Jon-Michael Horst is a native of Colorado Springs, CO.  He loves his home town and would not live anywhere else!  While he appreciates the scenery and access to beautiful nature in his own backyard, he also has a huge passion for the local business and non-profit community.  Jon-Michael started Peak Digital Marketing LLC because of his extensive knowledge and experience, and his passion for helping businesses thrive!  During the past 17 years, Jon-Michael’s expertise in digital marketing has included email marketing, search engine optimization, social media marketing and data analytics.

After graduating from the University of Colorado in 2005 with his Bachelor of Science in Business Finance degree, he began his professional career with Chefs Catalog, a national catalog and e-commerce retailer specializing in high-end kitchenware.  Over the next ten years he moved up the corporate ladder at Chefs Catalog from Marketing Analyst to Director of Merchandising and Inventory Planning.  During these 10 years he had the opportunity to learn everything about e-commerce, digital marketing and managing budgets and sales forecasts.  His experience with Chefs included managing their email marketing program with $6 million in annual revenue and their Amazon business with annual revenue of $5 million.

As Director of Merchandising, Jon-Michael oversaw the Chefs Merchandise Team of 19 that worked with vendors around the world to place select high-end kitchen products in the catalog, which mailed to up to 1.6 million buyers.  Under Jon-Michael’s leadership, the Chefs Catalog merchandise team carefully selected and placed products in the 13 catalogs per year and the website to generate over $40 million in annual sales.  Jon-Michael helped Chefs Catalog acquire numerous exclusive items and product lines from high-end kitchen vendors, such as KitchenAid, Staub, Wusthof and Zwilling J.A. Henckels.  Jon-Michael also oversaw the Purchasing Team that managed close to 10,000 skus, both domestic and imported from around the world

He also sat on the Executive Management Team at Chefs Catalog where he helped influence company goals and strategic initiatives, including the Long Tail initiative to add 2,000 new skus to the website to generate an additional $1 million in revenue during the Holiday season.  He also worked with other departments on high-level company goals, including the E-Commerce Team to optimize the website for SEO and Paid Ads.  In 2013, Jon-Michael was honored to be named by Housewares Executive Magazine as one of their Top Retail Executives in the U.S.

After Target acquired Chefs Catalog in 2013, Jon-Michael worked with their merchandise team on various projects, including getting the Chefs private brand listed on Target.com.  Jon-Michael also played a vital role in helping Target get high-end kitchen brands to participate in the Target Online Gift Registry.  

After Chefs Catalog, Jon-Michael has worked for various multi-million dollar companies in Colorado, including retailers, service providers and manufacturers.  His roles have included Sales, Business Development, E-Commerce and Marketing.  Jon-Michael has also been involved in organizations such as the Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce and Colorado Advanced Manufacturers Association (CAMA).

Over the years Jon-Michael has also devoted his free time to non-profits such as the American Red Cross, Pikes Peak United Way and Care and Share Food Bank.

Jon-Michael also helps his Dad with selling specialized automotive parts on eBay and Amazon with 6-figures in annual revenue.

During his free time, Jon-Michael enjoys spending time with family and friends and his cat Simba.  He also enjoys traveling, reading, photography, cooking and binge-watching his favorite TV shows.  Jon-Michael is a Colorado sports fan, especially the Colorado College Tiger Hockey!  And let’s not forget, Jon-Michael’s love for large and complex LEGO sets.  His most recent sets have included the Apollo rocket, Original Batmobile and Space Shuttle.  


Degrees and Certifications:

• 2022, HubSpot Certification in SEO

• 2022, University of Denver, Digital Marketing Bootcamp with a Certificate in Academic Excellence

• 2005, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, Bachelor of Science in Business Finance