Who is Linchpin
“I hope anybody’s not stupid enough to write us off ”
- Brian Clough, Nottingham Forest FC -
About
My name is Stuart Staves
At the cornerstone of who I am, I am a sales professional. I have extensive experience as a sales manager, building and leading high-performing sales teams. Building relationships, growing revenue & using content marketing to revolutionize top-of-funnel sales at B2B and B2C brands.
My Story
Six years ago I packed up and made the move from London, England to Toronto and I’ve not looked back since. My family has a background in media with my Dad working at some of the top advertising agencies across the world, and my Mum working as an Editor for Butterworth Heinemann Books.
Experience
I don’t think it was a surprise to anyone that the media industry was where I started my career.
My first job was at Haymarket Media Group in London, selling classified ads for a newspaper called Motorsport News. It was my first taste of working in the media industry; quick paced, sink or swim. But I had a phone and liked to chat and I worked my way up the ranks.
One of the highlights of my career was working as the Commercial Manager for the Olympics London2012, selling sponsorship of the official media channels to all the official partners of the Olympic games. Other key roles include Business Development Director at global AdTech company Amobee selling social and programmatic solutions using their intelligence platform, and most recently as Branded Content Director at AutoTrader.ca building and running a new Branded Content division that won multiple global content awards with major car manufacturers.
Expertise
Industry Recognition
My expertise includes:
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Sales Management
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Sales Strategy
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Branded Content
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Social Media
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Building and driving revenue growth
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Creating and selling new revenue initiatives
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Developing and growing teams and individuals to get them to maximize their skillsets and potential
Winner of Best Branded Content Campaign in 2021 Festival of Media Awards
Winner of Best Use of Data in 2021 Festival of Media Awards
Winner of Best Branded Content Campaign in 2021 Canadian Marketing Awards
Winner of Best Use of Data in 2021 Canadian Marketing Awards
Winner of Commercial Team of the Year for London2012 Games
Get to know me better
My family and I try to spend as much time exploring the great Canadian outdoors as possible. This might be going for a walk in a national park, going to the beach, checking out a waterfall, exploring downtown Toronto or visiting some of the other incredible cities this country has to offer -- Vancouver is our favourite, Quebec City comes a close second.
I have two young children and since moving to Canada and working as a consultant, I am able to spend more quality time with them and watch them grow.
In my free time --or for the occasional business meeting - I play golf. I enjoy the challenge, the time spent outdoors, and the time spent with friends. Although the standard isn’t exactly PGA level, it's enjoyable and not taken too seriously. My main goal is to try and shoot under 100 (I still have a long way to go).
And last but not least, I have an unhealthy obsession with Nottingham Forest FC - a team I have supported since 1988. In all honesty they have brought me nothing but heartache and misery over the years, but we just got promoted back into the Premier League after 23 years where we will now play alongside the likes of Manchester United and Liverpool FC, so I’m hopeful that great things are around the corner for us.
Testimonials
Erin Ruane, CMO, Trader Interactive
“A trusted partner that delivers the highest results. The Linchpin team quickly developed knowledge of our business and a deep understating of our culture, which led to successful implementation of our new TI Media strategic plan. Additionally, we also worked with Dan and Stu to evolve and develop our marketing efforts across reporting, editorial and social capabilities."
Mike McGarrell, Digital & Strategy Automotive Expert
"Team always brought a positive energy and innovative ideas to the table. Always endeavored to understand not only the problem we were solving for, but the secondary factors that needed to be addressed for long term successful deployment. As important, they ensured the programs came to fruition on time and within budget."
Ed Marriage, Global Commercial Director, Wooshii
“It quickly became clear that they knew the local market inside out, had great contacts, a deep understanding of media and marketing and buckets of entrepreneurial get up and go, so we jumped at the chance to work with them. For us, the partnership makes a lot of sense because it allows us to crack an interesting local market quickly, without a slow and costly recruitment process.”