Kevin Herrod
Bridging Leadership, Engineering, Marketing & Customers
Commercialization Strategy | Technology Translation | Creative Leadership
Summary
Summary
Bridging leadership, engineering, marketing, sales and customers to turn complex ideas and difficult business challenges into clear, compelling commercial direction.
Strategic marketing, commercialization and creative leader with 20+ years working at the intersection of technology, business and people—finding opportunities and solving problems that are difficult to see from inside any one discipline. I bridge executive leadership, engineering, product, customers, sales and marketing to turn complex technologies and business challenges into clear commercial direction, differentiated positioning, compelling market narratives and executable growth strategies.
My background spans entrepreneurial ventures, startups and established organizations across industrial technology, energy, manufacturing, construction, consumer products and emerging businesses. Whether commercializing new technologies, repositioning established products, launching companies and offerings, building new capabilities, improving operational processes or supporting executive growth initiatives, my role is remarkably consistent: step into ambiguous, cross-functional problems, connect the pieces others see separately, and turn technical capability, customer needs and business objectives into a clear path forward.
Commercialization & Go-to-Market: Connect technology, market opportunity, customer value, positioning, sales enablement and execution to move complex products from technical capability to commercial adoption.
Cross-Functional Leadership: Bridge executives, engineering, product, customers, sales and marketing—aligning different perspectives around a common business objective and clear path forward.
Technical Storytelling & Positioning: Translate sophisticated products, technologies and business challenges into differentiated market narratives customers understand and sales teams can use.
Creative Leadership & Brand Systems: Turn strategy into cohesive execution across brand, digital, content, campaigns, presentations, video, experiential and sales-enablement channels.
I also use generative AI as an everyday business tool for research and analysis, market and competitive intelligence, ideation, content development, decision support, workflow optimization and process automation—expanding both the speed and range of what I can accomplish.
Capabilities
Capabilities
Strategic & Commercial Leadership
- Commercialization & GTM
- Strategic & Product Marketing
- Positioning & Messaging
- Creative & Brand Strategy
- Customer & Market Insights
- Sales Enablement
- Executive Communications
- Cross-Functional Leadership
- Team & Agency Leadership
- Business Development
- Product Launches
- Integrated Marketing
- Technical Marketing
- Content Strategy
- Creative Operations
AI-Enabled Analytics & Workflow
- Research & Analysis
- Market & Competitive Intelligence
- Content Creation
- Prompt Development
- Workflow Optimization
- Process Automation
Digital, Creative & Business Platforms
- Adobe Creative Cloud & Figma
- Video, Motion Graphics & 3D Visualization
- WordPress, Shopify, Wix & Square
- Microsoft Office & Google Workspace
- GoHighLevel, ClickUp, Trello, Etc
- Google Analytics
Experience
Experience
Ricochet Creative
03/2014 – Present
Partner with executive leadership, engineering, product, marketing, sales and customers to solve complex positioning, commercialization and communication challenges across industrial, energy, technology and consumer markets. Build and lead multidisciplinary teams of specialists, contractors and production partners to develop market strategy, go-to-market programs, creative execution and communications that support product adoption, business development and growth
SELECT CLIENT ENGAGEMENTS:
Enventure Global Technology — Served as Executive Sponsor for the Expandable Liner Hanger Commercialization Charter Team, aligning leadership, engineering and commercialization stakeholders around launch planning, market priorities and competitive differentiation supporting the company’s objective of tripling revenue by 2028.
Mohawk Energy — Led commercialization and positioning for the market re-entry of downhole completion technology following expiration of Weatherford’s exclusive marketing agreement, translating engineering capabilities into customer value propositions and integrated communications supporting adoption and growth.
Riize, LLC — Directed commercialization, GTM strategy and product positioning in the transition from telehealth pharmaceuticals to retail consumer supplements, launching seven products in 12 months with three more launch-ready. Led creative across packaging, advertising, digital, video, motion graphics and 3D product visualization supporting retail growth and market expansion.
Brayton Construction — Established market credibility for a newly formed construction company with no completed projects by transforming leadership portfolios, client testimonials and established relationships into a compelling company narrative supporting business development and growth.
Westport Orange Shipyard — Developed positioning and marketing communications supporting the shipyard’s business development efforts and communicating complex industrial capabilities to prospective customers.
