Milwaukee-based 7Rivers, a consulting services firm focused on AI and data modernization, announced Tuesday the appointment of Ben Kerford to the role of president. As president, Kerford will lead the 7Rivers team by overseeing sales and marketing, service delivery and financial operations, all while collaborating with the team to turn clients’ data into business solutions
Milwaukee-based 7Rivers, a consulting services firm focused on AI and data modernization, announced Tuesday the appointment of Ben Kerford to the role of president.
As president, Kerford will lead the 7Rivers team by overseeing sales and marketing, service delivery and financial operations, all while collaborating with the team to turn clients’ data into business solutions using AI.
Kerford has 15 years of experience building and leading technology consulting teams. He was most recently an associate partner for IBM's North American salesforce practice. Before that, he worked with 7Rivers founder Paul Stillmank for four years at his previous company, 7Summits, as senior vice president of business consulting.
Kerford has also spent time at Johnson Controls and Accenture. It was his work at Johnson Controls that originally brought him to Milwaukee seven years ago.
“Ben's unmatched energy, passion, and commitment to delivering results make him an invaluable member of our executive team,” said Paul Stillmank, founder and chief executive officer of 7Rivers. “His adeptness at collaborating with clients from diverse sectors to drive tangible business value is remarkable. He is passionate about enhancing our solution delivery and success model to scale our operations while empowering our teams to effectively serve our expanding roster of Fortune clients. As president, Ben will continue to shape and execute our industry-leading practices, methodologies, and systems, driving sustained business growth. His mandate spans sales and marketing, service delivery and financial operations.”
[caption id="attachment_584770" align="alignleft" width="300"] Ben Kerford[/caption]
After his time at 7Summits, Kerford took a short professional break in 2022. In 2023, he ended up working for PerformanceG2, a Texas-based performance management consultancy that ended up being acquired by 7Rivers last October. The PerformanceG2 team joined 7Rivers following the acquisition.
"Paul is a visionary and he's here at 7Rivers to be that visionary. A big part of my responsibility and the great opportunity that I believe is in front of us as an organization is to help grow the business," said Kerford.
To help support 7Rivers’ growth, Kerford said he’ll be helping the startup adapt some of its marketing playbooks and bring in tech talent that can help the company hone its generative AI capabilities. 7Rivers will also be focused on creating new training and growth opportunities to upskill its talent. The startup currently has 25 employees.
"We believe driving that quantifiable or qualitative experiential outcome (for clients) is critical. So, we're making those investments and we're placing those bets now," he said.
To help 7Rivers grow its client base, Kerford said the company is working on building solutions and accelerators that will allow it to serve clients more efficiently.
"We bring strategy and we bring a tremendous amount of innovation with the expertise and the team that we have in place," said Kerford. "I can't say enough about the people that we have in our organization. I'm highly motivated, just as everybody at 7Rivers is, to capitalize on that."
