A new chapter: Mitch Fanning joins Fruition as VP Strategy and Business Development

I’ve been thinking a lot about the early days of Fruition Interactive lately.

Thinking back to those first early days when the company was basically just me and a credit card and a dream. And thinking about some of the milestones we’ve reached since then: our first client, our first  design associate, our first developer hire, our first marquee client, our first project manager hire, our first 6-figure engagement. And, looking back, I’m really proud of the people and clients that have come to us and I’m really proud of what we’ve achieved together.

It also feels like the end of Act I. That’s because Act II is set to begin.

Starting today Mitch Fanning is our new Vice-President, Business Development and Strategy. And it really is a brand new day for us at Fruition.

I’ve known for a long time that we needed Mitch here; I just hadn’t met him yet.

I’ve known for a long time that my real skills are around thinking strategically about  interactive media - the Web, mobile and beyond — and building and managing effective teams to deliver on those strategies.  I’ve known for a long time that we really need someone to help us tell our story to the world. And I’ve known for a long time that we need someone more than a “sales guy” (if you’ll forgive the gender exclusion), we need more than just someone who can come in and close a lot of deals.

I feel strongly that our clients deserve to have an advocate at Fruition who values our long-term relationship with them, who understands that relationships are two-way and based on mutual exchange of value, and who understands the strategic imperatives that are driving our clients’ businesses online. And I’ve been waiting for almost 10 years to meet the person who fit that bill.

Mitch is going to be key in helping us extend our reach and telling the world about the great successes we’ve had for our current clients. He’ll also play a huge role in helping our clients understand the strategic opportunities and challenges that they face online.

I hope you’ll have the chance to meet Mitch in person soon. In the meantime, you’ll have a chance to connect with him as a new contributor to our [blog]. I also hope you’ll take the opportunity to get to him better via Twitter and LinkedIn.

You can find out more about Mitch via our old-school media release, here or by contacting him at [email protected] or at 416.628.4880 x.227