Richard Rivera Email & Phone Number

New York, Ny, Us

New York, Ny, Us

Founder and CEO of an entrepreneurial EdTech business focused on the emerging and advanced technology market (EmTech) with a mission to facilitate the sharing of knowledge and know-how across the technology landscape by providing a community-driven platform for sharing ideas and inspiring open dialogue to advance technological capabilities in business and in people across the globe. ModalityIQ provides access to a community-based, knowledge sharing platform that facilitates learning from others through personalized learning experiences and preferred learning modalities.

San Francisco, California, Us

Since 2012, MLconf has been a premier conference and content source for machine learning enthusiasts who want to connect with the brightest minds in Data Science & Machine Learning and learn the most recent updates on the use of machine learning techniques and algorithms. Speakers at our events who share their lessons learned with our community typically include technical leaders from Google, Facebook, Amazon, PayPal, Nike, Red Hat, Thumbtack, Comet, Continual, and many more!

Torrance, California, Us

Developed overall vision and strategy for the business including transforming it from a family-run information services business to an agile and growth-oriented organization via market expansion, new product development, and an overall focus on improving the people, processes, and technology of the company. Responsible for all facets of the business including full P&L management, sales, marketing, finance, events management, human resources, operations, technology and research. Developed a high-performing executive leadership team including adding a new CMO, CFO, and CDO. Worked closely with the Board of Directors and the Private Equity sponsor to expand business verticals (Automotive, Beauty, Public Safety) via acquisition opportunities and successfully closed and integrated 2 transformational deals, both of which allowed us to expand into adjacent market verticals. Also led product development efforts to create an innovative marketing services lead generation and qualification tool that generated $1MM in sales across the first 6 months.

Chicago, Il, Us

Responsible for the day-to-day operations of the business which serves the retail, CPG, and beauty industries including managing sales, marketing, finance and accounting, information technology, and operations. Ensured the company had the proper operational controls, administrative and reporting procedures, people and systems in place to effectively operate and grow the organization and to ensure financial strength and operating efficiency. As CFO, ensured compliance with financial regulations, made sure the books were properly closed on a timely basis, communicated value and risk to the Board of Directors and Private Equity investors, operated an efficient, effective and high-performing finance organization that provided financial planning and analysis, treasury, tax, and other finance and accounting services to the business. Implemented a fully integrated advanced marketing and customer data platform (Omeda), sales/CRM platform (Salesforce) and finance and accounting platform (Financial Force) that automated the quote to cash and procure to pay processes of the business and streamlined operations resulting in significant efficiency gains and greater customer data visibility.From a strategic point of view, influenced the direction of the company by aligning business and finance strategy to grow the business whether via M&A activities or organic growth in addition to driving business improvement initiatives such as improved enterprise cost reductions, procurement, pricing execution, and other process improvements and innovations.

New York, Ny, Us

President and CEO of the former CFO Publishing business transforming, expanding and rebranding it into a Marketing Services and EdTech business serving the finance and technology sectors. Developed overall vision and strategy for the business including branding, market and product expansion, program and content development, and product innovation. Managed five (5) executive leadership team members across multiple geographies (UK & US) and units/functions, including sales and marketing (SVP), finance (CFO), editorial (CCO), conferences management (President), as well as R&D and engineering (CIO). Led organization to double-digit revenue growth and 17% year-over-year EBITDA expansion. Eventually prepared business for sale on behalf of Private Equity sponsor including developing the offering memorandum and leading the management presentations culminating in a successful sale of the business in 2016.

Washington, District Of Columbia, Us

Provided business and technology executive leadership in the areas of strategic planning, corporate development, business continuity, security, product development, project management, business systems implementation, web and eCommerce development, infrastructure and facilities management, and marketing and research while also co-managing sales organization. Key accomplishments included: developed and launched a new SaaS-based subscription-based EdTech business branded CFO Learning, which generated $1MM in ARR in its first year of operation, with customers such as The World Bank, Pixar, and Experian; developed and launched a data centric, SaaS-based subscription product branded CFO Metrix, with customers such as Novartis and The Boston Beer Company, including designing and managing requisite organization and directly hiring sales, product development, marketing, and technology staff and also contracting/partnering with external resources.Implemented a fully integrated advanced marketing technology and customer data platform (Marketo), sales/CRM platform (Salesforce) and finance and accounting platform (Financial Force) that automated the quote to cash and procure to pay processes of the business and streamlined operations resulting in significant efficiency gains and greater customer data visibility. Developed a new content management system (CMS) that automated editorial processes and implemented analytics tools such as Parse.ly and Chartbeat that optimized and increased content consumption. Revamped the entire marketing organization and operation resulting in greater lead generation and customer satisfaction and retention.

London, Gb

United Business Media acquired Commonwealth Business Media in 2006 where I continued as Chief Information Officer.Provided executive leadership as head of global IT, Operations, Digital Media, and New Product Development. Held decision-making authority with a focus on strategy, budgeting & planning, business continuity & disaster recovery, management of infrastructure and software development services, organization design & development, emerging technologies, enterprise architectures, strategic alliances, acquisitions, and vendor relations. Managed six (6) direct and eighty (80) indirect professionals across five (5) locations within the US and UK. Executive member of leadership team charged with guiding the operational and strategic direction of all business units within the portfolio.Accomplishments: Successfully restructured failing multi-million dollar Mainframe-to-Server migration project resulting in $3mm in annualized cost savings and increased data processing efficiency; Provided development services to launch numerous digital products for magazine, directory, and information services business units; Implemented rapid application development processes using Agile software development methodology; Established offshore Agile applications development ‘Center of Excellence’ via vendor partnership allowing for faster development at a lower cost; Evaluated and implemented Oracle ERP solution – a two year, $5mm project to centralize and automate accounting, sales, and H/R worldwide; Evaluated and integrated 3 acquisitions during this time period with combined revenues of approximately $50mm.

Provided executive leadership as head of IT, Operations, Digital Media, Finance and New Product Development. Held decision-making authority with a focus on strategy, budgeting & planning, business continuity & disaster recovery, security, management of infrastructure and software development services, organization design & development, emerging technologies, enterprise architectures, strategic alliances, acquisitions, accounting, and vendor relations. Managed 4 direct and 30 indirect professionals at 3 locations within the US and Canada. Executive member of senior management team charged with guiding the operational and strategic direction of all business units within portfolio. Accomplishments included: establishing a new multi-million dollar infrastructure and office space as part of the separation from Primedia; lead the development of two Java/Oracle eCommerce solutions that reached combined annual revenues of $4 million in the first 2-years; successfully re-engineered legacy data validation system increasing level of automation by 25% resulting in annual savings of over $1 million and revenue growth of over $6 million; evaluated and integrated 4 acquisitions during this time period with combined revenues of ~$35 million.