When I left Essity and began figuring out my next steps, I quickly discovered that career transitions can feel both freeing and disorienting. What made the difference for me was community.
A few former Campbell colleagues — John Masotta, Suzanne Cohen, and I — found ourselves all in transition at the same time. We started meeting for coffee or lunch to share updates, coach one another before interviews, and swap networking contacts. When the process became overwhelming, we simply encouraged each other to keep going.
We decided to open the circle and invite others who were navigating similar paths. Matt Leopold even designed a logo for the group. What began as three friends meeting for coffee has grown into a thriving community — The Free Agent Network (FAN) — now with more than 60 individuals who have come and gone as their careers evolved.
Today, FAN includes three monthly meetups:
A virtual session open to all
A virtual group for consultants and fractionals
An in-person lunch for those local to the Greater-Philadelphia area
We’ve welcomed inspiring guest speakers (thank you Patty Reger, La’Quita Garcia, and Nichole Birmingham) and built a space where managers, directors, and executives across marketing, finance, design, sales, IT, and e-commerce (and more!) can connect and share. What I love most is that even after someone “lands,” they tend to stay connected—ready to support the next person who needs a nudge of encouragement or a new connection.
How The Collective Was Born
During one of our consultant sessions, someone joked, “We could start our own firm.” The truth is, in many ways, we already had. We were brainstorming proposals, reviewing statements of work, swapping AI tools, and troubleshooting client challenges together.
In fact, Xavier Lopez-Mas was the one who nudged me to officially launch StrategiSphere®. Stacy Kimmel and I collaborated on ways to articulate value in project proposals. And through countless conversations with Matt, Stacy, and Xavier, the idea for The Collective took shape — a partnership of independent consultants who collaborate when a project calls for more than one kind of expertise.
Each of us continues to run our own businesses, but together, we bring a complementary mix of strategy, design, innovation, and execution — the same elements that first drew us together as peers and friends.
I’m deeply grateful for these partnerships, for the trust we’ve built, and for the network that continues to grow around us. What began as mutual support during a career crossroads has evolved into something much bigger: a community, a collaboration, and a reminder that none of us have to go it alone.
Here’s to what’s next — together.🔗 Learn more about The Collective →
