I was in a tough spot. I was appointed as the leader of W.F. Young, a 130-year-old, 5th generation animal health business. I’d worked at the company for 28 years and had turned down the top spot in the past, but this time was different.

I’d been running the Boston-based ad agency Allen and Gerritsen for 25 years when I joined the CEO Collective. I’ve always embraced being a challenger of the status quo, but wanted to take the company to the next level.

In April of 2020, in the midst of the COVID pandemic, I was facing an uncertain future. My company’s orders had dropped by 80% overnight. I wondered how long this would go on and what I could do to make sure we didn't go under.