Since 2008, Sailthru’s mission has been to help modern marketers improve customer lifetime value and drive revenue with our high-performance email, personalization and automation solutions. Now we’re in an even better position to do so as a part of CM Group, under the leadership of CEO Wellford Dillard.

A Memphis native with a MBA from the University of Maryland, Wellford worked in management consulting, investment banking and equity research prior to the software industry. He’s held several CFO roles in the space, most recently at Emma, an email service provider in CM Group’s family of brands.

As we begin this exciting new chapter in Sailthru’s story, we spoke to Wellford about his vision and values for the family of brands. Read on to learn how Sailthru fits in with the rest of the family, how this move benefits our customers and Wellford’s ultimate goal.

What appealed to you about Sailthru?

CM Group was created in an effort to make a true home for every marketer and organization, no matter the scale or level of email sophistication. It was evident from the beginning of our conversations with Sailthru that they were a perfect addition to our family of brands. Sailthru has a fantastic suite of AI-driven products that help connect and personalize the customer and audience experience — bringing real-time enterprise solutions to CM Group. Behind their cross-channel platform is a strong team under the helm of leaders like Tom Janofsky, EVP of Engineering, and Chief Commercial Officer Cassie Young, who have been operating the organization under similar values to ours.

It is also vital to point out that every company in the CM Group has best-in-class customer retention rates. We provide an excellent customer experience and ability to be a strategic partner, and so does Sailthru. Working with enterprise retail and publishing clients, Sailthru’s offerings are different from those of the other CM Group brands — yet, the organization still functions in fundamentally the same way, keeping the customer at the center.

What are the benefits of bringing multiple ESPs together?

We’ve always thought of CM Group as “three products, one family.” Through Campaign Monitor, Emma and Delivra, we offer a full range of email solutions for very different sets of customers: general small and medium-sized businesses and mid-market publishers and non-profits; mid-market franchises and restaurants; and B2B marketers, respectively. With the acquisition of Sailthru and Liveclicker, we’re adding effective and scalable enterprise solutions to CM Group. The industry and the world are rapidly changing. We’re now better equipped to provide a wider variety of marketers with the ideal solution for their businesses.

What is your strategic vision for the new CM Group?

My ultimate goal is for the CM Group to be the most respected, fastest-growing family of marketing technology companies in the world. We intend to make additional investments in both Sailthru and Liveclicker to further accelerate their growth and ensure we do everything in our power to make that happen. Those extra resources will ultimately benefit Sailthru’s customers, both present and future, as we push the limits of what’s possible with a modern multichannel marketing hub.

How would you describe the CM Group family of brands?

CM Group was created to offer solutions to meet the needs of every marketer, from a small family-owned business to massive enterprise retailers. There are five brands — Campaign Monitor, Delivra, Emma, and now Sailthru and Liveclicker — and I see them as being united by four values: innovative, adaptable, collaborative and respectful. I see CM Group’s family of brands applying those values to reimagine a global industry, coming together to present new opportunities to organizations around the world.