Why Everest?
I grew up in a military family. My father was a US Air Force career officer and my mother is French. We seemed to always be moving and never really being able to get settled. Before graduating from high school, I had gone to thirteen (13) different schools throughout the US and Europe including three different high schools. It was always hard fitting in, and making and leaving new friends.

At the age of twelve, while living in Stuttgart Germany, I accidentally wandered into a mountain climbing/ski shop located in the basement of an old building and met this very cool guy. His name was Sean O'Neil. Sean was 10 years my elder and ran the climbing/ski shop. We just clicked. There was something about Sean that I immediately resonated with. He had a heart of gold and a passion for adventure. Within a few days I had invited him over for dinner, and he instantly became my best friend and adopted brother. Throughout my teenage years, Sean, my brother Paul and I were inseparable.

From that point on, my life transformed. I couldn't get enough skiing or mountain climbing in. I would go to bed every night dreaming about it. Every opportunity I had, I wanted to be on the mountain. I started training on my own to develop my strength and endurance. Recognizing my passion, my parents eventually parked a trailer in a very cool place called Garmisch-Partenkirchen, home of the 1936 Winter Olympics. In this realm my world was filled with climbing and skiing. During this period I started hearing epic stories of courage and adventure on the "big mountains" in the Himalayas.

The picture below was taken by Sean after a climb up a rock face to the base of an old German castle. I was twelve or thirteen at the time.

Below is a picture taken in the Alps of southern France of Sean, my brother Paul and Sean's brother Danny eating breakfast on a rock ledge.

Looking carefully on the top back left hand corner of the picture, Sean had planted the seed of Everest. I was fourteen at the time.

As an adult I moved to the US and ended up settling in Tampa, Florida. I attended college, started my first company and married my beautiful wife of seventeen years, Belinda. We have two beautiful and amazing children: Etienne and Chantel. My dream of climbing Everest was still there; however, the demands of life kept my dream of Everest at a distance.

Over the years I have read many biographies of men who attribute their inspiration and success to a women. My case is not any different. My wife has been, and is, my inspiration. She has inspired, encouraged and supported me in everything that I have accomplished. As she has done with many of my other aspirations, Belinda recognized my dream to one day climb Everest.

Climbing big mountains requires being away from home for weeks and months. In addition, it requires hours of daily physical, mental and logistical preperation many months in advance. Over the years, to prepare for Everest, I have developed and tested my abilities on the tallest mountains in North and South America. During those climbs Belinda stood behind me, encouraged me and supported me. My wife, Belinda, is the catalyst for bringing this climb to Everest into being and inspiring me to be the man that I am. For that, I am a very lucky man who is thankful and blessed!

Professionally
I am the founder and CEO of Net Infuse, a company committed to “creating shareholder value” for established growth and/or underperforming companies with strong value potential. Prominent customers have included Husqvarna, MCI, GE, NationsBank, United Guaranty and NationsBanc Services to name a few. I am also a dynamic speaker on topics ranging from peak performance, organizational alignment, profitable growth strategies and corporate turnarounds. NII has been recognized in the INC 500, Florida Technology 500 and the Suncoast Technology Fast 50.