking to level up your own leadership or transform your entire team's culture, I offer personalized coaching and training sessions tailored to your specific challenges.
Let's Talk →Writing & Speaking
Sharing what I'm learning about AI
I write and speak about how to actually use AI at work, how to lead technical teams, and where technology is headed.
Developing Your Personal AI Strategy
A 7-level framework for AI adoption—from creative play to building foundation models. Presented at 2025 Shoptoberfest in NYC, this guide helps individuals and organizations assess their current AI maturity and chart a path forward.
Will Your AI Agent Take My Job?
Exploring the real impact of AI agents on the future of work—not as job replacements, but as intelligent collaborators.
AI Tools for Transforming Personal Productivity
How AI tools are reshaping how we work—from managing deadlines to unlocking creativity.
The Perils of Psychological Safety
What happens when the pursuit of psychological safety overshadows the value of risk-taking in innovation?
Leading with Empathy
At the heart of effective leadership lies the ability to understand and share the feelings of others.
Integrate AI into Your Innovation Strategy
Staying up-to-date with the constant stream of AI-powered innovations and integrating them strategically.
Who Do You Think You Are?
Every individual contributor is uniquely positioned to bring fresh perspectives and effect profound transformation.
Radical Innovation
The five "radicals" of innovative teams that take organizations to the next level through product innovation.
Why Leaders Must Be Coaches
How to shift your team from fixed to growth mindsets through coaching and psychological safety.
Feeling Stuck in Your Career?
A stuck employee will eventually become a toxic employee. Here's how to get unstuck.
Why Emotional Intelligence is Critical
EQ is more critical now than ever for leaders to motivate and connect with their team members.
More articles and insights on LinkedIn
Contact
Let's create something great together
Open to conversations about technology leadership roles, AI products, InnovationEQ coaching and team training, and interesting collaborations. Based in Grand Rapids, MI with experience leading remote teams across the US, UK, Latin America, and Asia.