Professional Summary
Rick Possett is an Owner and Executive Consultant at Pathwerks.io since September 2021. He operates from the Wichita, Kansas Metropolitan Area and brings over 20 years of leadership experience managing both people and products across diverse industries including technology, media & marketing, franchising, consumer packaged goods, financial services, education, and healthcare. He also holds a parallel role as Executive Consultant at Caret Growth Strategies focusing on CRM and Business Management Solutions, specifically in architecture and implementation of Zoho and Salesforce platforms since September 2021.
Current Role at Pathwerks.io
Pathwerks.io is a technology consultancy that specializes in cloud-based business productivity software for the SMB market, serving commercial organizations, non-profits, and educational entities. Rick's role encompasses consulting on IT, project management, change management, business analytics, and technical support with a focus on delivering practical and results-driven software solutions that improve operational efficiency, sales, marketing, and financial workflows.
Key Service Areas under Rick Possett’s Leadership at Pathwerks.io:
- CRM system architecture, data cleaning, automation of customer touchpoints, and integration of marketing campaigns for enhanced 360° customer visibility.
- Financial workflow automation including quoting, invoicing, payments, expense tracking, and real-time cash flow visibility.
- Implementation of low-code automation platforms to streamline manual processes, accelerate sales cycles, and reduce operational costs.
- Custom software solutions to unify disparate business functions such as sales, finance, operations, and marketing.
Operational Approach:
- Begins with problem mapping and current-state analysis to identify pain points and hidden opportunities.
- Emphasizes incremental improvements and iterative delivery over big-bang implementations, ensuring measurable KPI improvements and user engagement.
- Focuses on results-based testing to validate not just technical correctness but actual impact on business processes and KPIs.
Impact Examples Highlighted on Website:
- Assisted a community non-profit to save $58,000 annually by identifying redundant SaaS subscriptions.
- Enabled a manufacturer to increase marketing output by 3x through productive operational modernization, increasing productivity by 35%.
- Developed a self-service kiosk boosting a subscription start-up's member retention by 8%.
Pathwerks.io is a vetted Zoho Consulting Partner, indicating close alignment with leading cloud productivity ecosystems.
Professional Background and Experience
Ownership & Consulting
- Owner, Pathwerks.io (Sep 2021 – Present)
- Executive Consultant, Caret Growth Strategies (CRM & Business Management, Sep 2021 – Present)
- Owner / Business Consultant, BusinessSOLUTIONS.pro (Sep 2017 – Aug 2021)
Focused on coaching busy entrepreneurs and senior stakeholders to grow their teams and businesses through strategic management and technical enablement.
- Freelance Consultant, Tokyo, Japan (Nov 2015 – Sep 2017)
Delivered business communication coaching for non-native English speakers and small business consulting including budgeting, marketing, and contract negotiation.
Leadership and Operational Excellence at Arbitron Inc. (Dec 2008 – Aug 2012)
Director, Operations Management – Led a technology operations department with a variable budget of $14-20 million annually, managing overall operational spend exceeding $100 million.
- Converted an 8% budget overage into an 18% ($4.5M) savings in Year One and an additional 15% ($1.5M) savings in Year Two.
- Led initiatives to reduce unit processing costs by ~30%, driving increased customer deliverables.
- Oversaw a $10 million project that improved a core customer KPI by 13%, reversing long-term decline.
- Acted as company operations lead for a multi-million-dollar global technology upgrade linked to legal settlements.
- Expanded the legacy department by 80% during a corporate-wide 10% RIF, reorganizing for quality and cost reduction to secure net savings exceeding human resource investments.
- Established the company’s first “Big Data” analytics team to enhance decision making and innovation.
- Developed strategic technology roadmap, staff succession plans, and a Business Continuity Plan.
- Implemented standardized reporting with Tableau, and tied compensation to metric improvements.
Sampling Supervisor / Manager (Dec 2003 – Dec 2008)
- Managed production planning for syndicated market surveys across ~300 markets including the US, Puerto Rico, and Mexico.
- Achieved the smallest recorded variance to target in company history through improved forecasting and quality control.
- Created and implemented statistically rigorous process improvement programs saving $620K annually in waste and training costs.
Earlier Roles and Education
- Assistant Marketing Manager, Nonni’s Food Company (2003) – Executed a $1.5M consumer packaged goods marketing plan, improving sales by 6% via data-driven inventory management and coordinating promotional strategy.
- Senior Sales Analyst, Nonni’s Food Company (2000–2003) – Built and led market research and data science teams, enhancing sales velocity and reducing losses by 15% through advanced statistical analysis.
- Adjunct Instructor, Tulsa Community College (2001) – Developed original curriculum and laboratory exercises in higher education.
- Business Associate, Versatile Financial Services (1993–1995) – Created analytical databases and performed portfolio audits.
Academic Qualifications
- University of Oklahoma, B.A. in Letters (Humanities, Natural Sciences, Social Sciences), Magna Cum Laude (1992–1996)
- Attended University of Oklahoma College of Medicine (1998–2000)
Skills and Expertise
- Leadership and management of large-scale operational budgets and teams.
- Cross-industry experience in technology, marketing, financial services, CPG, and education.
- Strategic planning, process automation, and data analytics.
- CRM and business management solutions implementation (Zoho, Salesforce).
- Business communication, coaching, and consulting.
- Quality management, operational efficiency, and cost containment.
Public Engagement and Thought Leadership
Rick actively shares professional insights on technology and business effectiveness via LinkedIn. Recent posts reveal his interest and expertise in AI's impact on business and security practices, as well as practical advice on payment processors, email deliverability, and security management.
Contact and Social Presence
- Phone: (316) 500-2553 (via Pathwerks.io)
- Email: hello@pathwerks.io
- Location: Wichita, Kansas Metropolitan Area
This detailed profile underscores Rick Possett’s extensive experience as a seasoned technology and management consultant with proven expertise in operational transformation, software solution delivery, and customer-centric business systems architecture. His leadership at Pathwerks.io is characterized by pragmatic, measurable improvements in client productivity and financial health within small and medium-sized businesses, utilizing modern cloud-based and low-code technologies.
