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Former RMH CEO named Chairman and CEO of CRM Firm TMone
Updated November 16. 2007 7:02PM
New TMONE chief sees dramatic growth ahead
By David DeWitte
The Gazette
IOWA CITY � When the new chairman and CEO of TMONE in Iowa City talks about expanding the work force of the teleservices company by a factor of 10, he really means it.
TMONE Chairman and CEO John Fellows was the second-youngest CEO of a Nasdaq-traded company when he led RMH Teleservices 750 employees in the Philadelphia suburbs to over 15,000 employees globally. "I'm looking forward to doing something similar again," Fellows said.
TMONE co-founders Anthony Marlowe and John Burchert are counting on Fellows to help them grow TMONE from the present 150 employees to 1,500 employees.
Fellows says he doesn't believe the goal is the least bit unrealistic. He says TMONE has good operations and a growing reputation at a time when the domestic teleservices industry is reviving.
"It does not take a very long time, and I know how to get there," said Fellows, 43, of Indianapolis.
Fellows said he would not be surprised to see a resurgence in the Eastern Iowa teleservices industry. The weak dollar is making it mor expensive for United States companies to outsource their customer contact and marketing working overseas, and the global outsourcing of teleservices has already dried up much of the potential talent pool in top international outsourcing destinations.
"What happened was that the lower end jobs went offshore," Fellows said. "the capacity to do sales and higher end customer care just isn't there."
A realignment of the teleservices industry under way in the United States, Fellows said, mainly from higher-cost operational locations to lower-cost locations.
Marlowe, who is handing his CEO hat over to Fellows, is excited about his arrival. In addition to industry experience, Fellows has experience and contacts in private equity that will help the company to raise capital for growth, Marlowe said.
Fellows left RMH after it was acquired by NCO Group for $89 million. He led Bell Industries, a diversified technology company, overseeing the sale of its manufacturing division and the completion of its acquisition of SkyTel Corp. from Verizon (News - Alert) Communications. More recently, he has worked in the private equity field.
TMONE was founded by Marlowe and Burchert about four years ago. It was named to Inc. magazine's list of fastest growing privately held companies in 2007.
Marlowe said RMH most closely resembled the customer relationship management portion of TMONE, which is growing as a percentage of its overall business. He said the change in leadership is also expected to include changes to the board of directors and an equity position for Fellows.
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