Seven senior operators.
One team.
Contraband is a team of seven senior operators from Nike, Patagonia, 500 Startups, American Express, and the White House.
Each of us works with leaders on the part of the business we know best. When the work needs more than one of us, we work as one team.
Big transitions don't come with instructions.
We work with leaders stepping into new roles, turning around organizations, or taking teams into uncharted territory. When there's no playbook for your challenge, we create one—and coach you to lead with presence and conviction.
Most consultants see one slice. We see the whole board.
The hard moments in a growing company don't stay in one lane. They hit growth, operations, culture, technology, and capital at the same time. We built Contraband to match: seven senior leaders, one for every major function, working as one team.
You get the people you meet.
No account managers, no junior consultants. Just seasoned operators who've led at organizations like Nike, Patagonia, 500 Startups, and the White House, bringing genuine humanity, kinetic working sessions, and the kind of energy that makes hard change feel possible.
What We've Done
GROWTH & SALES
Built and launched 35 new ventures for Nike, each designed to generate $250M annually at scale.
Delivered 150% growth for On (pre-IPO) through disciplined expansion into 100+ premium retailers and deepening of strategic accounts protecting brand positioning while enabling scale.
Generated $100M for Nike in annual recurring revenue while saving 2 million shoes from landfill through Nike Refurbished, achieving 100% sell-through across 96 global stores.
Architected Patagonia's new national distribution framework.
Drove 85% growth accelerating Patagonia's Trail Running category.
Repositioned Sorel from winter boots to lifestyle business adding 160 new lifestyle retailers and scaling national account partners.
AI & DATA
Shaped the national AI conversation by curating Aspen AI Forum with McGovern Foundation, uniting tech leaders, journalists, artists, and theologians.
Transformed how the US Senate allocates $23B in foreign aid by partnering on data systems with Palantir for the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
PRODUCT & DESIGN
Reached 2 billion people through the design of a line of Nike products.
Provided clean water to thousands across 5 countries on 4 continents with a off-grid household rainwater harvesting kit, costing only $50.
INVESTMENT & VENTURES
Invested in Anthropic, OpenAI, and Perplexity -- the foundations of the AI revolution.
Invested early in Lyft, Notion, and 20+ other category leaders now worth billions.
Oversaw $100M+ in assets managed by Cambridge Associates.
IT INFRASTRUCTURE
Built cloud services in 2014 before market demand existed, so that infrastructure was mature when cloud boom arrived in 2018.
Built IT infrastructure for brands: John Deere, Costco, Epson, TOK America, Keen Footwear, Danner Boots, Leatherman Tools, Benchmade Knives.
Built the world's fastest e-Discovery processing system with no budget, officially verified by Relativity as their top-performing infrastructure globally.
SOCIAL IMPACT &
CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
Gave 2 million refugees across 9 countries a voice by designing the world's first customer feedback system for humanitarian services.
Brought clean water to over 100,000 people and helped stop a cholera outbreak during the Haiti earthquake, leading the disaster response effort for Nike.
Increased 2020 Census participation by millions by founding the U.S. Census Bureau's first innovation lab.
LEADERSHIP & CULTURE
Transformed how C-suite executives lead at American Express, BASIC Agency, Crispin, and DEPT through leadership mastery coaching.
Transformed 180 employees into high performers at Instrument, one of the world's most innovative design agencies, with comprehensive human development systems.
Where We've Worked
SERVICES
INDUSTRIES
Who We Are
REVENUE & GROWTH
Cristin builds commercial engines. On, Patagonia, Sorel.
INVESTMENTS & GOVERNANCE
Arjun has sat on every side of the capital table. Founder. Partner at 500 Startups. Investor in Anthropic and OpenAI.
LEADERSHIP, PEOPLE & CULTURE
Sohail develops leaders and the systems around them. Instrument, American Express.
DESIGN & SOCIAL IMPACT
Tom designs products that reach people at scale. A line of Nike products, two billion people. $50 rainwater kit, five countries.
DIGITAL PRODUCT & INNOVATION
Vidya builds digital experiences and ventures. At Nike, the White House, her own startups.
TECHNOLOGY & OPERATIONS
Chris builds IT infrastructure and operations ahead of demand. Founded BridgeTech, Inc. 500, sold in 2024.
PARTNERSHIPS, COALITIONS, & MOVEMENTS
Mara builds partnerships, coalitions, and movements. The Census Bureau, the Aspen AI Forum, Nike Foundation's Girl Effect.
How We Work
One Contrabandit leads your engagement. Six more stand behind them. You get one senior operator in the room and the whole board covered. We work embedded, inside your team, on your timeline. We don't hand you a deck and leave. A big fundraising round and a bad quarter make the same demands. Become the company you need to be, and do it now. We help you get there, then we leave. That's the point.
Next time we're in town, dinner's on us. We are your Contraband.