Almost five years ago, I was privileged to join some of the smartest marketers in the world at Digitas. It is with great appreciation to Digitas and their leadership, my wonderful colleagues and my fantastic clients  that I take the next step forward.  In just a few days, I and my family will fulfill a lifelong dream by making aliyah and moving to the holy land.

While I am very excited about the opportunities ahead, I would like to use this post to celebrate the wild and highly rewarding ride that was the last five years of my professional life, as well as to thank many of those that helped make this journey so rewarding.  

When I joined the Digitas Emerging Channels team in 2007, social media was a small, niche practice.  The conversation was dominated by the promise of UGC and online video (YouTube is the future of television!) and Second Life just coming onto the scene.  From this small yet promising early space, we launched a remarkable number of industry firsts and developed social into a strong and valued business practice.  From midnight new business planning sessions through early morning international calls and countless flights in between, it's been a fantastic ride.

While I do not have the space to thank everyone individually, I would like to call out a few people who were instrumental in my success.  I would like to start by thanking my father.  When I made the decision to rejoin the agency world, his advice and mentorship guided me towards opportunities I had never thought possible.  Carl Fremont and Greg Verdino, thank you for taking a leap and bringing me on-board.  Carl, thank you for your continued support throughout the past five years.  Greg, thank you for encouraging me to get out there and share my own perspectives.  This has paid off in spades.  Ethan Morris and Lee Baler, thank you for your incredible insight and advice early on, as well as your ongoing friendship and support. Craig Daitch, thank you for your advice and leadership, as well as the subsequent years of friendship and mentorship.  Steve Griefer and David Droga, together we challenged everything the world thought about online video.  Thank you for your trust, support and perspective.  Chris Andrew, Michael Fasciano, Mark Kiernan and Jason Crawford, thank you for your incredible insight and support in building version 1.0 of the social practice.  Beth McCabe, thank you for simply everything.  As the saying goes, Burnt (let's say muppets?) dread the fire!  Jen Miller, Rachael Rensink, Liz G, Jeffery Fletcher, Cheryl Nolan, Aileen Payumo and the one and only Katie Walsh, thank you for your fantastic support and most of all, friendship.  Together we built something trully remarkable.  Jordan Bitterman, Ken Burbary, Noah Mallin, Jessica Randazza, Dani Klein, Amy Minkoff, Mary Snauffer, Annie Riley and the entire Digitas social team, you guys all rock.  The future is incredibly bright and I wish all of you the best of success.

To all of my social friends, thank you.  I would not be nearly as smart, informed or inspired without your perspectives, friendship and support.

Finally and most importantly, I would like to recognize my biggest fan.  We always say that advocates are an under-appreciated resource, and try as I may, I will never be able to properly express my deep appreciation for my greatest advocate, my wife Rina.  She has stood by my side through it all, offering advice, lending emotional support and teaching me how to log off of the computer, turn off my mobile and appreciate the wonderful world around me.  Rina, you're more than I could have ever dreamed a wife could be.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.

As for Future Visions?  While I look forward to the next great step in my professional life, I will continue blogging about the digital transformation of our society, all be it with a somewhat different and hopefully unique perspective.  As I'm pretty sure this is right around my fourth anniversary blogging here at Future Visions, here's to four more great years together!