EXECUTIVE WITH EXTENSIVE MARKETING AND LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE
Experienced marketing professional with the proven ability to deliver consistent customer and revenue growth. Demonstrated skill at developing winning strategic and tactical plans and leading a team in their execution. Industry-specific experience in; martech, fintech, SaaS, blockchain, education, media, investor and public relations services.
Stephen Barnard
Business and Marketing Executive
Phone:
(416)988-9888
Email:
Address:
St.John's, NL
Canada
​
2007-Current
Marketing Consultant
2007-Present
Owner
Barnard Consulting
Management consultant specializing in; capital markets, financial services, fintech, martech and media. Select projects include:
-
Acting as VP of Sales and Marketing I supported the CEO and founder of IMC Business Architecture in developing and implementing a new sales and marketing strategy.
-
Contract (6 mon.) with Expertfile as Head of Marketing. The company provides SaaS solutions and a network that helps organizations leverage their expertise for improved revenue and reputation.
-
Supported two academics in launching the fintech, investment portfolio analytics company, Wealthscope. I led the marketing and business development and was heavily involved in product development and strategic planning.
-
Secured Canadian rights to iPR Software Inc. in 2013 and acted as their VP of Marketing for 2014. The SaaS company provides content management software (CMS) to marketing, communications and public relations departments of organizations wanting to manage their online newsrooms.
-
Implemented a content marketing strategy using Marketo with Salesforce
-
Revamped pay-per-click campaigns which lead to five-fold increase in the conversions
-
-
Part-time VP of Marketing and Business Development for Finmaven – SaaS company provided social media monitoring to the investor relations industry
-
Developed and implemented content marketing strategy for Stockhouse Inc.
2020 - 2022
Executive & Co-Founder
Working with a group of leading Canadian actors (Stratford, Shaw, television and film) we founded a company that provides online theatre education and digital performance space. Our online launch event featured such guests as Margaret Atwood, Adrienne Clarkson and Colin Mochrie and to date, we've held 20 multi-session classes attended by over 300 students aged 9 to 74.
-
Led logo design and branding
-
Designed and built e-commerce enabled website
-
Worked with a developer to build online student, faculty and class databases as well as admissions support
-
Manages all of the company’s finance and legal requirements
2017-2018
CMO
Equibit Group
Responsible for leading marketing, business development and sales for Equibit Group and building its marketing strategy across the full spectrum of channels including; digital, mobile, social media, media relations, investor relations and corporate communications. In support of Equibit Group’s overall corporate strategy, lead a digitally-oriented team focused on positioning Equibit Group as the world’s premier, open network, blockchain company dedicated to disrupting the global clearing and settlement business.
-
Part of the executive team that set corporate strategy and led the company
-
Built website with marketing automation (Hubspot)
-
Managed content marketing programs across social channels and company blog
-
Built and managed team of employees and consultants to support above initiatives
-
Company officer
2009-2012
Director, Product Development
Hired by TMX Equicom, an investor relations (IR) firm owned by TMX Group. The mandate was to launch subscription-based products leveraging IR knowledge, TMXmoney.com’s retail investor web traffic, social media and TMX’s position in the capital markets and its relationships with issuers.
-
Launched Waggle in 2011 - social media community for public companies and investors
-
Led digital marketing plan to promote Waggle within the investor and corporate markets
-
Launched Investor Scorecards - objective analysis for issuers with limited analyst coverage
-
Led product and project planning and was responsible for ongoing management and operations
-
Managed contract negotiations and ongoing relationships with strategic partners related to above projects (as well as other partnerships generating a seven-figure revenue stream)
2004-2006
Managing Director
Hired to lead entry into the commercial newswire industry. PR Direct was a SaaS business that put customers in control of sending press releases directly to ‘The Wire’ and distributing them on the internet. Had complete P&L responsibility and management of all aspects of the business; marketing, sales, billing, customer service and product development.
-
Successfully managed business through launch, rapid product development and sales growth. Unit realized positive cash flow within 20 months of operation
-
Marketing-specific work included; branding, website and collateral, pricing, highly successful (ROI) PPC campaign
-
Managed negotiations that led to the transfer of the business to Marketwired (now Intrado) and close to a $2M/year revenue guarantee and accretive revenue stream for CP
​
After sale of PR Direct I led FastChannel Canada – an online advertising spot delivery and digital asset management service. The Canadian Press had the Canadian license for DGFastChannel (now DG) and owns an Internet based network connecting to television and radio stations.
-
Implemented series of process improvements and a new sales compensation plan
-
Introduced new sales and marketing strategy - ’06 sales were up 51% year over year
-
Completed comprehensive industry analysis - recommendations led to me leaving CP
2002-2004
Director
Led TMX Group’s entry to the newswire industry.
