Contributors
Charles Besondy Paul Travis Theresa Heath
Charles Besondy, Author
Charles Besondy is recognized as a champion for B2B marketing optimization. If a company suspects their marketing is under-performing or is not aligned with business goals, Mr. Besondy steps in to transform the function, providing both strategic and operational expertise. He is especially skilled at solving issues in:- Target market selection and sizing
- Positioning
- Lead management
- Marketing strategy and planning
- Product marketing process
His versatility and ability to achieve desired results in a broad range of industries and product categories is well known. For example a few of his interim engagements included Director and VP roles with a computer manufacturer, a consumer Web start-up, and a professional sports franchise.
For a division of Fiserv Mr. Besondy directed a fast-track strategic positioning process that resulted in reducing the sales cycle and increasing conversion rates for a new product. He created an analytical model for BMC Software that evaluated the potential effectiveness of marketing programs leading to a more accurate and realistic view of marketing’s contribution to revenue. He re-tooled sales and marketing processes for Boxx Technologies leading to two record quarters of revenue. As interim VP for iTaggit.com Mr. Besondy was architect of launch plan strategies, tactics, and metrics. He also provided market-centric feedback to drive site design and functionality. Mr. Besondy researched and recommended a new niche market for Tengo Internet, an early-stage provider of local WiFi hot spots, resulting in the company becoming the largest provider of broadband wireless service to the outdoor hospitality industry.
Mr. Besondy's graduated from the University of Oregon and continually augments his knowledge with courses and seminars on the latest marketing disciplines, such as marketing metrics, Internet marketing, buzz marketing, paid search, and search engine optimization.
Long an advocate for interim management within the marketing department, Mr. Besondy is also a Blogger for "One Riot - One Ranger", a leading source of ideas and techniques for companies interested in adopting interim management.
A native of the Northwest, Mr. Besondy has resided in Austin since early 2000. He is a member of the Austin Technology Council, is active in his church, and is a self-expression and leadership coach. When not helping clients transform their marketing performance he can be found on long walks through the wilderness looking for his golf ball.
Paul Travis, Author
From his 25 years of experience in high technology, marketing, and consulting, Paul Travis has developed two core specialties:
- Determining and developing the right product(s) for the target market (full product marketing/management life cycle approach, from market validation to requirements specification to launch communications and media relations)
- Establishing the right marketing infrastructure to profitably attract and retain customers (from appropriate off- and on-line marketing and analytics to customer relationship management systems).
Mr. Travis began consulting in project and interim capacities in 2000, having recognized that small- and mid-market organizations needed the same things that had made him successful with larger private and public companies. He concentrates on three verticals: high technology, food and beverage, and manufacturing.
In his prior corporate marketing career, Mr. Travis built a ten-person marketing team as VP Marketing at safety/security concern Net Nanny Software Inc. There he oversaw the integrated launch of two consumer products and the BioPassword enterprise product (later spun off). At analytics provider Marketwave Corporation, his shift of focus and licensing structure into the enterprise space increased the company's run rate by 1,000% in just nine months -- prompting a $77 million acquisition by a publicly traded competitor. He currently serves as a board member of privately held companies KidMail.net and OfficeSpace.com.
Active in the local business community, Mr. Travis belongs to the Microsoft Alumni Network; co-founded the Seattle Chapter of the CRM Association; and is President of the Institute of Management Consultants (IMC) Pacific NW Chapter. He has shared his experiences with students in guest lectures at the University of Washington, Bastyr University, and Seattle Pacific University. He completed the Brand Management Executive Program at Harvard Business School and received his Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science & Mathematics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Mr. Travis resides with his wife and two children on Bainbridge Island (due west of Seattle, Washington). He enjoys hiking, camping, racquetball, percussion, and singing in the shower.
Theresa Heath, Editor
With over 25 years of sales and marketing experience, Ms. Heath is a sales turnaround expert with an innate ability to swiftly diagnose root causes and underlying issues in revenue shortfall situations and then develop and implement strategies that quickly transform into positive sales trends. Ms. Heath has deep and broad functional knowledge with Fortune 500 companies including Quest Diagnostics, McKesson and Laboratory Corporation of America. Theresa led Sales and Marketing of the Arizona Laboratory for Quest Diagnostics, the $6.3B provider of diagnostic testing. During her tenure she managed a sales organization of 30 people and in 6 months reversed a net revenue trend from a loss of nearly $500K annualized to a gain of $720K while increasing revenue by $6M. Throughout her sales career, Ms. Heath consistently exceeded individual and team quotas, was ranked at the top of her peers and led start-up divisions, acquisition integrations and unit turnarounds.
Ms. Heath has also garnered considerable experience in bringing new technology to market: in leading Sales and Marketing for Veracel, a start-up venture capital firm, she developed strategic partnerships with top-tier academic institutions and established an industry presence in the US and European marketplaces. As Director, Worldwide Marketing, Women’s Health Diagnostics for Ventana Medical Systems, Inc., her accomplishments include launching a DNA test with revenue growth exceeding budget by 25% the first year. While Vice President of Market Development at Sensys Medical, another venture capital firm, Ms. Heath created a $50M market and business plan for a new product which has served to chart the company’s path the past 4 years.
Throughout her career, Ms. Heath has excelled in the areas of Sales Turnaround, Strategic Planning, Sales Leadership, Acquisition Planning and Integration, and Alliances & Partnerships.
Ms. Heath graduated cum laude with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Business Administration from Arizona State University. She is a Member of Standard & Poor’s Vista Research Society of Industry Leaders and a volunteer in the mentoring program for the Arizona State University Technopolis entrepreneurial program. Ms. Heath also serves in leadership with the Junior League of Phoenix and is a founding member of The Open Table (theopentable.org). A wife and mother of two teenage girls, she enjoys travel, yoga/Pilates, music, and cooking for family and friends.