Driving growth and guiding teams through change with Tim Richards 

Few roles have undergone as significant a transformation as that of the Chief Revenue Officer. Tim Richards, a seasoned revenue leader with a career spanning giants like TimeWarner and AOL, as well as digital innovators such as Linqia, Nextdoor, and Amaze, offers a unique perspective on navigating this dynamic terrain.  

In our latest episode of Revenue Reinvention with Accenture, Richards discussed the multifaceted challenges facing modern CROs, from market fluctuations to team leadership, providing invaluable insights for those at the forefront of organizational growth. 

Listen now to hear: 
 

Tim on the CRO adopting servant leadership: “You have to view yourself as the conductor of a symphony. You can't be aligning yourself with the trumpets and the percussion section and blow off everything else. You have to view yourself as a leader and a harmonizer of the whole thing, whether they report to you or not… That is a form of servant leadership because you're not just focusing on your directs or getting promoted—it's about making the whole thing work.” 

Tim on the impact of a creative strategy team: “If you have an elite creative strategy team, they make a dramatic difference in driving ideas that resonate with your customers. It becomes less about grinding you on CPMs and slamming you in a spreadsheet, and a lot more about the idea, who you're touching, and about creating experiences. Usually when I show up,  that's the first thing I focus on actually. You'll see it by investing in that creative strategy group for sure.” 

Tim on the value of human relationships: “There's always been threats of technology taking jobs and it never goes down the way people think it is simply because the human element is so important, your relationships are important, and the trust that you build and you earn over time are important. When you're working at scale and you're working with a lot of fragmentation, mistakes happen, always happen. But, it's all about being great at  handling it, solving it, owning it, and making sure it doesn't happen again—being that person that people can count on.” 

Links and resources 
 

About Tim 

Tim Richards is the former Head of Global Sales at Nextdoor, a position he held since November 2022. In this role, he led Nextdoor's global direct advertising sales strategy and market expansion, with the aim of accelerating the company's global growth and reinforcing its commitment to serving advertisers, partners, and consumers. Prior to joining Nextdoor, Richards served as the Chief Revenue Officer at Linqia, an influencer marketing platform. During his time there, he successfully rebuilt the revenue organization to focus on enterprise brands, resulting in exponential revenue growth and improved customer retention.    

Richards has a strong background in sales and marketing, with experience that includes serving on the Board of Directors at Amaze since March 2022. He was also inducted into the Hall of Fame by the Bay Area Interactive Group (SFBIG) in April 2015, recognizing his contributions to industry and community.  

In terms of education, Richards attended Miami University and completed the Driving Sales Performance program at Kellogg Executive Education.