The Chocolate Llama Cake Company — Developed and continue to steward the brand, digital presence and marketing platform for a specialty consumer business, supporting its growth through brand identity, website development, social media, customer communications and creative strategy.
Weatherford
01/2008 – 02/2014
Manager of Technical Documentation
Led the Well Completion Technologies (WCT) technical documentation organization and a five-member multidisciplinary communications team supporting nine product lines.
- Chaired the Technical Work Instruction Committee, establishing documentation standards supporting API Q2 compliance across multiple business units.
- Developed documentation systems and communication frameworks improving organizational alignment, knowledge transfer and consistency across technical, operational and commercial teams.
- Facilitated communication and alignment across engineering, operations, quality and commercial organizations supporting product development and business initiatives.
Senior Technical Designer
Joined Weatherford as a contract technical designer and was later hired full-time supporting Well Construction Products (WCP) engineering, commercialization, sales and marketing organizations.
- Expanded from supporting one product line to all five product lines across the WCP business unit.
- Translated complex engineering concepts into customer-focused technical marketing, sales enablement and product communications.
- Developed collateral, presentations, technical illustrations, animation and visual assets supporting commercialization and customer education.
- Directed external creative resources and collaborated across engineering, product, sales and marketing on product launches and commercial initiatives.
Independent Contractor
Art Director | Creative Services Consultant
05/2000 – 01/2009
Built an independent consulting practice supporting organizations ranging from local businesses to Fortune 500 companies, partnering directly with executive leadership, marketing teams, engineers and business owners to solve branding, communications, commercialization and business development challenges.
SELECT ENGAGEMENTS
Oil & Gas Consulting — Supported technical marketing, engineering communications and creative initiatives for Schlumberger, Halliburton, Weatherford and other energy companies. These engagements expanded both technical knowledge and industry relationships, ultimately leading to a full-time opportunity with Weatherford International.
Technical Response Planning Corporation — Initially engaged as a creative consultant before being recruited to establish and lead the company’s Creative Services department, demonstrating a pattern of earning expanded responsibility through results.
Dynegy — Supported corporate marketing communications and investor relations during a period of significant organizational change, becoming an established creative and communications resource across the organization.
Painting Professionals — Developed the company’s first website despite having no prior web development experience, learning HTML over a weekend and launching the completed site the following Monday—an early example of rapidly adopting new technology to solve an immediate business need.
Technical Response Planning Corporation
Manager of Creative Services
03/2002 – 10/2004
Recruited back to Technical Response Planning Corporation following an earlier consulting engagement to lead Creative Services, partnering with executive leadership to redesign operations and scale production capacity.
- Evaluated the complete production lifecycle and redesigned workflows across graphic design, data entry and document production, enabling approximately 3× production capacity without proportional staffing growth.
- Integrated previously separate production functions into a cross-trained operation, eliminating bottlenecks and single points of failure while improving scalability and organizational responsiveness.
- Modernized production technology and processes, reducing operating costs while improving speed and efficiency.
- Directed corporate brand and creative initiatives spanning web, collateral, proposals, presentations and trade shows supporting business development and executive communications.
Parker Media Group
Manager of Animation & Illustration Services
09/1997 – 05/2000
Recruited from Compaq Computer Corporation to help scale Parker Media Group from a single-client technical illustration firm into a multi-client technical communications agency. Leveraged advanced technical illustration, visualization, and leadership experience to expand operational capacity, develop talent, and establish processes supporting multiple enterprise clients while serving as the primary client interface for one of the company’s largest accounts.
- Built and led a team of ten technical illustrators and animators, establishing production standards, mentoring staff, and implementing workflows that improved quality, consistency, and delivery across complex engineering visualization projects.
- Served as the primary client relationship manager for Compaq Computer Corporation, partnering directly with engineering, documentation, and product teams to coordinate priorities, manage deliverables, and ensure consistent execution across multiple business units.
- Helped transform Parker Media Group from a single-client startup into a growing technical communications agency by expanding service capacity, recruiting technical talent, developing standardized production processes, and supporting business growth.
- Partnered with executive leadership to develop corporate branding, website, marketing collateral, advertising, and business development materials while supporting expansion into new industries and enterprise accounts.
- Established scalable production standards and mentoring practices that enabled the technical illustration and animation team to operate independently while maintaining quality across a rapidly expanding workload.
