michael friis-jensen

I am an American. I am a Dane. I speak Danish. I speak English. I was born in Denmark. I live in America.

My mother is from Chattanooga, Tennessee and my father is from Gentofte, Denmark. My father works for the Danish Foreign Ministry and as a result I was raised all over the World. Places such as Malawi, Egypt, Thailand, Denmark and, of course, the US. Living in so many places also afforded me the opportunity to travel to many different countries and because of those travels I have developed a true multi-cultural sense of the world.

One of my great passions is Ultimate Frisbee. Ultimate is a non-contact, team sport that draws elements from Basketball and both American and European Football. I have played Ultimate Frisbee for over 15 years and have play at the highest levels of Ultimate, which include World Championships and at a professional level. As a big part of my life, Ultimate Frisbee has taught me the values of being a team player as well as the skillset that is needed to team leader.

Growing up I also attended many well-credited international schools. I received an International Baccalaureate Diploma from Birkerød Gymnasium, Denmark and a Bachelor of Science, major in Advertising, University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Not only did I earn these degrees but I earned them while working 20-25 hours a week and captaining and coaching Ultimate Frisbee teams. Having to balance so many things I learned how to manage my time properly and work efficiently.

I have been able to advance into leadership positions with companies like Mellow Mushroom, Cydcor, Apple and EW Scripps. A contributing factor to why I have been successful is that I believe that it is as important to have fun as it is to work hard at one's job. Another reason for my success is that I am a perfectionist at heart, while some might call it OCD, I feel like my work ethic is best described by a quote by Steve Jobs, "A great carpenter isn't going to use lousy wood for the back of a cabinet, even though nobody's going to see it".