On the heels of bringing on board Thomas Spellios as Chief Financial Officer and Matthew Barker as Chief People Officer this summer, Astound has now created the roles of Chief Strategy Officer, Chief Solutions Officer, and Chief Revenue Officer—with Astound cofounders Igor Gorin and Ilya Vinogradsky becoming Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Solutions Officer, respectively. Terry Hunter, most recently CEO of Astound Commerce UK, will take the reins as Chief Revenue Officer. These C-suite leaders will report into Astound Global CEO Michael Kahn (MK).
Astound’s in-market leadership will remain consistent and strong, with Vanessa Cartwright becoming CEO of Astound Commerce North America, Samuel Cane becoming the Managing Director of Astound Commerce UK, Lars Feldscher continuing in his role as CEO of Astound Commerce DACH, and David O’Sullivan continuing in his role as Managing Director of Astound Commerce MENA. These four established Astound leaders are deeply committed to strengthening client and partner relationships in the markets they have long served, and all will report into Chief Revenue Officer Terry Hunter—signalling a move away from a franchise model to a global platform for growth.
“We are at a critical moment in the history of the company calling for organizational change—a moment characterized by unprecedented marketplace demand and exceptional business growth opportunity,” says MK. “In response, we realized we needed this change to our structure to create greater alignment, collaboration, and scale to go and grow.”
“The pandemic made it clear that change is constant, and more than ever our clients are looking to work with a very responsive, flexible partner who can provide the highest-level quality of work and expertise,” says Chief Strategy Officer Igor Gorin. “This organizational change makes it possible for us to offer the best value to our clients while scaling our business.”
“You can expect the same high-quality work you have come to rely on from Astound, but with improvements in speed and agility,” adds Chief Revenue Officer Terry Hunter. “The CRO team in particular is committed to optimizing all areas and interactions across our business, as we work to accelerate and enhance business revenue generation for our clients.”
As Chief Strategy Officer, Igor will focus on corporate strategy, acquisitions, and investments, while Terry will focus on go-to-market sales, marketing, practices, and products. Chief Solutions Officer Ilya Vinogradksy will oversee solutions management and resourcing, with the aim of providing aligned, agile, and flexible strategic solutions covering all of Astound’s capabilities.
This latest milestone in the company’s North Star plan, launched in the beginning of 2020 with the aim of making Astound the global market leader in digital commerce, follows the May announcement of a major investment in the future of Astound by Los Angeles–based RLH Equity Partners. That investment fueled Astound’s efforts to expand its capabilities and global footprint, and the restructuring announced today significantly accelerates progress toward that goal.