You recently read about our funding in the news. Now get to know the man behind the scenes who was quintessential in getting the deal done. Introducing our finance extraordinaire, Morgan. Read on to learn about how he ended up on Argentinian television and where he might be traveling to post-Covid.
Where are you from?
Spent some time all over! Grew up in Connecticut not far outside of New York City and then moved to south Florida for the teen years and went to college in Houston, Texas.
What’s your role at Kambr?
As the GM of Finance and Corporate Development, my role encompasses a lot, but my high-level mandate is to make sure Jason and the KLM (Kambr Leadership & Management) are in a position to focus on executing their jobs as well as managing our finances and capital/investors. Needless to say, many hats are worn from strategy to finance to operations.
What was your path to Kambr?
It’s a bit of a long path. I started my career in investment banking in Houston and New York. After 5+ years of banking, Jason plucked me out of Wall Street to work with him at Wasserman to find ad-tech acquisitions to augment the agency business.
Jason then left to start Kambr and I was an early investor (actually the first verbal commitment!) and advised Jason nights and weekends for two years while working my day job in corporate development and corporate strategy at AT&T’s ad tech business, Xandr. Finally, after two years there, Jason brought me on full-time to be his partner at Kambr.
When did you first join Kambr?
September 2020 (officially) but I’ve been an investor and advisor since day 1!
What’s something you want your colleagues to know about you?
Ask me anything at any time! My role covers some pretty complex concepts, please ask about anything. I can also offer some stock and investing tips!
Do you have any tips for success?
Be an information sponge and say yes to as much as you can. Treat your career like a startup and have a goal of the “billion-dollar exit”.
What keeps you busy outside of work?
Recently my new dog, Eddy! Named him after the first president of Rice University, where I went to college, and, of course, our product. My girlfriend and I are constantly entertained these days.
Other than that, during the pandemic, a lot of golf, cycling, exercise, and I am an amateur wine enthusiast. Not during the pandemic, going out to eat, (more) travel, and going to punk and metal shows, usually at Brooklyn venues nobody’s ever heard of.
What is the best advice you’ve ever received?
Make yourself irreplaceable.
Have you had your 15 minutes of fame yet?
Yes. My friend and I were featured on a local news channel in Buenos Aires covering a new bar that recently opened. We do not speak Spanish and we were far from being sober.
What did you want to be when you grew up?
An astronaut.
What’s something you’ve done, but will never do again?
I once spent a weekend in a camper with 5 friends at a NASCAR race in Talladega, Alabama. It’s the biggest race of the year. None of us are NASCAR fans but it was one of the most entertaining 48-hour periods I’ve ever experienced. There were lots of “jorts” worn.
What’s your favorite aviation related film?
Air Force One is up there. Can’t beat tacky 90’s action movies.
What’s your most frequented airport?
LGA or EWR and, recently, LAX to visit Jason.
What’s your dream destination to fly to?
Alaska to go heli-snowboarding and explore the Arctic. New Zealand and northern Scandinavia are also way up there.
Do you have any funny or weird flight stories?
Not one I experienced personally but one of my mom’s friends is a flight attendant on Southwest. She recently had to enter the bathroom mid-flight because someone was trying to cook a steak using a Sterno lamp. Not sure how it got past security….
Window seat or aisle seat?
Window for sure.
