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SCOTT NICHOLS JOINS CLUTCH AS ASSOC VP/CLIENT SUCCESS, LESLIE FRIEND AS DIR/CLIENT SUCCESS
Source: CLUTCH news release

Minneapolis, Minn. - They may be based on opposite sides of the country, but the latest senior talent to join CLUTCH are completely aligned with the Minneapolis firm's goal of bringing creativity and business acumen to clients on a daily basis.

"In our business, what you can do for clients is 100% correlated to the talent you have on your team," said Troy Schroeder, founder/CEO, CLUTCH, a hybrid consultancy and agency. "We look for business-minded people with a marketing and sales perspective to be our client success leaders, and both Scott and Leslie bring that to the table in impressive fashion."

Atlanta-based Scott Nichols comes to CLUTCH as Associate Vice President + Director, Client Success. A veteran of more than 20 years of management experience, Nichols has worked on both the agency and client side of the table, with demonstrated success in sales and marketing communication management with Fortune 500 companies.

"I was drawn to the catalyst perspective that CLUTCH brings, having that category-specific business acumen incorporated in everything we do, including agronomic knowledge as part of our team. It's really a unique model," Nichols said. "It's exciting to partner with the clients in a different way than a traditional agency. You're really helping them build credibility in the field with the customers and really understanding the business aspect behind that communication."

California native Leslie Friend joins the CLUTCH team as Director, Client Success. With extensive experience in row and specialty crops starting with her years on the family farm in the Central Valley, Friend comes to CLUTCH after sales and marketing roles with BASF and Valent U.S.A., LLC. Friend's Master of Science in organizational development from the University of San Francisco will add to the perspectives CLUTCH brings to clients but also to the services inside their consulting team as well.

"What interested me in CLUTCH was how dynamic and holistic the offering is. The company is not just focused on business strategy like a consultancy, nor just focused on communications like an agency," Friend said. "It's a deep dive, a collaboration, knocking on the door to the actual business goals and objectives of a client and saying we really need to understand where you want to go in your business and then helping them get there."

In the past 15 months, the number of employees has nearly doubled at CLUTCH. Schroeder said the additions demonstrate the firm's commitment to their model.

"Our guiding principle is how do we help our clients maximize revenue and growth. We've built a business that does that on many fronts. It's attractive to our clients because it's working. We're different than an agency. We're different than a consulting firm. Inherently we hire different people than you may find at both places. It's exciting for team members to come to a place that has a unique pulse and energy and combining different perspectives to deliver results for our clients."

ABOUT CLUTCH

CLUTCH is a consultancy-agency hybrid focused on helping B2B businesses and organizations create opportunity. As business acceleration experts, everything the firm does is designed to drive growth by consistently combining creativity and business acumen to generate results. The firm provides a mix of strategic consulting, marketing, and learning and development services to produce go-to-market success for clients. Focus industries include agriculture, food ingredients, building materials and construction. For more information visit clutchperformance.com.


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