Ben Austen Email & Phone Number

United Kingdom

Sliema, Mt

London, England, Gb

London, England, Gb

Challenged to build a Demand Generation function from zero whilst reporting to the Marketing Director and leading a team of 2 direct reports. Defined ICP, Segmentation and Demand Strategy whilst designing the sales process and cadence. Sets and executes the Demand & Sales Enablement Strategic Roadmap. Doubled marketing contact database using email, paid and social and maximised interest in SocialValue Portal products by establishing a best-in-class Demand Generation function. Implemented multi-channel marketing initiatives resulting in two-fold uptick in engagement frommarketing comms in 2023 vs. 2022; identified ICP, defined segmentation strategy and implementedscalable sales process and cadence. Delivered on evolving business priorities, notably leading on a project to clean up HubSpot andSalesforce systems, an initiative to overhaul reporting/KPIs, actioning of GDPR and new contact rules. Drove 150% marketing qualified leads (MQLs) in 2022; deployed HubSpot Inbound approach whilstexpertly profiling customers, defining segmentation, identifying buyer journey and crafting path topurchase. Optimised LTV/CAC ratio; launched first of its kind at Social Value Portal analysis of LTV and CACdimensions and created E2E process to facilitate required funnel visibility. Scaled new customer acquisition by 80% through integrated sales and ‘always on’ marketing nurtureacross HubSpot and Salesforce platforms. Drove up-sell to a “complete customer” via ABM.

London, England, Gb

Transitioned to central Blenheim Chalcot (BC) venture builder team following five years at Avado, a BCportfolio business. Fast-paced role with reach across portfolio ventures, reporting to the co-founder. Authored business case for investment and incubation of two potential new ventures; recognised andadvised that there was not a commercial opportunity for further investment. Drove up student enrolment by 300% by leveraging existing BC businesses to facilitate overseasstudents studying abroad at university. Tested and learned via proprietary audiences and partnershipwith existing education agents. Penetrated HealthTech vertical; harnessed BC’s relationship with Imperial College and determined bestentry point via clinical trials. Identified FinTech payments opportunity and commercialised Covid studyand database run by Imperial.

London, Greater London, Gb

Handpicked to support scaling and pre-transaction activities of Avado Group. Mandated to act ascommercial lead for the sale of the business whilst reporting to COO. Positioned Avado for sale; partnered with FP&A to produce underlying models for businessfundamentals and coordinated cross-functionally to achieve a seamless transaction process. Optimised the financial position of the business by facilitating FY22 budget process Group-wide and led a strategic transformation workstream that optimised Avado. Reviewed and updated Avado’s IP protection across all major stakeholders, architected e-commerce asa new sales channel and improved data capability and insight orientation across the company.

London, Greater London, Gb

Accountable for commercial targets of Avado’s largely consumer-focused segment and all marketing and sales support functions. Owned P&L of professional qualifications (£MM target, & 55% margin contribution) and oversaw 50-strong headcount. Spearheaded key business initiatives. Member of SLT, reporting to CRO. In control of a £MM marketing spend. Central catalyst behind the upward trajectory of Avado, with market share growing from 15% to 45%between 2017 and 2021 and FTE increasing from 100 to & 400. Defined and executed powerful Demand Creation strategy that underpinned consistent over-achievement of sales targets underpinning £MM EBITDA in 2021. Re-branded Avado as Commercial & Marketing Lead (alongside agency) for brand strategy projectresulting in a new look and feel, position, value prop, brand hierarchy and website. Improved forecasting, automation, SaaS implementation, mapping leads and streamlining lead flowleveraging technology and digital innovation; deployed CRM (Salesforce) and marketing tools(HubSpot). Maximised the value generated for Avado from its relationships with agencies and key brand/marketing partners; at the forefront of agency and partner relationships. Managed and monitored delivery againstagreed SLAs. Led launch of Agility Academy, a brand-new division for Avado generating forecasted Y1 revenue of£MM; steered cross-functional teams encompassing sales, marketing, product and tech to launch 6 newproducts (learning courses). Strengthened the competitive advantage of Avado by elevating the existing consumer propositionthrough onboarding of new financing partners.

London, Greater London, Gb

Group-level, growth-focused role with an emphasis on expanding lead generation and professionalising the Marketing function whilst reporting to the MD. Directed 12-person team and controlled a marketing budget (£MM spend). Set and executed commercial targets. Transformed Marketing team capability across the Group, positioning the function as a critical value-add enabler whilst concurrently onboarding digital agencies to deliver on growth expectations. Awarded lead role for website rebuild and standardisation of marketing systems and process;implemented HubSpot and WordPress for Marketing automation and website. Addressed previousmarketing team process inconsistencies.

Co-founder of a Search agency, running Paid Search, Paid Social and SEO for clients

London, England, Gb

At the forefront of a 20+-strong team comprising Paid Search and Paid Social specialists. This was anintegrated role operating across all ATL channels and media plans with sister agencies, UM and Initiative. Enabled seamless adoption of “Encore” search methodology globally; created G14 training andconducted across US, Brazil, Japan, Germany and India markets. Won 25+ new clients for Reprise Media, including major names such as J&J, Microsoft and TheEconomist. Pitched around the globe.

London, Central London, Gb

Clients worked on included P&O, Bathrooms.com, Microsoft and Logitech in the UK.Adobe was a global account working on an affiliate model.

Economic And Social Studies, Politics And Development

Education record