A fast-growing Blue Ash-based tech firm has hired a 10-year Procter & Gamble alum – and a well-known supporter of Cincinnati's startup scene – for a newly created role in its C-suite.
InfoTrust, a digital analytics consulting company, has named John Stieger its chief of staff, effective in June. Stieger spent the biggest chunk of his career at P&G, with more recent stints at local startup support group Cintrifuse and Navistone, an Over-the-Rhine venture-backed tech marketing firm.
The position, a first for the company, reports directly to InfoTrust CEO Alex Yastrebenetsky.
Stieger serves as Yastrebenetsky’s first line of defense and acts as the communication arm for the CEO with team members, clients, community members and other stakeholders, among other duties.
Stieger said it plays to his biggest strengths. At P&G, he served as a senior director, or an “executive utility infielder,” in his words, joining in the Cincinnati-based firm’s $57 million acquisition of Gillette Co. in 2005.
He’s also held roles in sales, consulting, consumer service and marketing, is a local angel investor and has helped a number of startups raise capital.
InfoTrust’s mission, he said, was also a critical attractor. The company funnels a portion of its profits into its nonprofit arm, the InfoTrust Foundation, to fund a variety of causes spanning across education, health care, gender equality and more.
“I love companies that are firmly committed to Cincinnati – that are anchored here and are growing and hiring here,” Stieger told me. “There's also a fantastic ‘give to grow’ mentality. The company's sense of purpose is not spin. I’m in the second half of my career, so who I work with and having a cause I care about is important. There's a lot of discretionary effort you can unlock by tying it to a greater cause, and that's absolutely the case for me.”
The chief of staff role is multifaceted: There’s some administrative-type work. Stieger manages tasks, projects and other information on behalf of Yastrebenetsky and runs point on special projects.
But he also serves as a “smokejumper,” Stieger said, taking on ad-hoc strategic initiatives that don’t yet live with any other team in the organization. “Work we’d not necessarily hire a full-time, long-term role for,” he said.
InfoTrust has high targets for growth over the next five years in terms of both revenue and headcount. Stieger said that, in turn, will mean a bigger impact locally.
Most of the InfoTrust Foundation contributions filter back to the region. It has contributed to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, United Way of Greater Cincinnati, Cincinnati Public Schools and more.
“There’s lot of examples,” Chase Howell, InfoTrust’s VP of marketing, said. “It’s very cool that (the foundation) continues to be a big attractor for talent coming into the company.”
InfoTrust, founded in 2010, offers digital analytics consulting and data governance services, so its clients can make more data-driven decisions.
The company is regarded for its Google Analytics expertise – it currently ranks as the largest privately held Google marketing platform sales partner in North America, Howell said. It's also steadily ranked as one of the region’s fastest-growing firms, placing No. 3,096 on the Inc. 5000 in August. InfoTrust reported 2022 revenue of $24.3 million, a 92% increase over 2020.
The company currently employs around 150 people. Roughly half of its team is based in the area.