-
Developed and presented two options (both with 8 figure NPVs) as to how TMX Group could enter the newswire industry – both options were taken to the TMX Board
-
Negotiated option continues to contribute seven figures annually to TMX’s bottom line
1999-2002
Vice President & GM
BCE Emergis (Now owned by Telus)
Held a series of progressive general management positions culminating in Vice President & General Manager – e-News Service the company's newswire division. The position ended when the unit was sold to Marketwired (now Intrado) for about $6M. ​
-
Integrated what had been a stand-alone company (ISDN) into BCE Emergis and leveraged synergies to optimize the unit’s contribution
-
Grew revenue to $4.1M (25% increase ‘98 -’99), increased revenue to $6M by ’00 (46%) with a contribution margin of 35%, ’01 saw decreased revenue but held contribution to 15%
-
Provided strategic direction and leadership to the management team responsible for sales, marketing, product management, and operations
-
Management style resulted in an EVI (Employment Value Index) of 75% compared to a company-wide rating of 66%
-
Led Canada’s first newswire’s entry into webcasting – revenue was trending to $1M/year for 2002
1992-1998
Marketing Director
Cantel (Now Rogers Communications)
Held a series of progressive marketing positions culminating in Marketing Director or head of marketing for BC.
-
Wrote the 1996 through 1998 Strategic Marketing Plans. Plan template was adopted by all regions across Canada.
-
Allocated close to $2 M in regional advertising and promotion
-
Developed, launched and managed local customer retention programs – churn reduced by over 30%
-
Managed network planning and related marketing – allocated over $30M in annual spend
-
Managed highly successful promotional and product rollouts. During this period Cantel’s share of gross new subscribers surpassed that of BC Tel (now Telus)
-
Managed multi-department team responsible for 604/250 area code split – major technical and direct marketing/recall project with a 96% success rate
-
Developed and maintained a series of forecasting models for, customer usage, revenue and market share
EXPERIENCE
EDUCATION
MBA
Memorial University
Completed a full, two-year, MBA program before I was 23 - the youngest MBA in the province at the time.
Bachelor's Degree
Memorial University
Completed a BA in economics with a sociology minor. Also took courses in computer science, statistics and the sciences.
EXPERTISE
Branding
-
Managed GhostLight logo design and branding
-
Equibit Group brand management
-
Waggle brand management
-
Created and managed PR Direct brand
-
Led Cantel-AT&T rollout in BC
Marketing Strategy
-
Wrote and led execution of Equibit Group's marketing plan
-
Wrote TMX's business (and marketing plan) for entering newswire industry
-
Wrote annual business and marketing plans for BCE Emergis - e-News Services.
-
Led Cantel BC's strategic planning process and wrote marketing plan for three years - template was adopted nationally
Digital Marketing
-
Over 25 years of leading web projects from simple brochureware in the '90s to complex marketing automation driven sites and e-commerce enabled sites eg. for GhostLight
-
Extensive and very successful Adword experience (PR Direct)
-
Worked with three CMS companies - ExpertFile, IPR Software and Q4 (while at TMX Equicom)
Communications & PR
-
Ran PR and communications for Equibit Group and Cantel BC
-
Part of TMX Equicom's (corporate communications firm) leadership team
-
Member of The Canadian Press's management team
-
Collateral development, press releases, website content, blogs, social posts, videos etc.
Product Marketing/Pricing
-
Designed pricing strategy for The Canadian Press' PR Direct
-
Implemented complete price restructuring at BCE Emergis that drove 255 increase in revenue
-
Managed all cellular pricing for Western Canada for Rogers wireless
Demand Generation
-
Managed and/or launched successful demand generation programs at: ExpertFile, Equibit Group, IPR Software, The Canadian Press, Rogers Wireless (BC)
-
Experience in digital, print, radio and TV
-
Extensive B2B and B2C experience
Product Management​
-
Responsible/led product management for PR Direct at The Canadian Press and e-News at BCE Emergis
-
Led BC Product management for Rogers Wireless in BC - launched multiple BC specific products as well as Canada's first digital wireless phones
P&L Ownership/Budgeting
-
Ran P&Ls at The Canadian Press and BCE Emergis
-
Ran or managed entire budgeting process for GhostLight, BCE Emergis - e-News, and marketing budgets for Rogers Wireless (BC)
Sales Management & BD
-
Designed and implemented flexible sales compensation plans at TMX Equicom, The Canadian Press, BCE Emergis & several Rogers Wireless price plans
-
Led BD for Equibit Group, Weatlthscope and BCE Emergis, e-news Services.
-
Re-deployed Salesforce at IPR Software
​
SKILLS
Microsoft Office - Advanced
Google (Analytics, Adwords, G-Suite)
- Proficient
SalesForce - Proficient
Marketing Automation (Hubspot, Marketo & Autopilot) - Advanced
WIX (CMS) - Advanced
Other (Hootsuite, Unbounce, Mailchimp, Constant Contact etc.) - Proficient