Every one of us has a few of those people in our lives that change the trajectory of our careers, and for me, Dan Walsh is one of them. 

It was just a few weeks after the world shut down during the pandemic when I was introduced to Dan by a mutual friend of ours - Aaron Rinehart - after Aaron heard I was looking for my next big adventure. He introduced us via text message and when I got a chance to meet with Dan We talked for over two hours, and I think we cracked a few brews along the way. It was a conversation that was filled with ideas, possibilities, and dreams. 

Although I never met Dan in person, it didn't stop me from going to work with him in one of the biggest healthcare groups in the world. 

We still hadn't met in person when I followed him to another company in the healthcare industry. We were just talking heads on a screen to each other at that time. But it was a new world, and none of it hindered our innovative spirit and friendship. 

As the pandemic restrictions started to wind down, I arranged a trip to Chicago to meet my team, and as I landed, I hoped that I'd get to the hotel on time for a quick drink before the bar closed.

I'd arranged to meet up with Dan. In person. 

It was almost two years after we first talked on Zoom and here my plane was delayed, and it was really late. But I did get to the hotel... just in time. 

I'll never forget walking into the lobby bar at the W, in downtown Chicago and seeing Dan with 4 full pints of beer in front of him.

"It was last call" he said, 

"you're taller than I thought you were", I responded. 

Welcome back, to daBOM.