After 10 years with the same organization, today is my last day at Acxiom Corporation. I decided it was time to jump on an opportunity to join a search engine marketing agency - Page Zero Media.
I'm experiencing a number of feelings as I exit this job and enter another. The overwhelming one is gratitude. I'm grateful for the countless opportunities I've been given over the last decade. Those opportunities have afforded me so much experience and maturity that I really needed.
In gratitude, I'd like to thank some people. Rich Maradik and Jay Graves founded a company called Data Mark in the mid 1990's. These two guys put it all on the line and grew that database marketing company into SmartDM. In 2000, they decided to invest in online marketing technology and services. They gave me the opportunity to get in on the ground floor of that effort. For the next 5 years the company grew in fits and starts - and I didn't become a dot com millionaire. However, I experienced personal growth that was much more valuable. Working with Rich, Jay and my colleagues at SmartDM taught me how to believe in a vision even if you can't clearly see the path to get there. The vision won't even become total reality - but that's not really the point either. It's the relationships, experiences and challenges on the journey toward the vision that make it worthwhile at the end of the day.
In 2005, a much larger company called Acxiom took notice of SmartDM and snapped us up. That was a big change with a lot of uncertainty. The big picture was that we had a place in Acxiom to provide multichannel agency services and standardized marketing database technology. I was pretty excited because Acxiom didn't really have the capability to do email marketing for its clients and that's exactly what my team did. We had run email programs for big companies like Harrah's and American General Finance. And then, a few months later, Acxiom bought a company called Digital Impact which did email marketing on a much bigger scale with a much bigger staff from offices in the Silicon Valley to New York City. Quite soon, it dawned on me that I better cozy up to these folks.
Long story short, Scott Tansey and I laid the groundwork for building an Acxiom Digital team in Nashville, TN. Competition for technically skilled talent was less than what it was in the Silicon Valley. So we thought we could hire and retain a group of talented associates. In an era where off shoring work was the thing to do to lower expenses, we said "off shore" it to Middle Tennessee or "Nash Dehli" as Jay called us. Middle Tennessee might as well have been India to these Digital Kingpins. The main cost savings came from the difference between what it cost to lease office space in the Silicon Valley and Manhattan vs. our somewhat dumpy mixed-use space at the end of a runway in Nashville, TN. I am grateful to the bosses that signed off on this idea and have supported it ever since.
We started slowly at first, adding two Acxiom Digital associates to my small team that still did work for legacy SmartDM clients. We moved a little work from the San Mateo, CA office to Nashville...and...it worked! Clients were pleased, we learned how to work effectively with teams in other locations and the team thrived. Before long, we were hiring like crazy in Nashville and had more than 30 associates here in a couple years time. As I leave today, I will argue that this is as good a team as any other Acxiom team in the world. They are just incredibly talented and dedicated - and I give them the credit. My role was to recruit good talent, put them in the right roles, make sure they had the tools they needed, advocate for them within the company and most importantly, get out of the way and let them do their jobs. Building the team here in Nashville is the most gratifying thing I've been involved with in my career to date. I want to thank the team here in Nashville for the honor of working with you. It is bittersweet to leave this team but the sweet part is knowing they are headed for ever greater things. Thanks to my bosses past and present - Tony Espiritu, Robbie Fang and Chris Marriott.
It strikes me how some of the most difficult challenges I've encountered laid the ground work for future opportunities. In 2002, Jay suggested that I figure out this search engine marketing business so we could offer it to our clients. I was skeptical at first - caught too deep in the day to day grind to see the next big opportunity. But ultimately I dove in and discovered a fascinating means of acquiring new business using search engines - it revived the geek in me. I came across a book that got me started. About 8 years later, I'm going to work for the author of that book.
First it was web sites in the mid 1990's. Then it was email marketing. After that, search engine marketing. Now I believe a number of digital channels are just about ready to break through in terms of proven commercial viability. What an interesting and fast developing industry to be in!
Finally, I have not enjoyed any success at all over the years all on my own. I've needed help every step of the way. The biggest support has always come from my family - and so my biggest thank you goes to Lyn. Ross and Jenna Claire both came along in the middle of all this - thanks to them for motivating me.
I'm moving on to the next thing.