Zach Mader: Director of Development and Growth @ Backbone Media in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Backbone Media is one of the nation's leading integrated marketing agencies with capabilities across paid and earned media. At Backbone, we are for people and brands who want to move: we hone, amplify, and stoke brands in the active lifestyle space and beyond. Backbone has consistently been recognized as one of Outside Magazine’s “Best Places to Work” and has been shortlisted in the prestigious PRWeek Awards, illustrating you can cultivate a culture with work/life balance and execute award-winning work. Visit us in person in Denver or Carbondale, Colorado, online at backbone.media, or on Instagram @backbonemedia.

Head of Sales and Partnerships, Commercial Division (Advertising Sales, Operations, Client Services, Marketing, and a branded content creative studio). Accountable for driving growth, leading all facets of the sales process, including strategy development, identifying new opportunities, prospect outreach, presentations, negotiating, and closing partnerships.

Launched and led the inception of the Commercial Division of Gear Patrol. Served in a player/coach role in the first 18 months while recruiting, onboarding, and scaling the team based on revenue growth and profitability. • Successfully led sales and partnerships team through a strategic investment from Hearst Magazines in 2018 while growing revenue by 49% year-over-year. • Led the launch of retail initiatives including the launch of Gear Patrol magazine in 2015, along with several limited edition product collaborations and in-person events and experiences.

The role of Account Director entailed overseeing the complete sales process, cultivating robust business relationships with clients and potential customers, identifying their needs, and delivering solutions aligned with the organization's key metrics and results. • Condé Nast/Style.com Q4 Seller of the Quarter Achievement Award for achieving 140% to target. • Responsible for revenue across all product mediums across multiple categories and territories: American Fashion, Luxury, Footwear, Consumer Electronics, Technology, and Spirits.

Individual contributor Sales and Team Management responsibilities across integrated media platforms including New York Magazine and NYMag.com, Vulture, The Cut, Grub Street, The Strategist, and Intelligencer. • Assigned key management accounts as an individual contributor, and managed a team of six account executives.

Cultivated relationships with advertisers, including ensuring client satisfaction and retention. Pre- to post-sale specialization in managing client accounts, and meeting and exceeding revenue targets. • Awarded VVM’s annual “All-Star”, which was awarded to only the top sales reps within the company. • Exceeded targets while simultaneously spearheading new sales growth initiatives in print and online.

Built and maintained relationships with advertisers, ensuring revenue goals were met while strategizing to expand the client base. Developed advertising solutions tailored to clients' needs while maximizing impact and ROI. • Consistently exceeded revenue goals and new account business targets. • Awarded top salesperson of the year by the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies (117 newspapers nationally)