Chief Marketing Officer in Arlington, Texas at First Rate Inc

ABOUT FIRST RATE

At First Rate, we help financial institutions transform complexity into confidence through innovative WealthTech solutions, services, and data insights. Founded in 1991 and headquartered in Arlington, Texas, First Rate serves clients around the world while remaining privately held, entrepreneurially driven, and focused on building long-term relationships.

Our culture is guided by four core values: Love, Give, Serve, and Enjoy. These values shape how we support one another, serve our clients, and invest in our communities. We believe meaningful work and meaningful lives go hand in hand, creating an environment where co-workers can grow professionally, make an impact, and enjoy the journey.

To retain profitable and referenceable clients through the delivery of cohesive team-based customer service experience and audited performance reporting data to Service Bureau clients that is defined by quality, accuracy and timeliness.

ABOUT THE ROLE

First Rate is seeking a strategic and collaborative marketing leader to shape and execute our enterprise marketing strategy. As Chief Marketing Officer, you'll guide our brand, strengthen market awareness, support growth initiatives, and lead a talented marketing team. Working closely with leaders across the organization, you'll help tell the First Rate story, elevate the client experience, and drive measurable business results. This is an exciting opportunity to make a lasting impact on a growing company and industry-leading brand.

STRATEGIC WORK:

• Develop and maintain the company's enterprise marketing strategy.
• Create and communicate a long-term vision for marketing that aligns with corporate goals and growth objectives.
• Establish brand positioning, messaging architecture, and market differentiation strategies.
• Lead marketing governance efforts in support of the decentralized marketing model.
• Define enterprise marketing KPIs and measurement frameworks.
• Identify emerging market trends, opportunities, technologies, and competitive threats.
• Develop annual and multi-year marketing plans and budgets.
• Champion thought leadership initiatives that strengthen First Rate's market position.
• Create strategies that support sales enablement, lead generation, customer retention, and business development.
• Partner with Managing Directors and business leaders to align marketing activities with growth initiatives.
• Establish and maintain employer branding strategies supporting recruitment and retention efforts.
• Build cross-functional alignment among Product, Sales, Corporate Operations, Human Resources, and Corporate Marketing.
• Protect and strengthen the value of the First Rate brand and related intellectual property.
• Serve as the executive steward of corporate reputation and public market perception

TACTICAL WORK:

• Lead, coach, and develop Corporate Marketing team members.
• Oversee campaign planning, execution, and performance analysis.
• Review and approve major marketing initiatives, collateral, messaging, and public communications.
• Oversee website strategy, SEO optimization, social media management, and digital marketing efforts.
• Manage external marketing agencies, vendors, consultants, and strategic partners.
• Develop and present marketing performance reports to executive leadership.
• Collaborate with Product, Sales, and Managing Directors regarding go-to-market initiatives.
• Oversee event strategy, trade show participation, sponsorships, and brand activation activities.
• Ensure all marketing processes are documented and maintained within operations manuals.
• Manage annual marketing budget and resource allocation decisions.
• Ensure consistency of messaging, visual identity, and customer experience standards.
• Evaluate and implement marketing technology tools and systems that improve effectiveness.
• Coordinate corporate crisis communications and reputation management activities when necessary.

BENEFITS & PERKS*

We believe in investing in our co-workers by providing benefits that support health, financial well-being, personal growth, and life outside of work.

Highlights include:

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage available from your date of hire
• Company-funded Health Savings Account (HSA) contributions
• Industry-leading 401(k) match
• Profit sharing opportunities
• Paid parental leave
• Choice Paid Time Off (PTO)
• Company-paid life and disability insurance
• Unique employee perks including charitable giving, retreats, and long-service sabbaticals

*Benefits and eligibility are subject to applicable plan documents and company policies

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Communications, Business Administration, or related discipline required.
• Master's degree preferred.
• Minimum 10 years of progressive marketing experience.
• Wealth Management or Software-as-a-Service experience preferred.
• Minimum 5 years of leadership experience with direct management responsibility.
• Demonstrated success developing and executing strategic marketing programs.
• Experience leading brand strategy, communications, digital marketing, and demand generation initiatives.
• Strong understanding of business-to-business marketing principles.
• Experience supporting multiple business units or decentralized organizational structures preferred.
• Proven ability to build strong relationships across executive leadership teams.
• Exceptional written, verbal, presentation, and communication skills.
• Strong analytical, budgeting, and performance management capabilities.
• Experience working with marketing technology platforms, analytics systems, CRM tools, and digital marketing solutions.
• Ability to lead through influence, collaboration, and strategic thinking.