David Friend

A creative thinker with a business brain. Someone who sees around corners.*

I connect what moves consumers with what drives results. 

I naturally see things in relation to one another rather than in isolation, giving me a unique and versatile perspective. That way of thinking has taken me across marketing, strategy, product, creative, and retail. I uncover opportunities and create impact. I’m interested in where culture is moving, what people are feeling, and what that means for the business. At the center of it all, I care about people and understand products.

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*I see around corners and what's ahead, but I can't see through physical objects. Sorry.

What I Bring

More than two decades of looking at things from different seats has taught me a lot. I apply it all to whatever I’m working on. This is the stuff I make happen.

Opportunity — Uncover what’s possible
I recognize where culture, consumers, technologies, and the business are moving, and what potential that creates.

Clarity — Make sense of it
I make complexity understandable and actionable.

Differentiation — Make it matter
I turn that understanding into something distinct, ownable, and meaningful to consumers.

Invention — Create what’s missing
I turn insight into something genuinely new.

Coherence — Make it all connect
I make Brand, product, marketing, creative, and experience reinforce the same idea.

Alignment — Make it ours
I give teammates across different functions something they can understand, contribute to, and feel excited to deliver on.

Results — Make it count
I turn the work into measurable impact.

Experience

  • MORE THAN A FRIEND _ Portland, Or

    I combine creative instinct with business thinking to find opportunities → shaping brands and products into stories where everything connects. For Zero Motorcycles, I redefined the brand and its creative by bringing the full complexity of the business into a singular, clear vision—one that directly led to a $350M raise. Some other clients include Burton Snowboards, REI, Nike, Tiger Woods, Goorin Brothers, and Pub Beer.

  • GROUNDWORKS _ Portland, Or

    Led the marketing and creative team across four distinct brands, from brand and creative direction through the day-to-day decisions of how and where we showed up. Rebuilt the PRŪF brand around a clearer vision for the business, uncovering an untapped market opportunity that developed into a new line of gummies, Groundworks’ top-performing product launch to date.

  • THE SUM _ Portland, Or

    Built The Sum around an emerging shift in masculinity toward beauty, openness, and character. Crafted the business, Brand, and products each as a full expression of that vision. Grew The Sum into an internationally distributed perfume and jewelry company recognized by WGSN and The New York Times, then sold it in 2019.

  • UNDER ARMOUR _ Portland, Or

    Delivered on Under Armour’s sportswear initiative by translating the brand’s go-for-broke DNA into a modern take on classic sportswear—an ownable market position amid the athleisure clutter. The first collection achieved 86% sell-through, launching at Barneys, Net-A-Porter, and other premium retailers. Established the cultural credibility to match, earning coverage in Vogue, GQ, and Highsnobiety.

  • PEET KEGLER DESIGN _ Portland, Or

    Worked directly with clients including Nike, REI, Levi’s, and Tiger Woods to translate business objectives into brand, product, and creative direction. Created a comprehensive Brand platform for Tiger Woods that Nike adopted as the new global standard for its top athletes. The work contributed to three consecutive years of 17%+ revenue growth in Nike Golf's global apparel.

  • BURTON SNOWBOARDS _ Burlington, Vt

    Ran global marketing for Forum Snowboards and apparel brands Special Blend and Foursquare through an industry downturn. Rebuilt the marketing and creative departments while overhauling Brand, product strategy, creative, and B2C + B2B marketing across channels. Reinvigorated the brands, turning legacy recognition into renewed relevance and sales—and a $4M pre-tax loss into a $1M profit within 24 months.

  • BURTON SNOWBOARDS _ Burlington, Vt

    Managed snowboard bindings from strategy through engineering and manufacturing. Turned athlete, market, design, and business insights into products people wanted. Promoted within one year to reinvent Forum’s struggling binding category, transforming both the product and its market position. The rebuild drove a 28% increase in sales within 24 months, introduced a new visual language to the market and the Hinge Disk—an award-winning innovation that reshaped the entire industry.

  • BURTON SNOWBOARDS _ Burlington, Vt

    Promoted through progressively responsible roles in Burton’s global marketing org working across Brand, creative, and retail. Oversaw consumer packaging for more than 14,000 SKUs across multiple categories. Named Burton’s groundbreaking EST product line and drove its adoption across all hardgoods product lines, contributing to one of the most successful product launches in company history.

  • Bachelor’s Degree | Marketing Communications, Advertising, and Public Relations

    Minor in Photography | Emerson College | Boston, MA

Turning my instinct and taste into a global perfume and jewelry business.

The Sum: Everything is Connected. 

The Story

I built The Sum around an instinct about where culture and design were headed, turning an emerging shift in masculinity into a global perfume and jewelry business.

I sensed masculinity changing, becoming more open, expressive, self-aware, and less constrained by old ideas of strength. The Sum was built around a quieter kind of confidence: the belief that the most meaningful things don’t need to announce themselves. Vulnerability, curiosity, integrity, and looking inward became expressions of strength. 

The Sum perfume and jewelry, by David Friend

Connection to ourselves and to others was central to The Sum. Black diamonds and construction details were hidden within jewelry. Beautiful, distinctive perfumes were designed to be discovered through closeness rather than imposed from across a room. Each product was unique, but never too precious to become part of everyday life.

The things we wear on our skin can be transformative.

Building The Sum from the ground up meant treating the entire business as an interconnected expression of the Brand. Product, creative, pricing, margins, commercialization, ecomm, wholesale, and retail all shaped one another and the whole. Every decision was considered for its impact on the consumer and the business.

The Sum perfume boxes by David Friend

What started in my garage reached retailers around the world, showing at Paris Fashion Week and ComplexCon. The Sum earned recognition from WGSN, The New York Times, and other media, and was worn by Ty Dolla $ign, G-Eazy, Maxime Plescia-Büchi, and others. The Sum was sold in 2019.

Among Good Company

Under Armour

REI

Tiger Woods

Zero Motorcycles

Instrument

This Design

Nemo Design

K2 Sports

Pub Beer

HUBweek MIT/Harvard

Special Blend

Foursquare

Peet Kegler Design

Electric Lettuce

Pale Blue Earth

Skullcandy

Burton Snowboards

Nike

Forum Snowboards

Goorin Brothers