Igniting Human Understanding: Ryan Donohue

A few years later, Ryan moved to product development at NRC - his first departure from marketing. He was asked to go out and talk to people about a potential product. "I had no product development background," Ryan says. "I didn't know what I was doing. But I did know how to talk to people. Ultimately, it was opportunity to learn so I took it."

He was asked by NRC Health CEO Mike Hays to present his research results.

"I was presenting at an all-associates meeting. This was at a time when everyone was in one massive room near the top of the building. This is the toughest audience you'll ever face - 300 of your closest friends and associates," he said. With promising research results, the product was greenlighted. It was a pivotal moment in his career.

The company needed someone to present the product at conferences and webinars, but no one was raising their hand, so Ryan said "hey, I'll do it." Upon accepting that challenge, a senior NRC leader told him, "If you're going on stage to talk to hundreds of people, you'll have to buy a new suit. And then Mike (Hayes) gave me the best piece of advice I've ever gotten - 'grow a beard. You look too young.' In the last 10 years since I've gotten that advice, I've kept the beard."