WHO WE ARE

Josh has been passionate about entrepreneurship since his early years of building Legos – launching a 30 year career constructing businesses, organizations, and products of all shapes and sizes across technology, entertainment and manufacturing industries. From his experience working for Microsoft and Disney to his time as an executive at 5 startups, Josh brings a wealth of knowledge, insight and best practices to grow businesses. He’s been through successful exits and been there for key learnings when companies failed. Driven by the desire to see bright ideas reach their full potential, Josh is a proven leader who brings seasoned experience in business development, sales and marketing to help his clients succeed.
At Growth Avenue, Josh works with CEOs on growth strategies and serves on four advisory boards. He is also a co-founder and Managing Partner of Color More Lines, an e-commerce agency that has helped eight brands grow from $0 to $100k/month on Amazon within 12 months.
Josh has an MBA in Information Technology and Marketing from the University of California, Irvine and a BA in Clinical Psychology from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Alex Wagner brings two decades of public sector leadership to Growth Avenue, including service as Assistant Secretary of the Air Force, where he oversaw personnel and readiness strategy for nearly 700,000 Airmen and Guardians. He previously served as Chief of Staff to the Secretary of the Army and held senior roles in the Office of the Secretary of Defense during the Obama administration, where he briefed Congress, advised the White House, and managed multibillion-dollar national security portfolios.
In the private sector, Alex led workforce innovation and public-private initiatives as VP of Strategic Initiatives at the Aerospace Industries Association. He began his career as a lawyer and policy analyst, with a focus on international law and institutional reform.
At Growth Avenue, Alex helps growth-stage companies enter regulated markets, secure government contracts, and scale public-private partnerships. He’s known for combining Pentagon-level strategy with a founder’s sense of urgency.
Alex holds a J.D. from Georgetown University and a B.A. with honors from Brown.

For over 30 years, Mike’s career has focused on providing domestic and international companies with strategic guidance across business, marketing, and operations—drawing on his deep expertise in finance, marketing, and technology. He has a long history of increasing revenue, improving capacity utilization, and driving efficiencies for companies seeking greater profitability and market success.
Mike has served as an executive and partner at both professional service firms and Fortune 5000 companies. He’s been a principal executive on five M&A engagements and four start-ups, and led fourfold revenue growth at Digitas and KPMG.
Organizations he’s worked with include KPMG, Rosetta Marketing, Intel, CA Technologies, Autodesk, Comcast, Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Nestle, Google Express, Cisco, Panasonic, Lenovo, Internet2, Verizon Wireless, BCBS, CVBT, Microsoft, Universal McCann, and Digitas.
He holds a B.S.E.E. and M.S. from the University of Illinois Urbana, an M.B.A. from the University of St. Thomas in Houston, and an executive certificate from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley.

Michael Margolis is the CEO and founder of Storied; a leading authority on narratives for disruption. Storied is the first and only strategic messaging firm that focuses on the internal story for hyper-growth and transformation: from selling a vision to change management to scaling your culture. Whether you’re solving for category disruption, platform creation or recruiting velocity – the story is the strategy.
Michael has built a reputation for solving complex riddles at the biggest scale imaginable. He’s advised hundreds of organizations including Facebook, Google, Hulu, Shopify, Uber, Dolby, Visa, Roche, and NASA on some of their most strategic and ambitious growth initiatives.
In addition to advising Growth Avenue clients, Michael spends his time working with Silicon Valley and Fortune 500s: especially the functional disciplines of product, design, marketing, engineering, and talent. Basically, any team that’s responsible for building the future.

Mackie brings a rare mix of creative intuition and strategic precision to her role as Marketing Director at Growth Avenue. With a background in performance theatre and a degree in Electronic Media Communications, she’s spent the past decade turning ideas into stories that connect, convert, and endure.
She began her career on the creative side—designing, directing, and leading visual teams—before leaning deeper into the “why” and “how” of brand behavior. That curiosity evolved into a love for marketing strategy, where she now blends data and design to craft bold, holistic campaigns.
At Growth Avenue, Mackie leads brand strategy, creative direction, and marketing partnerships with a focus on building memorable brands from the ground up. Her leadership style is collaborative, empathetic, and deeply values-driven—grounded in clear communication, trust, and a belief that the best work happens when people feel empowered, safe to take risks, and inspired to contribute.
A Gold MarCom and Silver Muse Creative Award winner, Mackie’s work has been recognized for its strength in branding, illustration, and packaging design.

who we are