CJLConnor J. Laughlin
About

The part around the work.

I spend a lot of time thinking about systems, stories, and how work moves. Away from the laptop, life is smaller and better. Kristin. Three dogs. A big family a short drive away. Football, golf, music, movies. The kitchen. The road.

  • English (native)
  • Italian
  • Spanish
Connor and Kristin holding two of their dogs, Henry and Sophie, at Lago di Braies in the Italian Dolomites.
Fig. 12Kristin, Henry, Sophie · Lago di Braies, 2025

The short version: Chicago, by way of a few unexpected stops. Vatican Museums for a college internship that turned into something longer. Executive search for a couple of years. Content at Brad’s Deals when it was running ten million visitors a month. A decade at TSI that started as a marketing manager job and turned into building a function from the ground up.

I’m the oldest of five. Four siblings, two parents who live a short drive away in the North Shore Chicago suburbs. Holidays are loud. Group chats are louder. My nephew George is 5 and convinced he runs the Lego shop. He may be right.

The longer version is mostly about people. The team I get to work with. The friends who keep me honest. Kristin, who sees things faster than I do and tells me when I’m wrong with great precision. The three dogs who think of the calendar as a suggestion.

I read a lot. I write more than I publish. I’ve been told I think out loud, which I take as both a compliment and a warning. If we ever sit down for a coffee, I’ll probably ask what you’re working on before you finish your first sentence.

Currently

A snapshot of right now.

Updated when something changes.

What’s open on the desk, what’s been on the screen, what I’m playing, and what I’m building when nobody’s billing for it.

01Reading
  • The Bright SwordLev Grossman
  • The Devil's ChessboardDavid Talbot
  • The Art of Doing Science and Engineering : Learning to LearnRichard W. Hamming
  • The Faith of BeastsJames S.A. Corey
  • Welcome to the Era of ExperienceSilver & Sutton
  • Hyperion CantosDan Simmons
  • VinelandThomas Pynchon
02Watching

Films

  • The Nice Guys (2016)
  • Sorcerer (1975)
  • Thief (1981)
  • Barry Lyndon (1975)
  • Man on Fire (2004)
  • Michael Clayton (2007)

TV

  • Widow's Bay
  • Andor, Seasons 1 and 2
  • The Sopranos, Season 4
  • The Expanse, Season 2
  • Summer House, Season 10
03Playing
  • Marathon
  • Diablo IV

Marathon for the slow-burn extraction sessions. Diablo IV for the loop.

04Building
  • A handful of projects in Claude Code.
  • Recruiter OS for my brother Ryan, who runs in executive search.
  • Poking around at Hermes Agent.
  • Furniture Kristin orders that shows up unannounced.
  • Lego sets with my nephew George (age 5).
Rooms

How the rest of the days run.

  • HomeON · 2025

    Married Kristin in Rome.

    We got married in Rome in November 2025. Italian weddings have a way of stretching across days, and ours did, in the best way. Most of what's good in my life now traces back to Kristin. The easy stuff and the hard stuff, both.

  • DogsACTIVE

    A three-dog household.

    Sophie is 16 and dignified. Henry is 2 and convinced he's the protagonist. Lulu is 3 months and learning that gravity exists. The energy ranges from wise elder to tiny chaos gremlin, sometimes inside the same hour.

  • FamilyCONSTANT

    Oldest of five.

    I have four siblings and two parents who live a short drive away in the North Shore. Big family means a packed table at every holiday and someone always in the group chat. My nephew George is 5, and we've started building Lego sets together. Turns out 5 is the right age to be slightly competitive about following the instructions.

  • Course7.8 · GHIN

    Golf at a 7.8 index.

    Currently playing to a 7.8. Look me up on GHIN. Just put the new Titleist T-100 irons in the bag and they're already finding fairways I didn't know about. Best round? Doesn't matter much. Worst round? Healing slowly.

  • KitchenDAILY

    Most nights, dinner.

    I cook for Kristin and me almost every night. It's the part of the day I get to slow down without trying. We also eat our way around Chicago when we can. There's no shortage of good rooms in this city, and we're making a small dent.

  • FieldON ROTATION

    Sport and the gym.

    Liverpool FC and Chicago sports, with all the unreasonable hope that requires. Lifting clears my head and keeps the rest of the machine from getting weird. The gym is calendar armor.

Photographs

A few rolls of film.

Wedding, family, football, the road. Mostly recent, mostly Rome, mostly the people in the rest of the page made into pictures.

  • Connor giving a toast at the wedding reception, rendered in stippled black-and-white.
    Fig. 14Toast · Reception · 2025
  • Connor at the Shankly Gates of Anfield, wearing a Liverpool FC scarf.
    Fig. 15Anfield · You'll Never Walk Alone · 2019
  • Lulu, the youngest dog at 8 weeks, asleep on a herringbone blanket in the back of the car.
    Fig. 16Lulu · 8 weeks old
  • Connor and Kristin laughing with their young godson Lenox in Rome at sunset.
    Fig. 17With godson Lenox · Rome · Sundown
  • The Colosseum at dusk through cypress trees in Rome.
    Fig. 18Colosseum at dusk · Rome
  • Connor and Kristin in formal dress under a wrought-iron lamp post in a Roman courtyard.
    Fig. 19Wedding rehearsal · Vatican City · 2025
  • The neon Music Box theatre marquee in Chicago at night, advertising One Battle After Another in 70mm.
    Fig. 20Music Box Theater · OBAA 70mm · Opening Night
  • Bride and groom standing near Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome with a vintage car blurring past.
    Fig. 21Castel Sant'Angelo · Rome · 2025
  • Connor and Kristin eating sandwiches in the front seat of the car on a road trip.
    Fig. 22Road trip lunch · Two halves
  • Connor leaning on a sticker-covered phone booth in Florence on a sunny afternoon.
    Fig. 23Phone booth · Florence
  • A close-up of tweed and herringbone jackets hanging in a Savile Row shop.
    Fig. 24Tweeds · Detail · Savile Row
Travel

Maps and stamps.

A short list of places I’d happily go back to. Mostly road trips and long flights, all with a notebook in the bag.

Rome, Florence, Milan, the Dolomites · Italy
Wedding territory, plus where I started at the Vatican Museums.
Banff · Canada
Mountains big enough to make you quiet.
London, Cambridge, Liverpool · UK
Football and libraries. A lot of walking in between.
Paris · France
Eat slow. Walk slower.
Santander · Spain
Underrated coast, great seafood, no tourists.
Dublin, Doonbeg, Lahinch · Ireland
The greenest green I've ever seen, and some of the best golf there is.
Tokyo · Japan
Cleanest city I've ever been in. Dinner is a religion.
Manila, Boracay · The Philippines
Warm water, big family welcomes.
Vienna · Austria
Classical music in the right rooms.
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