Engineering Office competitors

Mr. Richards is a proven successful entrepreneur and visionary strategist and a co-founder of the company. He sets the corporate goals and leads the development of business and market strategies. Previously, his leadership has led Blackboard Connect (formerly The NTI Group) to be the number one provider of hosted, time-sensitive mass notification services focused on assisting government and civil leaders to communicate quickly and efficiently with their constituents using multi-modal technologies. Honored as a Readers' Favorite in Inc. Magazine's 2007 Entrepreneur of the Year Award, Mr. Richards has also received Customer Interaction Solutions Magazine's Lifetime Achievement Award and the LAVA (Los Angeles Venture Association) Award for Best M&A. He is a member of several boards, including LASEC (Los Angeles Sports and Entertainment Commission), University of Southern California Marshall School of Business – Board of Leaders and Ad.ly. Prior to forming The NTI Group Inc., he served as the CEO of Vivendi Universal Net USA, an entity created to oversee the U.S. Internet-related companies owned by Vivendi Universal. Mr. Richards was also the founding president and chief operating officer as well as a director of MP3.com, Inc., the Internet's first and preeminent digital music provider that had the largest IPO for an independent Internet company at that time. He was the lead negotiator in the sale of MP3.com to Vivendi Universal. Previous to MP3.com, Mr. Richards served as managing director of Tickets.com, Inc., an Internet ticketing service company that was sold to Advantix. He was the founder, president, and CEO of Lexi International, the largest tele-services and database management company in the United States by mid-1991 and appeared twice on the Inc. 500 Fastest Growing Companies list. The company was successfully sold to Thayer Capital. Mr. Richards currently serves as president of the Chase Foundation. Mr. Richards holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Michigan State University and attended Whittier College School of Law.