“Digital Marketing for Today and Tomorrow’s Buyer”

Being a digital marketing leader is a rewarding position in today’s business, but certainly, it does not go without challenges. It requires staying on top of trends and dedication to continued education. Being a good digital marketing leader requires consistent self-motivation to make yourself better, elevate your team, make your company better, and ultimately positively impact your industry. For Ryan Raiker, Director of Digital Marketing at ABBYY, a Digital Intelligence Software Company, this role comes from a deep passion, a desire to deliver beyond expectations, and hopes to inspire others to achieve more.

Ryan Raiker is recognized for his excellence in the marketing industry, specifically the digital space. The Industry Era Director of the Year award recognizes the leaders whose ongoing commitment to innovation, renovation of workplace practices, and streamlining of business performance has produced tangible and transformative results.

COVID-19 has brought much in the way of turbulence and change to the world of business. Consequently, ways of doing business that were once universally accepted now seem outdated. With such changes have come new priorities and responsibilities. The new normal has challenged business leaders, and servant leadership has flourished as a management style for success. This style serves as a cornerstone for organizations to build corporate structures based on stewardship, empowerment, and trust. Leading by example, Raiker demonstrates the servant leadership style in his role of director of digital marketing at ABBYY and his commitment to education at Widener University. Servant leadership benefits organizations dependent on knowledge workers and in environments where high levels of creativity and innovation are the norm. Now more than ever, it's imperative for leaders to demonstrate compassion. Compassion is the quality of having positive intentions and genuine concern for others. Empathy in leadership creates stronger connections between people. Empathy enables leaders to create an environment of open communication and gather more effective feedback. It allows us to understand and explore problems employees face and how to help them resolve them. Being understanding helps to validate what others are going through. It improves collaboration, raises levels of trust, and enhances team loyalty.

“COVID-19 has brought much in the way of turbulence and change to the world of business. Consequently, ways of doing business that were once universally accepted now seem outdated. With such changes have come new priorities and responsibilities.”

Ryan joined ABBYY after the 2019 acquisition of TimelinePI, now ABBYY Timeline, where he led product marketing and brand strategy. He soon became an extremely welcomed addition to the team – he brought enthusiasm, charisma, humor, and a ton of “Can do Attitude”! He was appointed to serve as ABBYY’s director of digital marketing in March 2020, just as the world began issuing lockdown orders. As in-person events became abysmal, just about all marketing became digital. Raiker’s ability to hire, mentor, and build A+ teams of doers and critical thinkers has demonstrated that cultivating and growing a great team requires a keen intuition about people. It's more than knowing whether or not a person is qualified for the job — Raiker has a unique talent of bringing together the right people that can play off each other, support each other, push each other and thrive. He possesses a rather annoyingly charming habit of making people feel special, truly seen, and truly heard, and it’s no wonder that people are drawn to him and his presence. His approachable leadership style and hands-on way of working with remote teams help him drive results and lead impactful organizational change. He's consistently motivated teams to perform at higher-than-expected levels to make extraordinary things happen.

Today's digital marketing requires openness and a desire for change. Raiker’s skill for consistently reimagining marketing roles so that the organization can emerge even stronger allows him to build data-centric teams that can leverage the full power of insights and technology to streamline processes and perform at new levels. “2021 was an extraordinary year in which ABBYY, my global team, our customers, and our partners all faced unprecedented challenges. In the face of continued uncertainty, we supported each other, adapted to change, and performed with incredible results. We navigated the storm by staying laser-focused on our core brand purpose, implementing innovative technology, and by delivering transformative artificial intelligence software that revolutionizes document workflow and process automation.” According to Ryan, as we think about the new normal of businesses operating and thriving post-pandemic, there is one clear trend emerging—remote work, automation, self-service, online transactions, and contactless operations are the expectation now and for the longer term.

Ryan Raiker serves as an inspiration for many. It’s admittedly difficult not to admire his seemingly relentless drive to leave the world better than he found it. Not only is Ryan reimaging digital marketing at ABBYY, but he also is teaching tomorrow’s marketers. Raiker serves as an adjunct instructor at Widener University in Chester, Pennsylvania, in digital media informatics, operations management, and entrepreneurship. With a list of community service and a resume of involvement that would put most to shame – Ryan Raiker is the embodiment of a millennial leader and is well-deserving of making the Industry Era’s shortlist for Director of the Year. IE