A/D/O was unlike anything else I have run. A project of BMW North America and MINI, it was a 24,000 square foot design hub in Greenpoint, Brooklyn — part co-working space, part makerspace, part event venue, part retail and F&B operation, all built around reconnecting the design community with the MINI brand. I came in pre-opening and built it from the ground up.
Pre-opening, I liaised with contractors, architects, and expeditors to complete construction; developed the makerspace membership program; sourced support services; and hired and trained the full team. The makerspace — equipped with 3D printers, CNC tools, and in-house fabrication specialists — required building operational processes with no existing playbook.
Once open, the operation ran on multiple tracks simultaneously: a complimentary public workspace averaging 200+ daily visitors, a retail operation generating $265K annually, and an events program attracting 3,000 attendees monthly producing $525K in annual revenue from a mix of complimentary, paid, and private client programming. We built the brand’s social presence to 120,000 followers with design-centric content produced entirely in-house.
A/D/O proved that the skills that make a great hotel GM — team building, hospitality culture, operational systems, revenue management, community programming — translate directly into any environment where people gather and experience matters.