Experience

RedKite

• Armenia
• Information Technology & Services
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Chief Executive Officer

  • Jun 2021 - Present

  Define the vision, set strategy, and reshape business and financial operations to create a scalable and resilient organization. Pinpoint opportunities for expansion—and build the foundation to enable this growth over the long term. Introduce leading-edge systems and processes across sales, marketing, finance, and HR. Provide leadership to overcome resistance to change.Process, sales, and account management—doubling margins in 12 months:* Paved the way for stability and growth by launching a direct sales model and rolling out web and email marketing programs.* Reinvented operating models, modernized the infrastructure, and introduced systems for consistent financial modeling, accounting, client communications, and labor forecasting and tracking.* Scaled the international workforce to align with market demands and organizational needs.



S&W Griffin Enterprises

• President & CEO

  • 2019 - Present

  Revitalize and scale businesses large and small—propelling innovation and building the foundation for growth as a strategic advisor and fractional C-suite (e.g. CEO, Interim CEO, CTO, CDO, COO) executive overseeing P&L, operations, and/or technology. Determine needs and lead teams in executing customized solutions: performance turnaround, process redesign, system modernization, and growth planning, adding value every step of the way. Manage P&L.Strategies and solutions to develop new capabilities, cut costs, increase capacity, and catapult revenue:* Produced double- and triple-digit growth by eradicating inefficiencies in administration, IT, and supply chain.* Saved a company from closure and increased revenue by 3% in 30 days by redesigning and simplifying operations.* Influenced success and stability during the global pandemic by using technology as a lever to transform, automate, and modernize processes, including accelerating eCommerce sales.* Devised strategies and created models to scale businesses through M&As.* Reimagined and automated processes; fixed critical eCommerce issues; outsourced costly services; revamped distribution (eliminating 45% margin loss); implemented Agile; and rolled out solutions for ERP, warehouse/inventory management, shipping, and project management.



Carson Dellosa Education

• United States
• Book and Periodical Publishing
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Chief Technology Officer (CTO) & Chief Digital Officer (CDO)

  • 2012 - 2019

  Transformed digital operations and cleared a thicket of IT challenges: weak digital security, multiple single points of failure, no backup systems, very poor software development processes, and lagging online innovation. Defined and executed IT and digital strategy to align with business vision and goals. Managed people, budgets, and changing priorities.Innovation and transformation—yielding revenue and profits:* Drove 66% CAGR over four years for Amazon sales by resolving product metadata issues for 4,000+ SKUs. Rallied the entire workforce and leadership team to tackle this problem, which had remained unresolved for 14 years.* Delivered 43% CAGR for total online revenue by deploying an omnichannel marketing and eCommerce system, US/international distribution channels, and 2,000+ e-books.* Introduced business intelligence to improve transparency and enable data-driven decisions.First-to-market products and technologies:* Developed the industry’s first augmented reality (AR) application.* Invented first-ever text messaging app that provided sales representatives with real-time access to product images and information (inventory, pricing, purchase orders)—recognized by a sales leader as “the most innovative solution I’ve seen in 20 years in publishing.”



Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishing Group

• Book and Periodical Publishing
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Senior Vice President (SVP) of Digital Media | Executive Team Member

  • 2009 - 2011

  Led major turnaround for the fourth-largest college textbook publisher in the US. Kindled and fed a complex technology transformation and built a robust, scalable infrastructure to set the stage for modernization and long-range growth.Digital and technical innovation to support the company as online activity grew >2x:* Provided insight and direction for platform and product development, digital content, and technical support—effectively aligning digital goals with business vision and technology strategy.* Propelled innovation by creating an Agile organization and rolling out solutions for portfolio management, load testing, security assessments, and quality assurance.* Launched eLearning platform, repository, and infrastructure for all digital products, including legacy content.* Coached, prepared, and mobilized teams to finish an annual deadline-driven online program a month ahead of schedule—an unprecedented outcome that required collaboration with internal and external stakeholders.