Compaq Computer Corporation
Senior Technical Illustrator
02/1992 – 09/1997
Joined Compaq Computer Corporation as a contract Technical Illustrator supporting Technical Publications and Marketing. After being hired full-time as a Technical Illustrator I, I mastered Compaq’s newly adopted digital illustration technologies, developed the production standards and workflows for their successful adoption, and trained the entire illustration staff—including senior illustrators—while still serving as a Technical Illustrator I. In recognition of these contributions, I was promoted directly to Senior Technical Illustrator, bypassing the Technical Illustrator II level, before being recruited by Parker Media Group to help scale its technical illustration and animation business.
- Partnered directly with engineers, industrial designers, technical writers, and marketing teams to transform complex computer hardware and technologies into accurate technical illustrations supporting product documentation, technical publications, and marketing communications.
- Produced technical illustrations, exploded assemblies, installation procedures, service documentation, and product visualizations supporting multiple Compaq product lines.
- Collaborated with cross-functional product development teams to ensure technical accuracy while improving the clarity and usability of customer-facing technical communications.
- Established a reputation for technical innovation, process improvement, and knowledge transfer that became the foundation for future leadership opportunities throughout my career.
Portfolio
Portfolio
Testimonials
Testimonials
Hein Andre Langåker
Kevin stands out for his skill in translating complex technologies into clear commercial value. He naturally bridges the gap between technical teams, executives, marketing functions, and customers—ensuring alignment and forward momentum across all stakeholders. He brings a strong sense of strategic marketing and commercialization, combined with the reliability to deliver with minimal direction. Kevin doesn’t just execute—he contributes at a higher level, demonstrating leadership that extends well beyond creative.
Eric Dorcheus
Kevin played a pivotal role in developing the packaging image library and creating high-quality visual assets that have become invaluable tools for our sales team. His creativity, attention to detail, and strategic approach helped establish a comprehensive and consistent packaging image repository that improved the way we present our products to customers and partners. His ability to translate complex product information into compelling and professional imagery has been instrumental in supporting our business growth.
Amina Rivera
Kevin and I collaborated on numerous brand, safety and marketing projects. I always found him easy to work with, as did many of our internal clients. His professionalism, expertise and attention to detail made Kevin an invaluable part of the team.
Amie Smith
Kevin was our primary graphic designer at BJ Services and was great at keeping our company brand compliant. He was diligent about adhering to brand guidelines- from logo spacing to color match perfection. Kevin helped drive our company brand consistency and possessed a level of detail for nuances that he never hesitated to bring to our attention. I would say his attention to detail was more keen than other designers I’ve worked with in the past.
Brent Emerson
I have had the pleasure of working with Kevin since 2009. I have always found his talents and capabilities to be excellent. He has the unique technical, creative and innovative skills across a broad spectrum of marketing and marketing communication platforms. He has provided a range of services from simple graphics all the way to highly complex animations in order to provide clear and concise messages. Anything he has done for me or my organization was always outstanding.
Doug Wood
Professionalism, knowledge, preparedness, and creativity are just a few of the adjectives that describe Kevin. When you work with Kevin, you will definitely have someone who immediately rolls up their sleeves and goes to work. You will be hard-pressed to find anyone better.
Douglas Farley
A combination of Kevin’s mechanical aptitude and creativity makes him uniquely qualified for not only creating marketing material but also technical documentation. Kevin’s work instills a professional image.
Wesley Busch
I have known Kevin for several years, and have worked with him at MOGAS Industries and, more recently, for him at Weatherford. He possesses a drive for excellence and continuously strives to be on the cutting edge, whether through his creative endeavors or as a manager.
Natalie Thompson
Kevin Herrod and I started working for Compaq at the same time and were introduced to the corporate world with our eyes wide open. Kevin handles himself in a very confident and professional manner. He has excellent graphic skills and continues to learn and advance in his field. Later in our careers; I hired Kevin as a contractor for many jobs and would recommend to anyone hoping to hire a talented professional.
Asim Siddiqui
Kevin is an amazing designer and an artist. He only needs to know what has to be done and I trust him to produce the highest quality of work. He has proved himself time and time again with his abilities. Kevin is highly professional with great work ethics and is also well liked amongst his peers.
Contact
Contact
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