Andy Stefanovich

Andy Stefanovich
Nationality American
Occupation consultant, author, speaker
Known for marketing, speaking

Andy Stefanovich (born 1966) is an American speaker, bestselling author, and business consultant.[1][2] A native of Detroit, Michigan, Stefanovich is currently a partner with Richmond, Virginia-based VC firm New Richmond Ventures LLC.[3][4] Previously, Stefanovich was "chief curator and provocateur" at Prophet, a creative design consulting agency based in San Francisco.[5][6][7]

Early Career & Prophet

Stefanovich graduated from Miami University in Ohio.[1] In 1990, he founded Opus Event Marketing after having worked in the sales department of Ritz-Carlton.[8] The company originally focused on event planning for corporations, but eventually shifted into a creative marketing firm focusing on product development, branding, and positioning; working with organizations and businesses such as Colgate-Palmolive, American Express, Calvin Klein, Disney, Oscar Mayer and the U.S. Olympic Committee.[1][9][10] In 1999, the company was renamed Play, and Stefanovich remained as founder.[11][12]

Play was acquired in 2009 by Prophet, where Stefanovich was named senior partner.[13] As part of the acquisition, Play's Richmond location became part of the Prophet network of offices.[14] Stefanovich regularly speaks at corporations such as Coca-Cola, Disney, General Electric, and Procter & Gamble.[15]

Local Ventures & Activism

In 2011, Stefanovich co-founded a venture capital firm called New Richmond Ventures (NRV) with three other prominent Richmond businessmen: Bob Mooney, Jim Ukrop, and Theodore Chandler, Jr.[4][7] NRV has a focus on local and "social impact" and has made early-stage investments in a number of companies including MedCPU, PlanG, and Plugless Power.[16][17] In addition to NRV, Stefanovich co-founded a second local incubator in 2012 called Men In Shirts that invests in 3 or 4 companies each year in the $50–$150,000 range. Their investments include Richmond-based men's shirtmakers, Ledbury, and a brewery named Ardent Craft Ales. In addition to capital, Stefanovich provides "marketing and strategy advice."[18] In 2013, Stefanovich curated Richmond's first TEDx event—called TEDxRVA—around the theme "CREATE".[19]

Speaker & Author

Stefanovich is a frequent guest on CNBC, where he talks about innovation and thought leadership, and Fast Company.[20][21][22][23] Stefanovich is also a visiting professor and guest lecturer at universities including Yale University, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Duke University, and Dartmouth College.[1] He has delivered several TEDx speeches, including for NASA, London Business School, and TEDxYouth.[24][25][26]

In 2011, Jossey-Bass, an imprint of Wiley Publishing published Stefanovich's first book Look at More: A Proven Approach to Innovation, Growth, and Change.[27][28] Look at More was an Inc. bestseller and named one of Ad Age's "Ten Marketing Books You Should Have Read" in 2011.[29][30][31]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Llovio, Louis. Andy Stefanovich looks to get people and companies to think creatively. Richmond ‘’Times Dispatch’’. June 4, 2012.
  2. ↑ Leonard, Deanna. 7 Innovation Questions for Andy Stefanovich. innovationexcellence.com. October 10, 2011.
  3. ↑ "Andy Stefanovich: Executive Profile". Bloomberg BusinessWeek.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 New Richmond Ventures principal Andy Stefanovich offers ex-pat view of Detroit. "Michigan Venture Capital Association". October 9, 2014.
  5. ↑ Stainbum, Samantha (September 12, 2011). "How to make innovation a part of even the smallest firm's everyday routine". Crain's Chicago Business.
  6. ↑ McDonough-Taub, Gloria (August 5, 2011). "Business Lessons from the Beastie Boys". CNBC.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Hazard, Carol.>Firm Seeks to Liberate Entrepreneurs. ‘’Richmond Times-Dispatch’’. November 26, 2012.
  8. ↑ "EVENTS & PROMOTIONS: ON A ROLL: ANDREW STEFANOVICH". Ad Age. May 26, 1997.
  9. ↑ Dahle, Cheryl. Mind Games. Fast Company. December 31, 1999.
  10. ↑ Andy Stefanovich Profile. Fast Company. December 31, 1999.
  11. ↑ "Huffington Post Profile". Huffington Post.
  12. ↑ "Andy Stefanovich Innovation, Growth and Change". BoxofCrayons.biz. August 31, 2011.
  13. ↑ "Prophet acquires Play". MandMGlobal.com. January 14, 2009.
  14. ↑ Hodge, Sally Saville (January 14, 2009). "Prophet and Play Join Forces". PR Newswire.
  15. ↑ Spicer, Paul. "Dig That Gig: Andy Stefanovich, Chief Curator and Provocateur at Prophet".
  16. ↑ Move Forward in their Own Words. GRID. February 4, 2014.
  17. ↑ NRV Companies. New Richmond Ventures Website. cited May 16, 2014.
  18. ↑ Dovi, Chris (December 10, 2013). "Capital City: A panel of Richmond investors who put their minds and money behind local startups". Richmond Magazine.
  19. ↑ Erickson, Christine (March 28, 2013). "Why Small Cities Are the Lifeblood of TEDx". Mashable.
  20. ↑ Deutsch, Donny (October 20, 2008). "Human Resources". CNBC.
  21. ↑ Goldman, Beth (October 14, 2008). "CNBC PRESENTS "COLLABORATION NOW," A FIVE-PART PRIMETIME GLOBAL SERIES". CNBC.
  22. ↑ "THE BUSINESS OF INNOVATION SERIES". RCTM.com.
  23. ↑ 30 Second MBA. ‘’Fast Company’’. Cited December 12, 2012.
  24. ↑ TEDxNASA. "Provocative Questions and Bold Statements". YouTube.
  25. ↑ TEDxLondonBusinessSchool. "The Museum Mentality". YouTube.
  26. ↑ TEDxYouth. "Play and Prophet". YouTube.
  27. ↑ Smith, Dave (April 4, 2011). "How to Institutionalize Inspiration in Your Company". Inc.
  28. ↑ Stefanovich, Andy (2011). Look at More: A Proven Approach to Innovation, Growth, and Change. Jossey-Bass. p. 208. ISBN 0470949775.
  29. ↑ "Washington Speakers Profile". WashingtonSpeakers.com.
  30. ↑ "33 Voices Interview". 33Voices.com.
  31. ↑ "Ten Marketing Books You Should Have Read". Ad Age. December 12, 2011.

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