then runs ahead and moves it 15 yards farther out.
Place of birth: Los Angeles, CA
Education: BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley; MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School
Career history: Adam was formerly CEO of WeddingChannel.com Inc. where he led the company for seven years from its early stages through its sale to The Knot, Inc. Immediately prior, Mr. Berger was President of The Franklin Mint, a direct marketer. He began his career with The Procter and Gamble Company and later joined The Boston Consulting Group. Mr. Berger is a director of PeopleSupport, Inc.
“I have been fortunate to be educated by some of the finest institutions our country has to offer. From each I have learned much and apply it every day. From the time I was barely old enough to ride a bike, I learned from my parents’ little business that having a roof over your head was directly correlated to how well you did your job or ran your business. From my Chemical Engineering days at UC Berkeley, I learned how to take complex problems and break them into solvable unit operations. From Procter & Gamble, I learned that you have to offer a demonstrably superior product or service that meets the consumers’ expected value proposition and clearly communicate your offering to make a long term sustainable profit. At the Harvard Business School, I learned from the perspectives of more than 400 colleagues and 20 professors who were eager to second guess everyone from James Burke at Johnson & Johnson to Jack Welch at GE in over 800 case studies - and we passionately debated both sides of any issue just for the sake of argument and hearing ourselves talk. From The Boston Consulting Group, I learned to think inductively, communicate in strategic story telling and somehow scratch out the facts and analysis to back up the story. From the Franklin Mint and its brilliant entrepreneurial owners, I learned to focus on the discounted cash flow lifetime value of a customer and that overall success was made up of a thousand well executed and measured details. And from WeddingChannel I learned the power of the internet, the amazing things colleagues will do if they are held to high expectations and treated like owners, and that if weddings are great online...dating online is awesome!”
“I am all about balance and getting the most out of my time. I work hard to be a great father, a loving husband, an effective leader and a contributor of time and money to institutions I care about. While I am a big believer in focus, I find when I am able to balance all four roles, I do each one better than if I were to throw all of my time and energy into one role. Putting time and energy into each role is much like having leverage in a business - it limits time and capital and forces focus on the highest impact and highest return activities and leads to combining activities to ’kill two birds with one stone’."