Preferred Commerce Inc

• 1 - 100 Employee

• Chief Information Officer (CIO) | Executive Team Member

  • 2006 - 2009

  Relaunched B2B content provider in a unique consumer space (gardening) with a people-centric B2C focus. Procured systems and defined both technology systems and digital approaches to facilitate this major renovation and restructuring effort.Infrastructure design and overhaul—within six months:* Influenced corporate strategy as key member of the executive team—guided the organization from B2B to B2C and helped generate $3M in new private investment.* Saved >$1M in licensing fees through skillful negotiations.* Created an online gardening site of plant and how-to resources adopted by Lowes.com, which included features to turbocharge upselling.* Established seamless and efficient operations through system integration: content management, course management, CRM, ad management, customer support, eCommerce, digital repository, and social media.



1EdTech Consortium

• United States
• Information Technology & Services
• 1 - 100 Employee

• COO | Executive Director | Director

  • 2002 - 2005

  Rehired by previous employer and earned a series of fast-track promotions to develop and lead this nonprofit eLearning technical standards organization. Created specifications and standards for the US market, and then expanded adoption operations in Europe—improving online learning around the world.Leadership for operations, global collaboration, and growth planning:* Engaged and directed diverse stakeholders, vendors, and teams to solve a complicated business problem—ultimately establishing the first and only global standards for eLearning technology, still in use today. These standards are utilized as procurement requirements by companies, universities, consortia, and governments.* Secured >€100K in European Commission joint funding to promote the adoption of standards-based eLearning in Europe.* As COO, reversed a trend of member losses and built a trajectory of growth.



Ellucian (Formerly Collegis, Inc.)

• Chief Technology Officer (CTO) | Vice President

  • 1999 - 2002

  Provided strategic planning and execution for venture capital-backed online learning and technology service provider. Directed software design, development, and support as well as training, curriculum and content creation, audio/video innovation, and system integration. Coached and motivated staff; controlled $6M budget.Vision and strategy to strengthen the business—inside and out:* Sparked growth by contributing to M&A and business development efforts.* Increased uptime to >99.93% by rebuilding multi-tenant ASP infrastructure for hosting and help desk.* Improved product reliability and bolstered customer satisfaction by creating a PMO (Project Management Office), restructuring the development team, and fine-tuning the SDLC (Software Development Life Cycle) process.* Developed the first SaaS offering for content management systems.



1EdTech Consortium

• United States
• Information Technology & Services
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Chief Technology Officer (CTO) | Executive Team Member

  • 1995 - 1999

  Served as an executive member of the entrepreneurial team that created this organization from its inception. Fostered partnerships with government, commercial, and higher-education institutions, and contributed to achieving interoperability across educational digital media, content, data, and interactive applications.Start-up leadership: all-new operations, workforce, technology infrastructure, and partnerships:* Cultivated trust with governments, vendors, companies, and institutions to establish a consistent understanding of, appreciation for, and commitment to new standards and specifications for eLearning.* Collaborated with leading institutions in education and adult learning—including the military, K-12 schools, universities, libraries, and aviation companies—to embed specifications into the Department of Defense eLearning interoperability platform, SCORM (Sharable Content Object Reference Model).



Spadion Corporation

• Co-Founder and VP Technology

  • 1995 - 1999

  Created and ran an early Internet services firm. Created and ran an early Internet services firm.



Institute for Academic Technology, UNC Chapel Hill

• Director of Technical Services

  • 1987 - 1995

  Presented extensively on elearning technology, smart classrooms, digital video distribution, and migration of educational content to digital format and delivery. In partnership with IBM Corp., created the first Windows-based multimedia authoring program for educators, and one of the first Internet tools for enabling one-click software installation. Presented extensively on elearning technology, smart classrooms, digital video distribution, and migration of educational content to digital format and delivery. In partnership with IBM Corp., created the first Windows-based multimedia authoring program for educators, and one of the first Internet tools for enabling one-click software installation.