Colligo Networks

Company: Colligo Networks, Inc., Vancouver, British Columbia
Company Description: Colligo Networks is a collaboration software company in Vancouver, BC. Founded in 2000 during the Internet boom, 4 years later it was almost out of business. In 2005, the last 4 employees invested the remaining cash in a new product. Today, revenues from that award-winning product line are growing at over 200% per year; the Company is profitable and employs 14 full-time and 8 part-time staff.
Nomination Category: Individual Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Best Canadian Executive

Nomination Title: Genèse Castonguay, Vice President, Marketing, Colligo Networks, Inc.

1. Describe for the judges the activities and accomplishments of the nominated executive during the eligibility period (up to 500 words):

Genèse Castonguay joined Colligo in July 2006 as Marketing Manager. The Company
had survived the tech meltdown and just launched a new product line. What
impressed us most during the interview process was Genèse’s drive. Unlike a lot
of marketing people, Genèse said “I’m all about measurable results”. In
addition, she struck us as being highly intelligent (graduated top of her
marketing class in University), intensely competitive and resourceful (worked
her way through University as a fashion model in Japan). We’re glad we were right!

Genèse very quickly synthesized the needs of a technical buyer into a succinct
market positioning. She launched a new website and cranked up the lead
generation machine. At the time, there were barely 3,000 contacts in the Colligo
marketing database. Genèse employed “guerilla” marketing tactics, such as web
marketing, blogs, email marketing, trade shows, and webinars to increase
awareness. By the end of 2006, the database had doubled to 6,000 names. More
importantly, the sales funnel had grown to the point that the task of responding
to all the leads overwhelmed our VP Sales. So Genèse set up and ran a new inside
sales team to handle SME business and web sales. She was promoted to Director of
Marketing & Inside Sales at the same time.
She quickly recruited a stellar inside sales team. Throughout 2007 the marketing
database continued to rise (to over 20,000 by year end). Sales growth was
unprecedented in 2007, with the new product line alone increasing 176% over
2006. In the fall of 2007, Genèse was promoted to Vice President.

By early 2008, it became apparent that Colligo was making a significant
turnaround. These are just a few of Genèse’s accomplishments that contributed to
the company’s success:

- For the SME sales team:
o 124% of Sales Quota – Over the 18 month period from Q1 2007 to Q2 2008
o 238% Yr-Yr Revenue Growth – Comparing first half 2008 to first half 2007
o 325% Pipeline Growth – Comparing end Q1 2007 to end Q2 2008

- Revenues for the company overall:
o Q1 2008 over Q1 2007, sales grew 110%
o Q2 2008 over Q2 2007, sales grew 99%

- Marketing Lead Generation:
o Inbound leads to Colligo website: Q3 2007 - 589; Q4 2007 – 929; Q1 2008 –
1061; Q2 2008 – 1511 (131% growth year-year)
o Conference leads over 500 per show & webinar leads over 1500 per online seminar
o Size of marketing database today: 30,000 contacts

- Company Awards 2008: March - IT Week Editors Choice Award; June - “Best of
Tech-Ed 2008”; August - Windows IT Pro Editors Choice Award
In summary, Genèse Castonguay contributed significantly to the fast growth of
Colligo Networks. The company is expanding rapidly and is profitable. This
success story was possible in large part because of the hard work, dedication
and talent of Genèse. As CEO of the company and her direct supervisor, I can say
without question Genèse deserves to win a Stevie!

2. List the URLs (web addresses) of any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that you would like the judges to see that support your entry. IMPORTANT: List each URL on a separate line, begin each URL with http://, and enclose each URL in square brackets. For example, [http://www.yourcompany.com/pressrelease.html]:

3. Provide a brief biography of the nominated executive (up to 100 words):

Genèse has specialized in business-to-business marketing for nearly 10 years.
During her three year tenure at KPMG, she helped the technology and real estate
practices build market share. At the Jim Pattison Trade Group, Genèse worked on
national media campaigns and distribution strategies for major business and
consumer brands. At ACL Services, she managed programs that generated
thousands of Fortune 5000 leads. Genèse holds a Bachelor of Commerce with
Marketing specialization from the University of British Columbia, where she was
the top student in Marketing and received several academic accolades.

Search form

Colligo Networks