Chris L.

Product Leader | Kellogg MBA

New York City Metropolitan Area

About

Senior product leader with 10+ years of experience building online, high-volume & consumer-driven lead generation products at Bankrate.com, Cars.com, Apartments.com and Cappex.com. Currently lead the mortgage product at Bankrate, recently acquired by Red Ventures. Prior to Bankrate, grew ed-tech startup Cappex.com to profitability by connecting more than 7.5 million students with 750 university clients in the U.S. and 8 other countries. As VP Product at Apartments.com, led product team to successful product launches and redesigns that increased conversion 25%. Launched Cars.com’s consumer e-commerce business. BS, Journalism, Northwestern University. MBA, Kellogg School of Management. Specialties: Consumer internet products (b2b, b2c and marketplace), product vision, product roadmaps, prioritization, product team leadership, Agile development process, general management, budgeting, entrepreneurship, operations management, strategy & business development, conversion optimization, online marketing, personnel management, product planning, hiring product managers, Salesforce.com, Web analytics, SQL.

Experience

  • VP of Product at RocketReach.co
    Apr 2021 - Present · 5 yrs 3 mos

  • VP, Consumer at automotiveMastermind Inc.
    Aug 2019 - Dec 2020 · 1 yr 5 mos

  • Senior Director at Red Ventures
    Mar 2017 - 2019 · 1 yr 11 mos

    Lead product development strategy and execution for Bankrate.com’s mortgage products, including rate tables, content, calculators and lead funnels across desktop, tablet and mobile.

  • Owner & Principal Consultant at Product Management Strategies
    Jan 2016 - Mar 2017 · 1 yr 3 mos

    Independent consultant in product management, startup growth and business operations.

  • Cappex.com (Greater Chicago Area)
    • President & CEO
      Feb 2015 - Oct 2015 · 9 mos

      President & CEO of profitable ed-tech startup in the college admissions space. Hired, managed and developed core executive team including marketing, product development, HR, finance, technology, sales and operations. Highlights: • Led 65-person company to profitability and market leadership in the college admissions & scholarships space. Built sales team that captured 35%+ market share with more than 750 clients in 8 countries. • Increased revenue 25%+ YOY through transformation of business model from recurring, fixed subscriptions to volume-based pricing on a per-lead basis. • Conceptualized and executed marketing programs (SEO, affiliate, direct) driving 1MM+ student registrations and 5MM+ inquiries to colleges per year. 25% of targeted audience joins Cappex annually. • Launched algorithmic tool and other product enhancements that increased inquiry generation per registered user by more than 40%. Led marketing, product and technology teams in that effort. • Introduced lifecycle marketing program to increase repeat visits, social activity and site engagement by more than 20%. Reduced customer acquisition costs by 15% through optimization of paid channels.

    • President & COO
      Jun 2007 - Feb 2015 · 7 yrs 9 mos

      • Transformed business model from for-profit lead generation to recurring subscriptions from 760+ not-for-profit institutions across 8 countries. • Expanded market share over 3-year period and achieved profitability while establishing company as the leader in online college admissions recruiting for traditional not-for-profit schools. • Launched College Greenlight, a companion service to Cappex that helps 150 top-tier institutions connect with first generation and traditionally underserved students supported by a network of 1,000 community-based organizations. • Managed acquisition of STARS Online, a SaaS-based online scholarship management platform (successfully divested in 2015).

    • Vice President Product Management
      Jun 2007 - Feb 2008 · 9 mos

      • Implemented fulfillment process for company’s core lead generation products. • Expanded company footprint globally through acquisition of StudyinBritain.com, which expanded client base to colleges in the UK and Ireland.