Chad Richard
Verified Expert in Marketing
Marketing Expert
Boca Raton, FL, United States
Toptal member since August 13, 2024
Chad is a Fortune 500 executive with 30+ years of business experience leading world-class brands ranging from high-tech startups to Fortune 500 companies, including 20+ years in VP and CMO roles. He has launched, managed, and grown world-leading brands, including Procter & Gamble’s Olay, ADT Security Services, Squeeze.com, and Talkmap. Chad has an MBA with Honors from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, with concentrations in marketing and finance.
Project Highlights
Expertise
- Business to Consumer (B2C)
- Customer Experience
- Digital Advertising
- Lead Generation
- Marketing
- ROI
- Sales Effectiveness
- Sales Pitches
Work Experience
Founder and CEO
Best Plans Consulting
- Led the development of brand positioning for a venture capital (VC)-backed tech startup, converted to CMO; the company is now a leader in its field, serving Fortune 500 clients.
- Helped launch an Al-powered online insurance platform that automatically shops dozens of top insurers to save consumers time and money. Drove growth to 225,000+ users, including YOY ARR growth of 81% and a 61% reduction in customer acquisition costs.
- Managed the development of new positioning, website, sales, marketing materials, and messaging for a global shipping and logistics leader, resulting in a 200% growth YOY.
Chief Marketing Officer
Life & Specialty Ventures
- Managed all aspects of marketing and corporate communication activities for Life & Specialty Ventures, a $620 million specialty insurance company wholly owned by multiple Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies.
- Helped drive unprecedented growth across key metrics, including a 42% increase in new sales to $112 million and a 35% increase in net income.
- Acted as one of five direct reports to the CEO. Developed and presented a significant portion of quarterly board materials to a 10-member board comprised of CEO’s and CFO’s from multiple Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) companies across the U.S.
Vice President North America
ADT Security Services
- Led ADT Security Services North American marketing to unprecedented year-over-year results over 10 years, with revenue of $4 billion, including residential, small business, core commercial, and national accounts.
- Developed and refined a highly sophisticated metric-driven marketing approach to dynamically optimize ROI.
- Created best-in-class digital capabilities that drove superior growth in the industry. Developed a successful pay-per-click (PPC) strategy that delivered highly profitable growth and was among the top 10 largest Google PPC advertisers worldwide.
- Oversaw various tools, including digital/SEO/SEM/retargeting/email/social, TV advertising, print, radio, direct mail, email, telemarketing, sports marketing, trade shows, events, market research, VOC, data analytics, and sales tools.
- Managed a large internal team and numerous best-in-class vendors across advertising, including TV, direct mail, collateral digital, SEO, SEM, and PR, to deliver consistently strong, profitable growth and exceptional customer relationships.
- Worked with sales leaders to develop a comprehensive overhaul of the sales process and all prospect-facing materials for 140+ offices and 2,000+ sales representatives, resulting in increased closing percentages, revenue, and profitability.
- Launched and developed a world-class retention team that delivered transformational improvements in profitability.
- Identified and conceptualized numerous marketing, sales, online products, packages, and pricing initiatives that drove significant growth and profitability despite negative economic headwinds.
- Achieved and was the two-time recipient of the Tyco Management Excellence Award, the highest management award within the company; selected among the top 70 leaders selected from 110,000 Tyco employees worldwide.
Director of Marketing and New Product Development
Sunbeam-Oster
- Led and managed the marketing and new product development for all Sunbeam, Oster, and Mr. Coffee Appliance divisions, including managing seven direct reports.
- Led the re-launch of the Oster Blender line; the initiative turned a 10%, five-year annualized decline into a 32% increase in year one and +25% each of the next two years. The approach is applied to other business lines.
- Managed all product sourcing for the Asian supply base for U.S. operations, including new product evaluation, pricing negotiation, capacity planning, production start-up, and ongoing supply. Identified and captured $6 million in annualized savings.
- Oversaw category strategies, identifying market opportunities, new product development, pricing, packaging, point-of-purchase, by-channel and by-retailer product assortment, and sales tools and communications.
Director of Marketing
Sunbeam-Oster Company
- Led and managed marketing and new product development.
