Acertitude Lands Chief Revenue Officer for Indigo Energy
May 25, 2017 – The role of chief revenue officer (CRO) has changed dramatically over the last several years. CROs are quickly becoming mission-critical innovators for companies that look to dominate a market first and fastest, according to recruiters. The demand for these financial leaders is growing and executive search firms have been busy filling these roles.
The latest: Acertitude placed Reza Ghorieshi as CRO of Indigo Energy, a wholesale provider of petroleum products and renewable-fuel solutions based in Gainesville, GA. Rick DeRose, Acertitude founder and managing partner, led the search along with partner Tom Dougherty.
This position, which reports directly to the CEO, is pivotal in driving revenue growth and executing the company’s strategic plan. Mr. Ghorieshi’s responsibilities involve leading the formation of a sales and marketing team, reinventing and optimizing revenue and lead-generation processes, and creating a technology-optimized customer experience.
Identifying the Right Leader
“Indigo is on a dynamic growth path and has an even brighter future ahead with Reza,” said Mr. DeRose. “Our goal was to identify and attract a high-caliber executive who could break new ground for the sales and marketing organizations and flourish in their entrepreneurial culture. The Indigo leadership team’s approach in hiring an executive who builds the capabilities of tomorrow is a game changer.”
John Mansfield, chief executive officer of Indigo Energy, was likewise impressed. “Reza’s mastery around global sales and technology, coupled with his forward-thinking ideas, will be instrumental to our long-term transformation,” he said.
Chief Revenue Officer Recruitment Trends
Top drawer CROs have been seen mostly in start-ups and smaller businesses to keep an eye on the bottom line while the rest of the C-level team expand key partnerships, look for growth opportunities or source funding. That’s changing as larger businesses now view the CRO post as an essential, long term role ….. Here’s some further reading from Hunt Scanlon Media.
Why Chief Revenue Officers Are Rising In Influence
The role of chief revenue officers had changed dramatically over the course of the last several years, and they are quickly becoming mission-critical innovators for companies that look to dominate a market first and fastest.
Most recently, Mr. Ghorieshi was the global vice president, software sales and presales, for NCR Corporation, where he developed and executed their global sales strategy. Previously, he was vice president, software sales Americas. Before NCR, he held various sales roles with IBM. He is credited with driving both NCR’s and IBM’s global transformations from hardware-centric to software- and consulting-led enterprises. Mr. Ghorieshi was also the founder and architect of two software firms.
“Whether driving through a significant business transformation to realize new opportunities, like Indigo, or a digital transformation to reveal better customer experiences, homing in on the right leadership is critical,” said Mr. DeRose. “We are seeing two hiring trends continue to dominate in 2017. Companies across the board are increasingly turning to their chief revenue officer to ramp up their growth trajectory and seeking individuals who are resourceful, tech-savvy, and embrace change.”
Acertitude is a sister company of O’Neill Consulting Group and Technology Executive Group. It specializes in recruiting senior executives for a number of sectors, including consumer, industrial, private equity, professional services, technology, telecommunications & media, healthcare & life sciences and non-profit & foundations. Its consultants work from offices in Boston, Dallas, London, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Providence, Raleigh, Shanghai, Tampa and Washington, D.C.
Mr. DeRose has a strong track record of recruiting successful sales, marketing and strategy talent for businesses that are growing rapidly and driving transformative change. He offers proven expertise in telecommunications, technology, private equity, and professional services.
Mr. Dougherty applies 33 years of global leadership experience to his role as partner. He brings demonstrated proficiency in industrial, aerospace, and engineering sectors, and an extraordinary familiarity with international business to his client partnerships.
Recruiting Chief Revenue Officers
Hunt Scanlon Media has reported on a number of search firms tracking down chief revenue officers for their clients. Here’s a look at searches either underway or recently completed:
McDermott & Bull recruited Mollie Hunter as chief revenue officer with Ease, a leading provider of process performance solutions. The search was led by partner Craig Lipus, principal consultant Garrett Lipus, senior recruiting associate Tara Steven, and recruiting associate Chris Pring. Ms. Hunter has over thirty years of software sales experience.
Ross & Company has placed Tom McNamara as chief revenue officer of Apixio, a data science company focused on healthcare. Managing partner Jim O’Sullivan led the assignment. Mr. McNamara has 25 years of experience building successful sales organizations for healthcare technology and analytics companies.
ON Partners has placed Bob Laskey as chief revenue officer of IT services firm Taos, a provider of infrastructure, software development, engineering, cloud, and project management services. As chief revenue officer, Mr. Laskey imports best practices from a variety of large tech company experiences to help Taos scale to the next level of services and geographic expansion.
Polachi Inc. has placed Cindy Brown as chief revenue officer of ViralGains, a leader in consumer-centric video distribution. As CRO, Ms. Brown will be responsible for driving ViralGains’ business in the $16 billion online video advertising market. She brings an extremely strong and diverse background to her role.
Contributed by Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
