Leaders & Innovators: Matt Wise

MATT WISE is CEO of HelloWorld in Pleasant Ridge. HelloWorld Inc. (formerly ePrize), provides brands with a platform to communicate with consumers across the web, social and mobile channels, and at live events. Wise joined the company as CEO in March 2010. In his first year, he focused on the strategic expansion into mobile and social-enabled solutions, launching a multi-channel platform. Today, HelloWorld brings to market an SaaS platform. In the past three years, the company's revenue has nearly doubled and its client base has tripled. Under Wise's leadership, the firm acquired five companies, including promotions.com, and was itself acquired by private-equity firm Catterton Partners. HelloWorld has created promotional campaigns, CRM programs, and loyalty solutions in 44 countries for Fortune 500 brands and world-class agencies, including Coca-Cola, Microsoft, The Gap, Live Nation, Yahoo!, and Procter & Gamble. The company has more than 400 employees with offices in Chicago, Los Angeles, Nashville, New York, and Seattle. Prior to HelloWorld, Wise was president and CEO of Q Interactive, which became one of the largest performance-driven ad networks on the web. He was recognized as a Who's Who technology leader by Crain's Chicago Business three years in a row. Wise received his bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Iowa, where he is now on the College of Political Science advisory board, and his master's degree in international marketing and finance from DePaul University. Read the full profile at www.ltu.edu/leaders.