Rithum, a leading global eCommerce network and platform, has announced the appointment of Lou Keyes as CEO. Keyes joined the company in June as Chief Revenue Officer. He has already launched new growth initiatives that have helped to set Rithum’s leadership position. He will continue to lead the go-to-market organisation as CEO.
Keyes succeeds Bryan Dove, who joined the company in May 2021. As of writing, Dove has not updated his LinkedIn profile. It is unclear why Dove departed the company or whether he has a new role in a different company.
Adam Berger, executive chairman of Rithum, commented, “We’re excited to announce Lou Keyes as the new CEO of Rithum. The board has full confidence in his leadership skills and his track record of fostering growth and scaling businesses. As a leader in third-party commerce, Rithum is experiencing great momentum with new products that have already been adopted by several retailers. We look forward to Rithum’s continued success with Lou and its ability to drive profitable growth for its customers.”
Who is Lou Keyes
Keyes has over 30 years of experience in the technology industry, most of which were spent in marketing and sales roles. He joined Rithum from Conduent where he was EVP and Chief Revenue Officer. At Conduent, he transformed the sales organisation, re-organising it as a centralised team. The results were spectacular. It reversed a 3-year decline and increased sales in 2020 by 94% to $1.9 billion.
Keyes is no stranger to working in different-sized organisations, from small to enterprise. He started his career at Electronic Data Systems. Shortly after HP acquired EDS, Keys left to join Fiserv as Senior Vice President, Sales and Enterprise Accounts, Global Sales Organization. During his time there, the company saw a jump in revenues.
After Fiserv, he joined York Risk. He was a member of the Executive Committee responsible for sales and account management. Keyes led the transformation of the sales organization. He changed it from a decentralized, product speciality sales team into a centralized, customer-focused sales and client management organization. Again, the sales increased during his tenure.
Lou Keyes, Rithum’s Chief Executive Officer, commented, “It’s an honour and privilege to assume the role of CEO and lead Rithum into its next phase of growth. The e-commerce market is ripe for disruption, and I’m eager to unlock new opportunities for our company and deliver exceptional value for our customers.
“Together with our customers, we’ll lead the way in third-party commerce, shaping a future that enhances both adaptability and competitiveness for brands and retailers.”
Enterprise Times: What does this mean
The owners seem to believe they have the right man to transform the organisation as it looks to accelerate growth and fight off competition. Keyes has proven his ability to transform sales organisations, and the market for third-party commerce is set to grow. Keyes clearly has the trust of the board. It will be interesting to see whether Keyes has the remit to grow his executive team and whether, in time, he hires a new CRO.
