jay/day

In the news business, they refer to obtaining an interview with a leading newsmaker as a "great get." Well, JayDay's great get this week is the discovery of the former CFO of Chiat/Day, Peter deVaux. (He was CFO during the Mojo merger.)

I reported to Pete and I seem to recall having a conversation with him one day in his office in which I referred to the Chiat/Day "culture."

"What is this 'Chiat/Day culture' I keep hearing about?" he asked. "It seems to mean whatever anybody happens to think it means."

I cooly replied, "That's what makes it so versatile!"

He and his lovely wife, Paula, used to have a summer house in White Lake, NY, near where I live now in the Catskills. So imagine my surprise when Pete showed up in my email inbox the other day, letting me know that he and Paula are now living in Vancouver Island in Canada!

Here's what Pete has to say for himself ...

Where to start? Chiat/Day seems decades ago which, as it turns out, it is.

We headed off east to Virginia but I stayed very much in the business with clients like Wieden & Kennedy (Dan Wieden is a friend), IBM, Compac (remember them?), Shell, etc., etc. We also got heavily involved in local non-profits - some on the national stage (the biggest deal being at woodrowwilson.org). But eventually, the South began to grate, and when W got elected the second time, we decided it was time to decamp. After thinking about France (but after years of intermittent efforts, our French still sucks) and Ireland at the height of real estate bubble (housing prices were just stupid high), we settled on the Canada, particularly the Northwest. My sister (and her draft-dodging ex-husband) and her two daughters live on Vancouver island, so it seemed like a good idea at the time.

Turns out it was. We built a house here, have made good friends, and do pretty much what the f**k we want.

I look forward to seeing Pete and Paula this autumn, as I think British Columbia is the most beautiful spot on this planet!