In his role as Chief Strategy Officer, Jay Althoff is responsible for non-organic growth opportunities at Circles and spearheads its strategic partnership initiatives. What most inspires Jay about Circles is people “working together toward a common purpose and caring more about the success of the team than about individual interests.”

Jay believes Circles’ mission is to “prove that a company made up of people who care for each other, and who place a huge value on treating well everyone we touch (co-workers, partners, clients, members), can provide huge value to all its constituents.”

Jay discusses a worthy example of the Circles mission in action: “We worked on a request for a client whose son was making preparations the week before his prom and encountered difficulties.

Through the member's phone call, we learned how the son's prom night limo ride fell through, that he had experienced a seizure before taking his driver's license test so he could not drive himself to the prom, and that tests following the seizure showed he had Lou Gehrig's disease. Hoping to provide some small enjoyment for his son during this difficult time, the father contacted Circles for help in getting his son to his prom. Despite the fact that nearly all limos in the area were booked for the entire prom season, Circles was able to find a company with an available Humvee limo that could take the member's son and his friends to the prom in style, making for a great night for the son, and his father. This is just one example of how we live up to our mission every day.”

Prior to joining Circles, Jay was Vice President and General Counsel at EKCO Group, Inc. (NYSE), where he was intimately involved in negotiating joint ventures and in EKCO's merger and acquisition activities, including the ultimate sale of EKCO.

Jay holds a B.A. in Government from Connecticut College and a J.D. from George Washington University. He focuses his efforts on "keeping things simple" to concentrate on his family and friends, the cornerstones of his life.