Rick Chavez

Rick is an innovator with two decades’ experience at the forefront of the digital revolution. His experience spans a wide range of organizations – from pure start-up ventures through to $80 BN global corporations – as senior executive, advisor and Board member. Some of his current clients are potential disruptors grappling with rapid growth; others are incumbents mounting their own defensive, transformational initiatives to ward off threats from disruptors. Over the last ~25 years he has guided growth and innovation strategies and programs at companies that include Adobe, American Express, D&B, Fox Home Entertainment, Kinko’s (now part of FedEx), Microsoft, University of Michigan, WalMart, and Yahoo! He collaborates with Geoffrey Moore and his work has been the basis of case studies in Geoffrey’s most recent books on innovation, Escape Velocity and Zone to Win: Organizing to compete in an age of disruption.

Rick’s most recent operating role was with Microsoft, where he served as Chief Solutions Officer for Microsoft Advertising and Consumer Monetization, General Manager of Marketing Solutions, and founder of Microsoft’s Solution Studio415. He built and led an inter-discipline team of designers, analysts, consumer researchers, and software wizards to co-innovate marketing solutions with global corporations, drawing from Microsoft’s portfolio of consumer, internet, and enterprise assets. He worked with senior leadership and the CEO on growth initiatives at the intersection of cloud computing, sophisticated analytics, and business model innovation. He authored unique points of view and was a frequent keynote speaker on shared across a wide range of publications and events, including AdWeek, Ad:Tech, ARF Re:Think, ProXXima, and Cannes Lions.

Prior to Microsoft, Rick was a managing director with TCG Advisors, a boutique strategy and transformation firm based in Silicon Valley and founded by Geoffrey Moore. He served as interim GM with Adobe where he helped catalyze Adobe’s move into the Customer Experience Management category; Adobe was quickly acknowledged as the market leader and used CEM as the springboard to significant revenue growth and increased market value. He served as interim executive for LOBBY7 (CEO) and Vice President, Corporate Development for Brix Networks (Vice President, Corporate Development). LOBBY7 was acquired by Nuance (NASDAQ: NUAN) and Brix was acquired by EXFO Corporation (NASDAQ: EXFO). He co-founded Viant Corporation where he worked on all aspects of getting the company and its brand established as a leader in the digital services sector, from startup through launch and successful IPO. Rick launched the first digital strategy offering in the management consulting sector while with CSC Index; he served on the management team of Cambridge Technology Partners; and he was President of Marble Associates, an early internet software pioneer.