Company: Richardson
Company Description: Richardson is a leading global sales training and consulting firm. We are unique in the depth and breadth of our comprehensive blended sales training curriculum. For 25 years we have delivered training, coaching, and consulting to our clients to build world-class teams. We provide our clients with the skills, processes, and tools they need to win.
Nomination Category: Management Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Upstart of the Year

Nomination Title: David DiStefano, CEO

Tell the story about what this nominee achieved since January 1 2012 (up to 525 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:

David DiStefano, President and CEO of Richardson, continues to innovate and lead in ways that keep Richardson ahead of its competitors and promotes the company as a leader in the crowded sales training industry.    

David led Richardson to greater growth in 2012 even as the external environment created uncertainties within markets, and buying/selling patterns continued to change. As a private company, Richardson doesn’t release its financials, however, profitability for the year is expected to be 11% ahead of target, on revenues that will exceed target by several percentage points.    

Among the many drivers for this improved 2012 performance are key new organizational roles, changes and additions in products and services, expansion into China, and an internal culture initiative:   

1) David created the new position of Chief Strategy Officer to drive Richardson’s market, product, and corporate strategy and planning – and to share critical insights with customers to help them win in today’s changing market. This new role was essential to capture the voice of the customer and to develop insights to spur innovation in the company’s offerings, bolstering Richardson’s position as a thought leader.    

2) David also created the new position of Vice President, Change Management and Enablement, to both direct change management within the company’s consulting services and to design enablement tools that support and measure behavior change. This dovetails with the transformation of the consulting practice over the past 12 months, from Sales Readiness to Sales Enablement, which now helps sales organizations initiative, lead, and sustain change to execute their sales strategy.    

3) Historically, Richardson has been an organization focused on selling skills, not necessarily selling strategy. That changed in 2012 with the introduction of  new program: Richardson Collaborative Account Development™ (CAD). CAD trains sales professionals to develop effective account plans that can uncover new opportunities in strategic accounts and anticipate contingencies. The key word in CAD is “collaborative,” helping sales professionals to become a valued partner.    

4) Global Expansion - Richardson forged a strategic partnership with KeLogic to jointly provide sales training and performance improvement solutions in China.  As part of the partnership, the two companies have developed a full line of localized sales performance improvement solutions including assessments, customized sales training, and post-training sustainment tools.    

5) With the continued changes in B2B selling and the industry, David initiated an internal review that has now become a three-year culture initiative called Richardson 2015. The intent is to look at the entire operation and the efficiencies and opportunities of every process, including forms and documentation, from presale to implementation. This will ensure Richardson continues to have an efficient and effective platform from which to operate and grow the business.    

Other key achievements:  
 
• Record revenue, up 11% from 2011   
• Record number of people trained, over 75,000 in 2012   
• Record training days delivered, up 7% from 2011   
• Record client forum attendance, up over 25% from 2011   
• Record client retention, over 90% in 2012   
• Record number of new clients, up 32% from 2011   
• Record web traffic, up over 25% from 2011   
• Named a Top Sales Training Company for the fourth consecutive year, according to Training Industry Inc.   
• Won numerous Gold and Silver Medals from Stevies

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Provide a brief (up to 125 words) biography about the nominee:

David J. DiStefano is Richardson President and Chief Executive Officer. Over a  career spanning nearly three decades, he has managed finance, operations,  sales, and demand generation functions, with successful senior management  experience in both early-stage and global organizations. He joined Richardson  in 1992, rising to his present position in 2006. Since then, he has led the  company to significant year-over-year growth, and Richardson was named as  an “Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Company” for three consecutive years. In 2011, he  was honored with a Best-in-Biz Award for "Executive of the Year." Prior to joining Richardson, he spent 10 years with PwC.