True confession: I love blogging about our new hires because they give fantastically entertaining answers to the questionnaire they’re asked to fill out. Reading their responses is a great way to start a Tuesday. You should try it.
In recent months – or in some cases weeks – we’ve been fortunate to have several uber-fabulous individuals join our team, namely user experience guru Jim Broennimann, super-strategist Laura Netz, and project management ninja Alicia Osier. Please allow them to introduce themselves …
Jim Broennimann – Experience Architect
Where did you go to school? Rosenow Elementary – still a believer in all I need to know I learned in kindergarten.
Where did you work before GS? I’ve worked at a handful of places before GS and learned from each – one in particular was Midwest Airlines.
What will you do at GS? Create experiences for customers with brands they or I interact with, and in some cases love. And I will ride the spin bikes.
What do you do when you’re not at GS? Spend time with my wife and kids, cross-country ski in the winter, and bicycle race in the summer. Oh, and I spend a lot of time thinking about writing.
Special talents or party tricks: I have the ability to take over the music at any party.
Any phobias/deep fears? Rabbits biting me in the hands.
When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? Philosopher.
Best advice you’ve ever gotten? It’s from a poem from Edna St. Vincent Millay:
My candle burns at both ends;
It will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends –
It gives a lovely light!
What will/should your tombstone says? If it’s up to me, I’d be cremated and spread on the Greenbush Ski Trail.
Describe yourself in three words: Bluish, orange, mindful.
Who inspires you and why? “Whats” inspire me, like people in situations, stories, music, the Great Lakes, and trees.
Laura Netz – Creative Strategist/Writer
Where did you go to school? Minneapolis College of Art and Design.
Where did you work before GS? VSA Partners in Chicago.
What will you do at GS? Problem solving, big pictures, deciphering millenials, magnetism, and momentum.
What do you do when you are not at GS? Try to stop thinking about work (often unsuccessfully), niece and nephew ruining, dog walkin’.
Special talents or party tricks: I can stick a beer bottle to the wall – which will ruin the wall – and get the cork out of a bottle of wine using just a napkin – which will ruin the wine, the napkin, and the cork. I guess my party tricks haven’t evolved much since my punk house days.
Any phobias/deep fears? Rabbits biting my hands.
When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? CIA agent, astronaut, television writer.
Best advice you’ve ever gotten? Only two things a girl will ever need to know:
1. Never grow a wishbone where you backbone ought to be.
2. Make your own luck.
What will/should your tombstone say? See, I told you I was dying.
Describe yourself in three words: First-world problems.
Who inspires you and why? Cole Porter, Dock Ellis, and Maybelle Carter for smarmy wit, resilience in the face of adversity, and matriarchal aplomb, respectively.
Alicia Osier – Project Manager
Where did you go to school? Philadelphia University, UW-LaCrosse, UW-Milwaukee (graduated from that one).
Where did you work before GS? Momentum Worldwide and Fullhouse Interactive.
What will you do at GS? Project management like you’ve never seen ;)
What do you do when you’re not at GS? Run, run, run … and eat, eat, eat. Training for a marathon and like to do road races on the weekends, too. Also, from so many years in the service industry I’m pretty passionate about food, wine, and beer!
Special talents or party tricks: I’m extremely good at rock, paper, scissors. One time I won a double elimination tournament (not joking).
Any phobias/deep fears? FEET! I don’t want them to touch me or people to touch mine. Gross.
When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? Um, I was pretty sure whatever it was I would have an apartment in a big city and wear skirt suits. Weird, cuz that’s my fear now. I can remember wanting to be a veterinarian too, but then my older sister told me I would have to murder puppies, so that killed that (no pun intended).
Best advice you’ve ever gotten? Soooo cheesy, but – everything happens for a reason.
What will/should your tombstone say? Yikes, I don’t know! I hope something about being a good person.
Describe yourself in three words: Short, loud, sarcastic.
Who inspires you and why? My mother. She’s the most selfless, kind, noble person I know. Talk about regretting being such a bad teenager! :)
LinkedIn has become a useful site for networking and occasionally even job hunting. With over 100 million members, it’s now something of a knowledge-sharing destination as well, with tools making it possible to pose questions to professionals inside and outside of your network. Here are just are a couple ways to get more out of your activity there.
