CEO Today Global Awards 2024 - USA - - 23 - and the connected B2C sector is proving meaningfully with data that shoppers are gravitating more toward products or services produced by companies where ethical or moral values are shared with them across the board. All these principles bring valuable exposure as they promote adaptation. They also apply regardless of company size or whether the business is growing or contracting. In my role prior to Firework, I had the opportunity to spend 4 years as the Chief Operating Officer of a global media conglomerate, where I was privileged to lead financial and operational restructuring via turnaround, which contracted headcount by more than 50% but returned the company to profitability. We did this by understanding how to get more from what we already had or discarding that which didn’t drive measurable ROI. We also re-established and innovated across digital and social content platforms, much of which included more efficiently produced video, positioned as a collection of top media buying and affiliate commerce destinations for agencies on behalf of their clients and brands. At Firework in my role as CBO, the opposite of a turnaround has been true, such that the business accelerates products from zero-to-one into key ARR driving SaaS product lines utilizing non-linear, sustainable, exponential growth strategies. This requires a deep appreciation for product road mapping and prioritisation, well-managed net cash burn, and a keen understanding of each contributor on every team’s expertise. That unlocks the capacity to define expected quarterly yield and contribution capacity via OKRs, which is pivotal in leading resource planning, defining departmental budgets, revenue forecasting, etc with P&Ls spanning diverse Country Operations. The key for me as a leader has been applying these business fundamentals with accuracy and flexibility (amid constant product and strategy iteration required of a high-growth company) while ensuring the company doesn’t lose touch with the cultural nuances equally contributing to its success. These key qualitative attributes each employee brings as a uniquely special person are so valuable to not only recognize, but leverage and reward, to bring the communication of learnings, service shortfalls, and customer best practices across borders for the greater benefit of the company and its global, enterprise clients. The near future will yield increasingly lucrative opportunities for businesses to win market share from those who remain reliant on dated operational techniques or oversight known to be slow, bureaucratic, indecisive, and who struggle with applying speed in decision making. Lacking the integration of these transformational pillars will increasingly put those companies at risk of diminished market position, have impact on innovation investments, and contribute to cultural indifference that lowers the engagement of everyone. My appetite for calculated risk, desire to share, and drive accelerated operational, financial, and reputational transformation among the most opportunistic businesses are governed by these leadership experiences. As a leader at such an exciting time in technological advancement, I want to continue unlocking competitive edge through growth hacking in areas where companies have distinct market advantages. The leadership and philosophical business attributes overall that I’ve acquired at Firework are invaluable, especially as they pertain to extreme speed, constant iteration, and decisive decision making. I feel so fortunate to have been able to lead and excel here. The distinction of being recognised by way of this award, as a leader owing so much credit back to the amazing people on my teams, is such an honor. I’ll carry that forward with humility as I endeavor around future leadership roles that I’m fortunate enough to influence with ultra-high growth capacity firms; privileged to have participated and excelled among one of the most progressive and heavily invested markets of the foreseeable future in video commerce and AI, within one of silicon valley’s most reputably and deeply institutionally funded, ultra-high growth capacity, technology companies. Why do you think more people are desiring a personalized shopping experience and how does Firework assist with this? Personalization and information access work conjunctively. Exposure breeds curiosity and curiosity drives a desire to engage in terms which are self-defined. These customer remits and expectations can’t be met within a traditional loyal customer cohort and require a more advanced understanding of all the facets of an individual’s motivation or interest in something. True unified commerce systems seek to bring all multifaceted views of any given customer into focus. The power of AI, large language models, and machine learning capable of processing data at speeds and in quantities so much more advanced than ever previously available is
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