After eight months of hard work, I am excited to let you know that I landed a position at Gartner, the world’s leading information technology research and advisory firm (www.gartner.com). My role is Research Vice President – Consumer Experience and I will be the lead analyst for the consumer-centric industries within Gartner’s Industry Advisory Services Manufacturing group. In this role I will be providing thought leadership for Gartner’s clients on issues and opportunities at the intersection of technology, business process and consumer demand. I will be based in Chicago and started right after Labor day. This is a great role that combines two of my passions – technology and consumer marketing and I am very, very excited. There are countless people who helped me on this journey and I would like to take a moment to acknowledge some of them.

• First and foremost, I want to thank my wife Mona. I could not have embarked on this journey without her love, support, and occasional ass-whooping. She helped me realize what was possible when I kept my mind and heart open.
• Next, my Executive Coach at Right Management, Wes Kimes. Wes kept me on track, encouraged me, and helped me realize the importance of meaning and significance in the second half of my career. If you need a coach in a career transition, he is one to call.
• My friends Bob Crawford, David Stevenson, and Mike Buczkowski . They provided me opportunities to contribute and use my Marketing gray matter. They helped me maintain some level of sanity during my search.
• My friend and first boss at Grainger, Laura Brown. She was the person that hired me and the first person I called (after my wife) when I knew it was time to leave. She is one of the best leaders for whom I have ever worked- that rare combination of integrity, heart and wicked smarts.

To the rest of you who helped me-  and you know who you are: Thank You. Your support, encouragement, leads, meals, and friendship has meant a great deal to me and I am once again humbled by the generosity of friends and strangers as I made my way through this half-time in my career. I hope to be able to repay your kindness by helping others. This has been a fantastic journey for me and it exceeded my expectations. It was like a rollercoaster ride, but then again, I like rollercoasters. Fondly, Don PS. A number of folks have asked me what I did and what I have learned about searching for an executive postion in this market. That will be the subject of my next post. After that, I plan on returning to blogging about Marketing and the original intent behind The Partner CMO.