Chad Wollen

Current

Director of Marketing Strategy at ITV

Past

Freelance Consulting at Chad Wollen Ltd
Director, Insight, Foresight & Innovation at AOL UK
Director, Insight, Foresight & Innovation at AOL Europe

Director, Insight & Innovation at AOL UK
Freelance Internet and Mobile marketing consultant at Chad Wollen Ltd
Head of Marketing & Strategy,Yahoo! Mobile Europe at Yahoo! Europe
Senior Manager, Corporate Developement & Strategy at Yahoo! Europe
Associate Director, Media & New Media Practice at The Henley Centre
Head of Knowledge Venturing at The Henley Centre
Head of Media Futures Research Programme at The Henley Centre
Researcher, Media Futures at The Henley Centre
Head of Research at NetResult Ltd
Co-ordinator at Wired Sussex
Consultant at Polis Research

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Education

University of Sussex
University of Sussex
University of Sussex

Holland Park

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Recommended

6 people have recommended Chad

Connections

500+ connections

Industry

Internet

Chad Wollen’s Summary

Senior marketing and insight executive with 15 years experience with online:
• As a graduate student I was understanding and analysing the internet;
• As a consultant I was forecasting and predicting its impact and evangelising its importance to blue chip clients;
• As a manager, with two of the biggest brands online, I was driving consumer centric and digital approaches to innovation, monetisation and brand development.

Always the marketer and never the nerd, my focus is benefits over features; consumer’s lives over the bleeding edge; and, commercial impact rather than what’s cool or hot.

My passion, vision, conviction and natural empathy build strong motivated teams and empowered individuals.

I have an “inter disciplinary” approach to life coupled with a need to challenge the received wisdom – I think differently because I am different. Creativity and innovation are in my heart. I have a drive to be original, to continually break new ground and think about what might be round the corner

At my core I am consumer marketer and digital media specialist with restless need to drive change, innovation and create success.

Chad Wollen’s Specialties:

Consumer Insight, Market Research, Innovation, Vision, Consumer Trends and Futures, Business Intelligence, Web Analytics, Customer Experience/Customer Processes, Behavioural Targeting, CRM, Brand Positioning, Brand Strategy, Proposition Development, Marketing Strategy, Customer Segmentation, Product Marketing & Management, Digital Media & Marketing, Mobile Media & Marketing

Chad Wollen’s Experience

Director of Marketing Strategy

ITV

(Public Company; 5001-10,000 employees; Broadcast Media industry)

May 2008 — Present (3 months)
Freelance Consulting

Chad Wollen Ltd

(Privately Held; Myself Only; Marketing and Advertising industry)

February 2008 — May 2008 (4 months)

Working with Enders Analysis (www.endersanalysis.com) on projects concerning media consumption and advertising trends and due diligence of an online media company
Director, Insight, Foresight & Innovation

AOL UK

(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; TWX; Internet industry)

January 2007 — February 2008 (1 year 2 months)

Responsible for Business Intelligence, Customer Expirence & Media Innovation
Director, Insight, Foresight & Innovation

AOL Europe

(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; TWX; Internet industry)

June 2007 — February 2008 (9 months)

Responsible for Business Intelligence, Customer Processes, Consumer Insight & Media Innovation
Director, Insight & Innovation

AOL UK

(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; TWX; Internet industry)

December 2005 — January 2007 (1 year 2 months)

Responsible for Consumer Insight, Competitor Intelligence, Data Strategy, Product Marketing & Proposition Futures.
Freelance Internet and Mobile marketing consultant

Chad Wollen Ltd

(Privately Held; Myself Only; Marketing and Advertising industry)

January 2005 — November 2005 (11 months)
Head of Marketing & Strategy,Yahoo! Mobile Europe

Yahoo! Europe

(Public Company; 1001-5000 employees; Internet industry)

November 2002 — January 2005 (2 years 3 months)
Senior Manager, Corporate Developement & Strategy

Yahoo! Europe

(Public Company; 5001-10,000 employees; Internet industry)

July 2002 — November 2002 (5 months)
Associate Director, Media & New Media Practice

