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Low tide beach walks

Chief Marketing & Chief Strategy Officer

Marketing & Sales

Solutions-oriented brand leader with 16+ years of experience in marketing agencies and brands across global markets. Data-driven strategist who views insights as a key ingredient to success. Steward of storytelling and relatability. Empathetic and humble leader who likes to coach and inspire. Identifier of opportunity and scalable growth. Combines two complementary skill sets and perspectives: classic brand management + driving growth for businesses by meeting consumers where they are.

Brands Experience:
American Honda Motor Co., Marriott International, Brooks Running, Toyota, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, AB InBev, Boehringer Ingelheim, Grifols, VCA Animal Hospitals, Michaels, Make-A-Wish, & IRONMAN

The idea to form Groundwork Endurance came from a fiery desire to be involved and engaged in the running community in a capacity that is undeniably fulfilling. The company proudly owns and operates the iconic Carlsbad 5000. Since the inaugural race in 1986, the World’s Fastest 5K has been more than just a catchy tagline. For the past 36 years, the Carlsbad 5000 has served as a proving ground for Olympians and amateurs alike. The race is home to some of the fastest road 5k times ever run, including the course record of 12:59.5 by Sammy Kipketer, and has seen numerous World Records, US Records, and National records set throughout its iconic history.

https://carlsbad5000.com

Founder

Recruited by CEO and Board of Directors to build the envisioned future and maximize the opportunity for sustainable growth

Responsible for: 
- Architecting and overseeing the implementation of scalable healthcare brand and marketing strategies in close partnership clinical operations
- Strategically leveraging and integrating consumer insights to drive the brand voice, vision, and marketing  of tailored and brand relevant messages across all tactics including content development, demand generation, social, sponsorships & activations, reputation management, PR, and corporate communications
    -- +14% growth in social media followers, +139% conversion rate improvement, 50% reduction in CPL & CPA 
- Instilling and reinforcing the highest standards of customer support by guiding Patient Services (call center) in continued efforts for a superior New Patient Onboarding Center of Excellence 
- Leading Recruiting and supporting retention efforts to develop, motivate and retain high potential talent; Built Applicant Tracking System in lieu of a subscription service; Contributed to build of development plans to create a bench of highly effective leaders

After a few new adventures and many years away, I found my way back to Targetbase to lead and contribute to the strategic marketing direction for our clients. By deeply understanding company objectives, data-driven customer insights, and competitive assessments, my role focused on consumer-centric marketing strategies, the design and sale of innovative solutions for clients, and collaborating with a multifunctional team to provide them the knowledge and enablement to ensure all delivery fulfilled the brand strategy.

- Recruited by CEO to return and strengthen agency capabilities with a focus on omnichannel strategies that draw insights from data analytics
- Researched and analyzed purchasing habits, characteristics of shoppers, and preferences to identify market opportunities for clients, and translated those insights into digestible materials for clients to quickly understand and action
- Developed methodology for and implementation of agency-wide win/loss retrospective evaluation process to identify areas of operational improvements

Senior Director, Strategy

Xplor (formerly TSG) is a global provider of software and payments solutions for the health & fitness and childcare industries. I was responsible for cultivating a unified-brand mindset companywide and driving strategic marketing opportunities across the organization. I left the company after supporting the successful early exit of the previous Private Equity owners who recruited me to join in 2018. My position sat within the Global Marketing team and reported to Group Chief Marketing Officer. The Global Marketing function is responsible for US, UK, Europe, AU, NZ, and Japan marketing.

- Recruited by CMO and Private Equity firm to launch a global marketing function and brand architecture for a rapidly growing company
- Captured and synthesized competitor and industry insights to identify significant opportunities and threats via analyses, market research, and interviewing functional leadership from operations to product development
- Supported the development of digital presence across all channels including a complex, multi-region, multi-language, global website implementation
- In partnership with the CMO, built a persuasive analysis that shifted B2B advertising spend from ‘budget to opportunity’, defined the global strategic integration to support regional growth plans, and optimized marketing spend

Senior Director, Global Brand Marketing & Strategy

––Competitor Group was acquired by IRONMAN in June 2017––
The iconic IRONMAN® Series of events is the largest participation sports platform in the world. Since the inception of the IRONMAN® brand in 1978, athletes have proven that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE® by crossing finish lines at the world’s most challenging endurance races. I was retained in the wake of the acquisition of Competitor Group. Success in this role was measured by growth in first-time athletes, retention of existing athletes and lift in event registrations for Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series and IRONMAN triathlons. 

- Established brand pillars with strategic positioning and developed a roadmap for creative services and operations in order to refresh the brand identity and product delivery
- Worked with the team to develop new marketing campaigns to spread brand awareness, renew sponsor and partner confidence, and better-position the brand for future growth
- Managed relationships with multi-sport coaches and professional athletes, as well as community management of the most loyal customers

Senior Director Global Marketing - Brands, Programs and Athlete Development

––Competitor Group was acquired by IRONMAN in June 2017––
Competitor Group, Inc. (CGI) was the active lifestyle industry’s leading media and event entertainment company. CGI owned and operated 36 events around the world, including the flagship Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series which welcomed more than 600,000 professional and amateur participants in its peak. During my time at Competitor Group, I led digital marketing strategies and teams, including paid media, SEO, email marketing, social media and content marketing. 

- Directed digital marketing agency efforts to support the global brand marketing
- Improved ROI (200-400% ROAS) through enhancements to the digital marketing strategy by working collaboratively with functional leaders to analyze existing efforts and institute continuous recommendations to the plan
- Developed business requirements and managed the successful launch and integration of company’s first CRM
- Managed community team responsible for brand ambassador program, including application and selection process, content planning, and partner integration

Director of Marketing, Customer Engagement

Targetbase is a data-driven, strategic communications agency that provides marketing technology, business intelligence, analytics and creative services to its clients. In addition to core marketing programs and strategies, throughout my time at Targetbase, I was responsible for maintaining and improving client relationships, leadership of teams, and management of both internal and external resources. 

- Served as the conduit between the agency and the agency’s cornerstone clients 
- Managed CRM-enabled campaigns for relationship, sales and service direct marketing strategies for American Honda Motor Co. which improved brand advocacy, grew purchase intention 10%, and delivered 36% growth in sales with an 8% increase in loyalty
- Project execution from concept to delivery including scope definition, project planning, budget management, creative development, and QA

Director, Client Services

Ashley Gibson is a Chief Marketing & Chief Strategy Officer at Groundwork Endurance in San Diego, CA.

Ashley Gibson

Ashley Gibson

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