Marketing Executive and Entrepreneur Joe Kuna brings expansive consumer experience to bear for growth and midsize companies across industries.

WASHINGTON-- Chief Outsiders, LLC, the nation's leading strategic marketing firm comprised solely of C-level marketing executives continues its nationwide expansion with the addition of CMO Joe Kuna to its Southeast team.  An industry heavyweight in direct marketing, Kuna brings vast experience in the "customer-focused discipline" to help companies in all sectors energize their business growth through business development, new customer acquisition, optimized customer retention and improved profitability. Based in Northern Virginia, Kuna will work with CEOs throughout the U.S. to see their vision through strategy and execution.

Kuna's C-level experience spans both general management and marketing success. Prior to joining Chief Outsiders, he held a progression of roles at Time Warner's Time-Life division, including President & General Manager of Time Life Books and EVP of Marketing & Media for the company as a whole. More recently Kuna founded and directed a full-service marketing firm – KUNAdirect – contributing to the success of DTC companies across an array of consumer categories, including Content & Publishing, Entertainment, Home Services, Consumer Collectibles, Automotive, On-Line Services and Health & Wellness among others.

"Whether your business is consumer, B2B or even government contracting, the digital marketing reality has made every company – to varying degrees - a direct marketer," said Kuna. "The scientific methods once employed exclusively by traditional DTC companies are now mainstay in a world that insists on – and has the tools to measure – incremental ROI on each discrete marketing expenditure.  In addition to offering a traditional brand marketing and business development perspective, I look forward to helping CEOs of small to mid-sized companies harness the power of the discipline to grow their business efficiently and realize their vision ultimately."

"Joe has been an immediate fit into the tribe," said Tom McCrary, Southeast Managing Partner. "Like all of our talented people, Joe brings a P&L mindset with a considerable marketer's toolset. His experience as a C-level marketer, entrepreneurial sense as a business owner and consultative approach to working with CEOs are what it takes to grow mid-size businesses today. He is an excellent addition to the Southeast team and I look forward to see the success of his clients."

Joe earned his MBA in Marketing, Finance and International Business from Northwestern University's J.L. Kellogg School of Management. His BS degree in Marketing is from Indiana University. He can be reached at jkuna@chiefoutsiders.com.

About Chief Outsiders

Chief Outsiders, LLC, an "Executives-as-a-Service" firm, helps grow mid-sized companies from coast-to-coast with more than 40 part-time, or fractional, Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) who have held positions of VP Marketing or higher at one or more operating companies. These individuals' breadth of experience makes it possible for Chief Outsiders to put the right skill set on a leadership team of any company for a fraction of the cost of a full time executive. Unlike other strategic marketing and management consulting firms, Chief Outsiders works with company leadership teams to develop and implement market based growth plans. Chief Outsiders believes delivering a world-class marketing strategy on its own creates little value and that the real value is created by helping the organization implement the growth vision.

Because of its market based growth plans, leadership and experienced team, Chief Outsiders was recently listed by Inc Magazine as one of the 600 fastest growing privately held companies in the US (in the top 10 in Houston) and recognized for the Houston Business Journal's Fast 100. Businesses seeking Chief Outsiders as a premier source include: ErgoGenesis, Five Stone Tax, Summa Technologies, and Riverside Company portfolio companies OnCourse Learning, YourMembership.com and IDoc, Source Capital portfolio companies such as Abutec, and Merrill Lynch Specialties Group portfolio companies such as EarthColor.

CONTACT: Sterling Wilkinson, 817.771.2997, SWilkinson@ChiefOutsiders.com