Richard Heald

Experience Strategy Consultant

West Newton, Massachusetts, United States

About

Experience strategy and digital consulting leader with 25+ years of experience helping B2B and B2C brands drive growth through customer insight, digital optimization, and cross-functional transformation. Expertise in experience strategy, UX and customer research, lifecycle strategy and data-driven decision-making. Proven track record turning research and analytics into actionable strategies that improve acquisition, loyalty and business performance.

Experience

  • Experience Strategy Consultant & Researcher at Freelance
    Feb 2026 - Present · 6 mos

  • VP, Director, Experience Strategy at MERGE
    May 2019 - Jan 2026 · 6 yrs 9 mos

    - Directed generative and evaluative research projects for a leading BCBS health plan to shape personas, journey frameworks and digital/CRM roadmap for key life-cycle moments, including onboarding, Medicare transition and the birth of a child. - Led user research and drafting of an industry-leading assessment of member portals for major health plans, generating leads and elevating agency’s position as a trusted strategy partner. - Led retail, competitive and heuristic assessments backed by site analytics to identify gaps and improvement opportunities across health care, insurance and financial services.

  • Director, Strategy at BEAM Interactive
    Jun 2006 - Apr 2019 · 12 yrs 11 mos

    - Led an insight-driven optimization program for MINIUSA.com, using customer feedback, analytics, and journey data to drive major performance gains over three years. - Managed the redesign of athenahealth.com, increasing leads by 58% - Led research, workshops, and digital strategy initiatives to improve lead generation, customer experience, and brand performance.

  • Strategy Supervisor at Mullen Advertising Inc
    Jun 2005 - Jun 2006 · 1 yr 1 mo

    - Directed integrated marketing strategy and a $52M budget for Liberty Medical. - Co-led re-architecture of the 3Com partner portal, aligning requirements, segmentation, and user needs into the future-state strategy. - Helped shape Akamai’s interactive growth strategy through lifecycle analysis and roadmap development.

  • Manager, Pricing & Packaging at OnStar
    Dec 2000 - May 2005 · 4 yrs 6 mos

    - Led development of a multiyear subscription program that drove a 10x increase in multiyear contract sales. - Created a promotional test strategy that reduced net price discount per retained subscriber by 30%, generating $2.5M in annual savings. - Directed lifecycle initiatives for XM Radio subscribers in GM vehicles, projected to improve retention by 12% and deliver $8M in value.