Ric Elias
Ric Elias | |
---|---|
Born |
San Juan, Puerto Rico | May 21, 1967
Alma mater |
Boston College (B.S.) Harvard Business School (MBA) |
Organization | Red Ventures |
Title | CEO of Red Ventures |
Website |
www |
Ric Elias (born May 21, 1967 in San Juan, Puerto Rico)[1] is the co-founder and CEO of Red Ventures (private), a technology-driven marketing and sales services company headquartered in the Charlotte, North Carolina region.[2] Elias was a survivor of Flight 1549, an event which drastically changed his life [3] and led to his widely viewed Ted Talk “3 things I learned while my plane crashed.” A recipient of Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year Award, [4][5] Elias is cited as aspiring to create the “Google of the East Coast” within his company’s culture and facilities.[6]
Early years
Elias was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Moving to the United States for college, Elias knew very little English and had to improvise: "I adjusted my schedule and took only classes that dealt with numbers my entire first year.” [7][8] He earned a B.S in accounting from Boston College in 1989 and his MBA from Harvard Business School in 1994.[9][10]
Career
Elias began his career in General Electric’s financial management program. He then moved to marketing services company CUC International/Cendant, where he would meet Dan Feldstein, co-founder of Red Ventures.[11][12] In 1999, Elias and Feldstein formed Red F, which served as a precursor to Red Ventures.[13][14] Red F formed in the aftermath of the dot-com implosion of mid-2000, and was predominately an online discount and loyalty program that evolved into a marketing consulting firm. In 2005, Dan and Ric sold Red F to focus on developing Red Ventures, which focused on customer origination on behalf of service-related brands.[15]
Red Ventures
Red Ventures specializes in customer origination for large brands in high-growth industries including telecommunications, insurance,[16] energy, software and financial services.[17][18] Red Ventures controls end to end customer origination by leveraging proprietary technologies, advanced web analytics, and an in-house sales force.[19] Focusing on expanding their presence in the Carolinas, Red Ventures selected Fort Mill, South Carolina for its corporate campus.[20] The main campus touts Silicon Valley style benefits, including a full sized basketball court, gym, putting green, bowling alley, beer garden, cafeteria, as well as yoga and spin classes.[21] Red Ventures also has two offices in Charlotte, North Carolina and acquired marketing firm Imagitas in Waltham, Massachusetts, in 2015. Employing more than 2,500 employees, Red Ventures has been voted a Best Place to Work by the Charlotte Business Journal,[22][23][24] and has twice been ranked among the top 20 fastest-growing companies on the Inc, 500 list,[25][26] growing more than 30% a year since 2008.[27]
Personal life
Ric Elias was a passenger of Flight 1549 which crash-landed in the Hudson River in New York in January 2009.[28] Surviving the crash was a transformative moment in Elias’ life. Two years following the crash he spoke publicly for the first time at a Ted Conference with the talk “3 things I learned while my plane crashed,” which has generated more than six million views.[29] In 2012 Ric Elias launched a non-profit that helps undocumented students attend college. Elias invested $2 million of his own money and raised $700,000 in private donations to fund the program.[30] Golden Door has expanded, launching an offshoot called “Techworks” (now known as "Code2Hire" [31]) which provides high school graduates with career-readiness training and employment in the field of Web development.[32]
References
- ↑ http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/print-edition/2012/12/21/charlottenewsmakers- 2012-ric-elias.html
- ↑ http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20140609/PC05/140609268
- ↑ http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/05/08/elias.plane.crash/index.html?iref=allsearch
- ↑ http://www.inc.com/articles/201111/linkedin-reid-hoffman-jeff-weiner-wins-entrepreneur-of-the-year-award_Printer_Friendly.html
- ↑ http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2011/11/14/elias-named-ernstyoungs.html
- ↑ http://centralnc.twcnews.com/content/news/708543/red-ventures-opens-new-building-to-become--the-google-of-the-east-coast-/
- ↑ http://www.ted.com/speakers/ric_elias
- ↑ http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=32780954&privcapId=35648939&previousCapId=35648939&previousTitle=Red%E2%80%A6
- ↑ http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=32780954&privcapId=35648939&previousCapId=35648939&previousTitle=Red%E2%80%A6
- ↑ https://www.alumni.hbs.edu/stories/Pages/story-bulletin.aspx?num=3296
- ↑ http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=32780954&privcapId=35648939&previousCapId=35648939&previousTitle=Red%E2%80%A6
- ↑ http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/03/03/v-print/4737637/charlotte-area-based-firm-red.html
- ↑ http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/stories/2007/11/05/story2.html
- ↑ http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/stories/2005/02/28/focus5.html
- ↑ http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/stories/2007/11/05/story2.html
- ↑ http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2012/04/03/red-ventures-buys-homeinsurancecom.html
- ↑ http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2008/08/22/v-print/142942/red-ventures-fuses-marketing-selling.html
- ↑ http://www.inc.com/magazine/20081001/the-2008-inc-500-investors-guide.html
- ↑ http://www.heraldonline.com/2014/03/06/5744695/red-ventures-consolidates-sales.html
- ↑ http://www.heraldonline.com/2013/04/11/4766009/haley-helps-red-ventures-break.html
- ↑ http://insurancenewsnet.com/print.aspx?id=515528
- ↑ http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/print-edition/2011/11/11/best-places-to-work-unique-culture.html
- ↑ http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/print-edition/2012/11/16/best-places-to-work-top-ranked-large.html
- ↑ http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/print-edition/2010/11/05/A-well-established-employee-focused.html
- ↑ http://www.inc.com/inc5000/list/2007
- ↑ http://www.inc.com/inc5000/list/2008
- ↑ http://sccommerce.com/news/press-releases/red-ventures-expanding-lancaster-county-headquarters-adding-200-jobs
- ↑ http://www.vanityfair.com/style/features/2009/06/us_airways200906.print
- ↑ http://www.ted.com/talks/ric_elias
- ↑ http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/06/14/v-print/4107343/exec-plans-on-more-golden-door.html
- ↑ http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article17951633.html
- ↑ http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/05/06/v-print/4891376/online-training-site-helps-undocumented.html