The 2018 Fastest Growing Firms: Chief Outsiders

Consulting: What were the main factors that contributed to your firm's exceptional growth?

Saxby: Over the past year, our fractional Chief Marketing Officers' opportunities have continued to increase as a result of assisting Private Equity firms with portfolio company top line growth. As a result of the demand, we've expanded to over 60 CMOs who travel across the United States to provide growth-oriented insights to a range of small- and mid-market enterprises. Soon, we'll reach 70 part-time executives to meet the desire for our services. 

Consulting: How is this year shaping up for your firm?

Saxby: 2018 has been another momentous year for Chief Outsiders—in addition to our rapid rise in the PE segment, we are experiencing double-digit growth as a result of our clients' high degree of satisfaction across a variety of industries and segments. We also earned our fifth-straight spot on the Inc. 5000 list as one of the country's fastest growing private companies, an achievement afforded to only six percent of the organizations in the rankings.

Consulting: How would you describe your firm's outlook for 2019? Where do you see the most opportunities?

Saxby:  Mid-market companies are now discovering they can tap a fractional CMO with a market-based perspective, best-in-class insights, and an ROI-centered vision for growth to drop into their organization, tune up their strategy, and oversee the changes most critical to their business. Our goal is to assist these enterprises while continuing to leverage opportunities with PE clients.

Consulting: What would you say are your firm's biggest challenges in 2019?

Saxby:  Over the next year, we will focus on scaling our sales function in support of our goal of reaching 70 CMOs. Building out another layer in our sales function will allow us to keep up with the demand for our "Executives as a Service" insights.

Consulting: What does being named one of Consulting's Fastest Growing Firms mean to your firm, your employees and your clients?

Saxby:  It's a testament to our tribe of CMOs, who enjoy making big things happen for their clients and also relish in the opportunity to learn from and support one another. It is also an acknowledgment of how we stand out from other consulting firms, in that none of our fractional executives are lifelong consultants, but rather, senior executives who bring their crystalized strategies and enthusiasm for growth and success from large companies.