Rob Cooper

Experience in establishing businesses and culture by recruiting and leading exceptional, high-performing, and happy teams

10 years founding & growing multiple software professional services business as CEO and principal consultant from 1 to 100 employees.

Transformed an insolvent B2B electronic marketplace company that incubated the NZ equivalent of eBay to profit within 6 months. Delivered 11 different online marketplaces and platforms in six different industries. 

Founded and grew an online trading B2B marketplace to a $200 million company with 200 employees in two countries, with over $1B in exchange volume.

Managed SaaS platform building mobile first ecommerce sites optimize for SEO and lead conversion. Developed Artificial Intelligence strategy. Stabilized a distressed business and prepared it for sale.  

Strong track record of successfully raising capital, having secured over $80 million in funding through six financing rounds. 

Effectively collaborated with brokers and investment bankers to develop information memorandums, and pitch decks. Excelled in delivering compelling road show pitches and meetings to VC/PE firms.

Ability to communicate and present a company's vision and potential has been key to securing funding and driving growth. Deep understanding of Regulation CF and Regulation D capital raising rules. 

Led consultation, evaluation, competitive pitching, detailed RFP responses, data analysis and analytics, proposals, deal closing, contract negotiation, and execution on dozens of enterprise customers or strategic partnerships.

Personally, led the efforts to win large, strategic, multi-million dollar deals with 4 multi-billion-dollar companies, including a fortune 50 company, in a competitive process against the world's largest technology companies.

Managed executive engagement with multiple long term, bold, industry changing strategic partnerships that have endured for more than 15 years.

Skills and expertise building transformational platforms through strategic relationships, user-centric design, and carefully crafted economic incentives that leverage market forces.

As CEO and principal consultant of an online marketplace creation agency, led the design and implementation of 11 marketplaces and platforms across six industries.

Hands-on leadership and expertise in marketplace design, platform design, experience design, market entry planning, stakeholder engagement, pricing strategy, economic modeling, scenario analysis, data analytics, product design, market dynamics, strategic partnering, and more have allowed me to drive successful outcomes.

Developed and led an innovative onboarding strategy that successfully engaged, trained, onboarded, launched, and supported 60,000 full-time users from 15,000 companies in less than 12 months.

Experience in international expansion, having conducted evaluations of various overseas markets to determine the best options for expansion, after spending significant time on the ground evaluating and rejecting several promising markets due to uncovered challenges in market dynamics. 

As CEO, successfully led the expansion of my New Zealand business into the United States through a long-term strategic partnership with State Farm, the largest auto insurer in the US. This 10-year relationship, which grants us top tier vendor status and direct C-suite access, is just one of 10 such partnerships at State Farm. 

Led all aspects of international expansion, including company setup, recruiting advisors and C-suite executives, building on-shore software development practices, field and enterprise sales teams, customer service and inside sales operations, customer success teams, analytics and decision support, and product management.

Seasoned software professional with 3 decades experience in building design, software engineering, enterprise software implementation, infrastructure, and operations teams using both waterfall and agile methodologies.

Led client engagement and project management for dozens of successful software products and projects in both Microsoft and React (MERN) stacks. Guided product development for online marketplaces, SEO, lead conversion, ecommerce, and artificial intelligence. 

Exceptional, hands on creative leadership skills in in platform design, experience design, market entry planning, stakeholder engagement, pricing strategy, economic/incentive modelling, data analytics, product design, market dynamics, strategic partnering, API’s, and integration.

The ability to understand technology at depth and learn details of architecture, standards, design tradeoffs, specifications, APIs, and read and write code has helped me to identify opportunities for business growth through software design and user workflows, and ensure that business goals and technical architecture are aligned.

