Detroit-based LevelEleven has named former Scott Shepard as vice president of sales. Shepard is a Michigan-native returning to Detroit after 15-years in California, where he developed strong sales teams for startups and Fortune 500 companies. Shepard’s move back to Detroit exemplifies the growing trend of the Boomerang Effect, whereby natives are returning to the Motor City, a growing business hub for startups and technology companies.
“Over the past year, Detroit’s technology scene has taken the spotlight as a new frontier for startups and innovative new companies. That coupled with the growth of enterprise gamification software in sales, has resulted in major momentum for LevelEleven,” said Bob Marsh, LevelEleven CEO. “Scott’s proven sales management and business development expertise will be a huge asset to our team as we continue to grow in 2014.”
As LevelEleven’s vice president of sales, Shepard, of West Bloomfield, will focus on sales management and leadership, business development efforts, forecasting and driving revenue and motivating high-performing sales teams. Shepard spent 11-years with HotJobs where he helped spearhead the company’s growth from a small startup, to a public company, to a division of Yahoo!, which was finally acquired by Monster Worldwide. Most recently Shepard was vice president of sales at SteelHouse, an award-winning ad/tech company.
“I’ve watched LevelEleven over the past year and saw their rapid transformation from small start-up to successful technology company,” Shepard said. “This is an incredible opportunity not only to join a smart team and strong company culture, but also to return to my roots — and become a part of something bigger in Detroit.”