- Conceptualized and led the re-launch of the Oster Blender line. The initiative turned a 10%, five-year annualized decline into a 32% increase in year one, with sustained growth over the next three years, and applied to other business lines.
- Managed, directed, and developed an Asian supply base for U.S. operations, including new product evaluation, pricing negotiation, capacity planning, production start-up, and ongoing supply. Developed and implemented numerous cost savings initiatives.
Brand Manager
Procter & Gamble
- Engaged as a member of a team of six that led the relaunch and turnaround of the Olay brand.
- Led a project that identified significant insight into the target audience and enabled unique prioritization based on the net present value (NPV) of customer segments.
- Reversed the course of the brand’s 15+ year precipitous decline, Olay is now used as a case study on how to launch a global megabrand.
Project History
Identification and Rollout of a New Brand for a Tech Startup
Identified 100+ potential names for tech startups in the hyper-competitive field.
Identified over 100 potential names for tech startups in the hyper-competitive field. Developed comprehensive screening criteria and evaluation matrix, then proceeded with selecting and launching an attractive brand and a seven-character URL for what is now a leading brand in its space.
Transformed Lead Generation and Lifetime (LTV)
http://www.squeeze.comDrove growth to 225,000+ users, including YOY ARR growth of 81%. Reduced YOY customer acquisition costs by 61%.
Squeeze is an online insurance agency with an AI-powered platform that automatically shops dozens of top insurers to save consumers time and money. I was brought in to address high customer acquisition costs and improve lead generation.
Business Turnaround of Company Flagship Brand
I led the re-launch of the Oster Blender line and turned a -10% decline into transformational growth.
Identified, conceptualized, and led the relaunch of the Oster Blender line. The initiative turned a -10%, five-year annualized decline into transformational growth over the next three years, and the approach was quickly applied to other business lines.
Drove Record Results at Global Leader ADT Security Services ( $4+ Billion)
Led a project to transform ADT Security Services North America results, significantly increasing dollar revenue, MRR, profitability, and lifetime value (LTV).
Worked closely with sales leaders to overhaul the entire sales process, including messaging, sales collateral, bundled price packages, van signage, scripting, training schedules, and communication to 140+ offices across the U.S. and thousands of sales representatives. The project revolutionized results, leading to significant increases in close rate percentage, average installation USD, average monthly recurring revenue, customer satisfaction, profitability, and lifetime value.
Education
Master of Business Administration (MBA) in MBA Marketing and Finance
University of Chicago Booth School of Business - Chicago, IL, USA
Bachelor's Degree in Economics and Business
Rollins College - Winter Park, FL, USA
Skills
Core
Marketing, Strategic Marketing, Paid Advertising, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Go-to-market (GTM) Strategy, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), Search Engine Marketing (SEM), Digital Marketing, SEO Keyword Research, Sales, Lead Generation, Marketing Collateral Development
Business Models
Business to Consumer (B2C)
Other
Microsoft, Google, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Financial Data Analytics, Finance, Analysis, Quantitative Analysis, Marketing, Marketing Analytics, ROI, New Products, Digital Advertising, Advertising Campaigns, Search Engine Marketing (SEM), Direct Mail, Sales Effectiveness, Marketing Collateral Development, Lead Generation, Business to Consumer (B2C), Branding, Customer Experience, Digital, Pricing, Sales Presentations, Pricing Strategy, New Product Development, New Products, Retail Merchandising, Promotion, Team Management, Quantitative Modeling, Cash Flow, Income Statements, On-page SEO, Strategy, B2B Partnerships, Partnerships, Retail Strategy, Global Sourcing, Negotiation, Manufacturing, Balance Sheets, Marketing Mix, Managerial Economics, New Product Rollout, Sales, Global Strategy, B2B Lead Generation, Call Centers, Sales Training, New Product Development, Turnaround Management, Customer Retention, Tech Sales, Press Releases, Sales Pitches, Strategic Partnerships, Pricing Models, Retail Sales, Contract Negotiation, International Projects, Advertising, Direct Mail, Sales Promotion, Promotion Pricing, In-home Sales, Sales Training
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