• Engaged as an expert advisor and consultant for multiple high-growth SaaS software platforms, providing strategic guidance and insights to drive business growth and success. Examples include:
• Conducted a comprehensive analysis of an enterprise people resource management and scheduling SaaS platform, evaluating financial, strategic, technological, onboarding, implementation, customer success, and engineering aspects. Presented findings and recommendations to the CEO and board of directors, informing future investment decisions.
• Developed a strategic business plan and financial model for a SaaS supply chain platform in the medical/health supplies market. Provided strategic recommendations for expansion into the United States market, enabling the company to capitalize on new growth opportunities.
• Performed as an interim CTO and CEO for a distressed SaaS ecommerce company in the automotive industry, Became an authority in areas including SEO, digital marketing, lead conversion optimization, SEC financial regulations for car dealers, security protocols, identity verification, and the AI implications for SEO.
• Deeply researched cryptocurrency and Bitcoin to establish Bitcoin’s relevance to future technology and business trends and opportunities.
• Managed the planning, budgeting, conceptual design, business planning, and land acquisition, to investment ready stage for a boutique luxury hotel.
• Managed the growth of Bridget Cooper Design o be a leading interior design firm. 
• Completed certificates in Commercial Real Estate and Hotel Financing and Asset Management with Cornell University.

Led the creation of PartsTrader in the United States Market, securing a strategic partnership with the largest US insurance company, securing $80 million in funding, growing the business to a $200M enterprise with 200 employees, and a Software as a Service (SaaS0 platform that now trades more than $1.2 billion per annum in the automotive sector. Annual revenues (ARR) are in excess of $40 million in both subscription and transaction fees. 

Led all aspects of international expansion, including winning State Farm RFP against global technology competitors, negotiation a long term strategic alliance, company setup, recruiting advisors and C-suite executives, building on-shore software development practices, field and enterprise sales teams, customer service and inside sales operations, customer success teams, analytics and decision support, and product management.

Developed and led an innovative onboarding strategy that successfully engaged, trained, onboarded, launched, and supported 60,000 full-time users from 15,000 companies in less than 12 months.

Managed the transition over several years to a new CEO as part of a planned succession.

Transformed the automotive car parts and insurance sourcing markets through the development of the PartsTrader online marketplace.

Responsible for leading the platform and experience design, as well as driving sales efforts to secure commitment from major national insurance companies.

Successfully defended the platform against industry pushback and achieved a dominant 80%+ market share, with almost every insurance company in New Zealand now endorsing the platform.

As CEO of eCentric, a software services company specializing in building online marketplaces and trading exchanges, I was able to rescue the company from insolvency and achieve profitability within 6 months.

eCentric, delivered 11 different online marketplaces and SaaS platforms in six different industries, including selling the PartsTrader concept to New Zealand's largest insurance company. eCentric incubated the New Zealand equivalent of eBay, which remains a dominant player in the New Zealand market today.

Brokered the sale of eCentric to New Zealand's largest Microsoft software developer. Conceptualized, negotiated, and executed the creation of a new start-up (PartsTrader) from existing IP with acquirers, investors, and existing customers that subsequently created a $200 million-dollar business.

Successfully brokered and managed the acquisition of a regional services company while I was General Manager of one location. Led the transitioning of the team and integrating platforms and retaining staff during the transition period. Managed the planning, design, and implementation of nurmours enterprise software platforms and transformations, 

Appointed by Software Spectrum of country management responsibility for growing and managing the resulting professional services business for 80 software professionals in 4 locations, for a global software company with 26 locations worldwide.

Starting as an intern on the helpdesk, was repeatedly promoted to broader responsibilities eventually being appointed network manager for the regions entire public health system. Canterbury Health spanned more than 1500 computers over four hospitals. Completed Novell CNE, and Microsoft MCSE certifications. Oversaw the implementation of multiple enterprise software platforms spanning resourcing, HR, scheduling, patient management systems, and financial systems. 

SHA611 - Financial Analysis of Hotel Investments
SHA612 - Control of Hotel Real Estate
SHA613 - Developing an Asset Management Strategy
SHA614 - Achieving Hotel Asset Management Objectives
SHA615 - Valuing Hotel Investments Through Effective Forecasting
SHA616 - Valuing Hotel Intellectual Property and Structuring the Capital Stack

SHA581 - Introduction to Commercial Real Estate Development
SHA582 - Managing Real Estate Development Projects
SHA583 - Real Estate Investment Decisions
SHA584 - Financing Real Estate Investments
SHA585 - Leading Successful Property Management Operations
SHA586 - Optimizing Asset Management Strategies

Leading and Managing People in Organization’s                                      

Fundamentals of Financial and Accounting Management       

Decision Analysis and Support                                                           

Information Management