My name is Eric DeRitis. Over a pretty fantastic 30 year career in communications, I’ve amassed enough experience, mileage, and money to finally say “F**k it all.”
Sure, I’ve written speeches, blogs, opinion articles and more for the CEOs of some of Silicon Valley’s most (and least) recognized companies, including AMD, Seagate, BMC, Google, HP, Lockheed Martin, Tri Alpha Energy, Symantec. Yes, I’ve developed some amazing communications programs. I’ve led big teams, small teams, teams who climb on rocks… tough teams, sissy teams, even teams who gave me shocks.
And you know what? Who cares? I received 32 awards from Google alone in the last seven years. Do you care? Of course not. There’d be something wrong with you if you did.
Here’s my life in a nutshell. I was born, raised and educated in Rochester, N.Y. My first real job out of college was as a journalist in Washington, D.C. I eventually moved to California to work at Lockheed Martin (great gig, btw). After Lockheed, I moved around to various top name companies here in the valley. It was all great. And now it’s all done! There is more to life and I am determined to find out exactly how much more.
Oh, and I am a fitness nut. I love exercising and being active. Exercise for me is as much meditative as it is physically beneficial. I’ll write about this from time-to-time.
I owe a lot of my good fortune to the people I have known over the years. Good friends, old friends, ex-friends, family, and all the rest. I most especially owe it to my wife, who helped me learn and grow in ways that would not have been possible without her. We make a great team.
We only have a short time on this Earth, and my plan is to enjoy the hell out of all the time I have left, and focus on things that interest me most. And right now that’s travel, fitness, and storytelling through writing and photography. And laughing a lot. I hope to capture this spirit here for all to read and enjoy.
Be well and be happy.
-Eric