Episode #1 - Allied Trailblazer Series
Episode #1 - Allied Trailblazer Series
Recording of Our Debut Podcast Episode Coming Soon!
Recording October 9th from 2 PM - 3PM
1% Better Every Day – Stories from Growing a Professional Services Firm
In this episode, Kurt and Kathy feature Rick Nordvold and Molly Hiller of Growth Operators – and - dive into the success, aha’s, travails, and lessons learned along the way of growing their professional services firm. We’ll also plug into and try to find out what makes Rick and Molly tick, keeps their fires burning, and how they stay “on top of their game” on a day-to-day basis.
Featured Allied Trailblazers:
Rick Nordvold - Growth Operators
Changing the game was Rick’s goal when he left an executive career to start Growth Operators in 2010. For years he’d seen how high-performing business-focused finance and human resources teams could help companies grow and thrive. Rick started Growth Operators in 2010 as a one-person consulting firm. As our Founding Partner and CEO, Rick now spends the majority of his time chairing Growth Operators’ leadership team, developing and overseeing the company’s long-range vision and near-term growth strategy, and nurturing long-term relationships with prospects and clients. Before founding Growth Operators, Rick spent nearly 20 years in various finance and operating leadership roles. He began his career in public accounting at Arthur Andersen and then joined Best Buy, where he led the Corporate Development and Corporate Finance teams. Rick then joined Golf Galaxy as CFO where he led the company’s initial public offering and, later, its merger with Dick’s Sporting Goods. Thereafter, Rick served as the CFO/COO of Griffin International Companies (now Cities Market Studios) before founding Growth Operators in 2010. Rick has served on the boards of several for-profit and not-for-profit companies and spends much of his spare time in the great outdoors and on the golf course.
Molly Hiller - Growth Operators
Molly knows the importance of excellent client service. Her early career in public accounting and the experience of founding and running her own business honed Molly’s aptitude for delivering great solutions and generating ongoing client satisfaction. Molly joined Growth Operators as a client facing consultant in 2012. Over the next several years, her work became the standard of excellence for Growth Operators’ unique client service model. Molly became our Director of Client Services in 2019. She focuses her efforts on recruiting and developing our Growth Pros and enhancing our ever-evolving suite of proprietary tools to continually raise the bar in our client service delivery. As President, Molly also serves on our leadership team to drive the overall strategic direction of our firm.
Prior to joining Growth Operators, Molly spent eight years in various roles at Arthur Andersen and Target Corporation. Molly spent the next several years as an entrepreneur, founding and running her own boutique services business
Outside of work, Molly raises four kids with her husband, Jesse. For hobbies, she enjoys following art & design, horticulture, and of course, boating on Lake Minnetonka.