The Henley Centre

(Public Company; 11-50 employees; Marketing and Advertising industry)

January 1996 — July 2002 (6 years 7 months)

Worked on 100 consultancy projects providing consumer centric insight and strategic advice to over 40 clients. All the projects focused on understanding consumer needs, attitudes, behaviour, satisfaction and impact new media on commercial and everyday life.
Managed The Henley Centre’s research and insight process; developed new research and analytical approaches, methodologies and technique; won two highly commended and two merits in WPP's Atticus Awards.
Media expirence across press interviews with every broadsheet newspaper and most trade verticals; appeared on CNN, BBC and numerous radio programmes; presented at over 30 conferences (UK and international).
Spearheaded The Henley Centre’s knowledge management strategy; reviewed knowledge needs; founded The Henley Centre’s Quality, Innovation, Communications awards, which rewarded excellence & shared best practice.
Head of Knowledge Venturing

The Henley Centre

(Public Company; 11-50 employees; Marketing and Advertising industry)

January 2000 — July 2002 (2 years 7 months)

Developing The Henley Centre’s reputation for thought leadership in the sphere of consumer insight and strategic marketing. Responsible for the Knowledge Capital Fund (5,000 hours) to invest in the dev. Also overseeing the Planning for Consumer Change & Media Futures research initiatives and the maintenance of their legacy (over 20 years of research) as an insight assest for The Henley Centre's core consulting practice.
Head of Media Futures Research Programme

The Henley Centre

(Public Company; 11-50 employees; Marketing and Advertising industry)

1998 — 2000 (2 years)
Researcher, Media Futures

The Henley Centre

(Public Company; 11-50 employees; Marketing and Advertising industry)

January 1996 — January 1997 (1 year 1 month)

Media Futures 1997 was a synducated project to develop a ten year view on the key consumer, social and technology trends which would impact the way people and adverisers use the media and so change the business models of the media industry.
The Henley Centre commissioned the first online survey in the UK (UK & US respondents) to support Media Futures 1997.
Clients included the BBC, Oglivy & Mather, J. Walter Thompson, United News & Media & British Telecom.
Head of Research

NetResult Ltd

(Privately Held; 1-10 employees; Internet industry)

January 1995 — January 1996 (1 year 1 month)

Responsible for research and planning at this First Generation internet advertising agency based in Brighton.
Co-ordinator

Wired Sussex

(Government Agency; 1-10 employees; Public Policy industry)

January 1995 — January 1996 (1 year 1 month)

Responsible for the "Pre Cursor" work and organisation which led to the formation of Wired Sussex.
Wired Sussex is the business development agency for over a 1,200 digital media companies across Sussex and south east.
Consultant

Polis Research

(Privately Held; Myself Only; Public Policy industry)

July 1994 — January 1995 (7 months)

Project on the social and economic impact of new media on East Sussex. This project was part of the Structure Plan for East Sussex County Council.

The focus of the project was explaining the importance of emerging internet and digital media technologies and placing them in the context of the growing new media sector in East Sussex centred around Brighton.

Chad Wollen’s Education

University of Sussex

Phd, Title: "A tale of two cities: The relationship between urban space and cyber space", January 1995 — January 1997

Supervised by Professor Roger Silverstone at the Graduate Centre in Culture & Communications (CulCom). As part of my studies I audited the Geography MA at Sussex.

Unfortunately, my thesis remains unfinished as working life made continued study impossible.
University of Sussex

MA, Media & Cultural Studies, 1993 — 1994

The MA was taught at the Graduate Reseach Centre in Culture & Communications
University of Sussex

BA, International Relations, 1989 — 1993

I attended the School of English & American Studies.

Activities and Societies:

Elected to Vice President Finance sabbatical poistion at the University of Sussex Student Union
Holland Park

1979 — 1988

Additional Information

Chad Wollen’s Groups:

The Marketing Society, The Institute of Direct Marketing, Product Development & Management Association, The Society for Consumer Psychology, Association of Consumer Research, American Marketing Association, Web Analytics Association, ACM