Today we’d like to introduce you to Denise Conroy.
Denise, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
A love of numbers led me to a career in marketing. In my senior year of college, I took a course in empirical methods. It’s basically polling and statistics. I fell in love with the idea of figuring out what makes people tick. That led me to my graduate studies and an early career in market research. I grew up in a very creative household, as my Mom is a graphic designer. As a kid, I loved to draw, paint and write, very quickly, I distinguished myself as a numbers geek who could connect the dots and come up with creative ideas to reach consumers. I parlayed that unique skill set into an executive career in marketing.
In 2004, I got my big break when I landed my first job in TV at The Outdoor Channel. I started as the head of research, and 18-months later I had worked my way up to the VP of Marketing role.
A few years later, HGTV came calling, and I landed the role of Chief Marketing Officer. It was a true turnaround gig. HGTV’s ratings had been stagnant for six years, and their viewers were rapidly aging out of the 25-54 demographic. That’s the demographic that advertisers pay for, and without it, a TV network is dead in the water. My charge was to find younger viewers fast. I reorganized the marketing team and revamped the network strategy with a programmatic playbook. “Programmatic” is a fancy word for targeted advertising, and I was one of the first marketers in the TV industry to try it. Believe it or not, it’s difficult for people to stop doing things that others are doing. The TV industry is very much a herd mentality, and breaking that was a battle. Thankfully, my strategy was wildly successful. When I came to the network, we were the #17 network. When I left, we were #9.
I left HGTV in 2014, on a whim really. I knew that I was ready to run a network, but there isn’t a lot of turnover at Scripps; people tend to stay a lifetime. I might have waited five to ten more years to run something, and patience isn’t my strong suit. So, one cloudy day in January, I was in the middle of a meeting, and I resigned on the spot. It’s the most impulsive thing I’ve ever done. My friends and family thought I was nuts. I embarked on a 10-month journey to find my first CEO role. I was very picky.
When I met Iconic Group’s private equity sponsors, I knew I had found my home. They’re two metrics-driven guys, and they “got me” instantly. Iconic is a $100m event photography retailer that operates in three segments: graduation, endurance running and holiday. At our peak season, we have 10,000 employees.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
There have obviously been struggles, but it’s hard for me to recall a lot of them specifically. The struggle is part of the journey. In fact, overcoming obstacles is what has made me better.
I can recall two struggles specifically. First, I’m a change agent, and it’s hard to live in businesses that eschew change at every turn. I’ve worked at companies that needed to make hard decisions to survive and thrive and instead chose to preserve an ineffective, inferior status quo. These companies would rather languish in mediocrity than win. Attitude is everything. You can’t transform people with a losing attitude into winners.
Second, I’ve built my career on respect, transparency and being direct. Not every organization wants that — especially from a young-ish woman. As someone focused on leading people to win, I don’t have time to play games.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Iconic Group – what should we know?
Iconic Group is a private equity-backed, $100M event photography retailer. We have four brands: GradImages, University Photo, MarathonFoto and Worldwide Photography. GradImages is our largest and fastest growing brand and focuses on the college and high school graduation markets. University Photo is dedicated to sorority photography. MarathonFoto is our only international brand, capturing images at the most prestigious marathons in the world. And, Worldwide Photography is our holiday retail segment, capturing Santa and Easter Bunny photos at malls across the country. We take over 50 million consumer images per year!
Our brands are best known for flawless execution. We capture iconic moments in a consumer’s life, and our employees take that very seriously. That’s also what separates us from our competition.
I’m most proud of our employees and their ability to make the impossible happen by being open-minded, flexible and focused on the details. Last year was a transition year and was full of necessary change. We hit some bumps. Now, we’re in the middle of the strongest graduation season ever, and we just celebrated the highest revenue day in the company’s history. Big things are happening, and we’re achieving that together.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
My Dad was a mentor to me from an early age. He taught me the merits of being transparent and direct. He also instilled in me a sense of pursuing greatness. He used to say, “Denise, never go to the school of good enough.'” Dad was convinced that the world is full of people who do an average job and never want more. He wanted me to strive for being the best in everything I do.
I learned my work ethic from my Mom. She’s the real Wonder Woman. She was a small business owner, and she had four kids. Often, the only time she could work was in the middle of the night, after we were in bed. She’d regularly pull all nighters to put food on our table, and she treated it like it was no big deal. She’s the most mentally tough person I’ve ever known, and she taught me that nothing is impossible with enough hard work.
Finally, my private equity sponsors, Dave Thomas from Raymond James and Steve Skoler from Friend Skoler, have been tremendous mentors to me. As a rookie CEO, there’s a lot to learn. Those guys are open, patient and wise. It’s been an honor to work for them, as I’ve learned so much.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.iconicgroup.com
- Phone: 470-558-3000
Image Credit:
Iconic Group, Inc.
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