Houston, TX – July 23, 2020 – Chief Outsiders, the nation’s largest and fastest growing Chief Marketing Officer firm with more than 75 fractional CMOs with Fortune 500 experience, today announced that it has engaged client number 1,000, online education leader Relearnit.
“More than 11 years ago, in the heat of the deepest recession in modern times – aside from what may be happening now – a fractional CMO firm was born. At the time, no one had ever heard of such a thing,” said Art Saxby, CEO, co-founder and principal of Chief Outsiders. “Now, after 1,000 CEOs have trusted us with their marketing and growth, we’ve received a Net Promoter Score at the Amazon/Netflix level (currently 63), and we’ve expanded to 75 CMOs nationwide, we’re celebrating the category we helped create.”
While the gig economy is not new, it has been amplified by the current COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns. The application of strategic executives—not consultants, but individuals who sit in the c-suite—is a megatrend making American businesses more competitive and resilient to economic swings.
According to Forbes, two-thirds of major companies are now using contractors to lower labor costs and 36 percent of working adults currently engage in some gig work. That number is projected to hit 43 percent sometime this year, according to projections by the Bureau of Labor.
“One of the most important reasons we chose Chief Outsiders is because marketing is not just about solving customer engagement problems anymore, instead it’s about overall company growth, which is exactly what we need right now,” said Dr. Ronald Wagner, Relearnit founder and CEO. “Coincidentally, Relearnit just hit a similar milestone by concurrently enrolling 1,000 students across its university partners, this in the midst of a new attention and focus on online learning due to the pandemic.”
Since its founding, Chief Outsiders’ revenue has gone from just over $111,000 in the first year to nearly $16.5 million in 2019. And the company has been listed on the Inc 5000 fastest-growing privately held companies for six years in a row.
“CEOs and private equity firms—as well as a growing number of billion-dollar companies whose CMOs need bench strength—are seeking fractional CMOs,” said Pete Hayes, CMO and principal of Chief Outsiders. “For large companies, we help senior executive leaders connect industry, competitive, and changing business-model insights to their business strategy and execution in order to drive improved outcomes for their clients and businesses."
“Chief Outsiders has been a trusted partner since 2012. Art and his team are very experienced and can act quickly. Their flexible approach is highly valued by our partners and portfolio company management teams,” said Ron Sansom, Managing Partner, Global Executive Operating Partner, The Riverside Company, a global investment firm.
The industries Chief Outsiders has served over the past decade include tech, financial services, health care, food and beverage, retail, education, manufacturing, marketing and advertising. Notable companies include:
Chief Outsiders, LLC is a nationwide "Executives-as-a-Service" firm, with 75 part-time, or fractional, Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) engaged from coast-to-coast. Unlike other strategic marketing and management consulting firms, each CMO has held the position of VP Marketing or higher at one or more operating companies. Chief Outsiders have served on the executive team of 1,000 client companies to drive growth strategy and execution plans for a fraction of the cost of a full-time executive.
Because of its market-based growth plans, quality of leadership, and experienced team, Chief Outsiders has been recognized for the past six years by Inc. Magazine as one of the 5,000 fastest growing privately held companies in the US and was recognized in 2019 as a Forbes Small Giant. Chief Outsiders’ CEO Art Saxby and Principal Pete Hayes are the co-authors of “The Growth Gears: Using a Market-Based Framework to Drive Business Success,” an Amazon #1 best-seller for business owners and CEOs. For additional information about the companies who trust Chief Outsiders as their premier source for business growth acceleration, click here.
CONTACT: Sterling Wilkinson, SWilkinson@ChiefOutsiders.com