Doxim CEO Mike Hennessy reflects on the lessons he’s learned, and what he sees for the future of the company.
On February 16, 2024, Mike Hennessy became the CEO of Doxim, a title previously held by Chris Rasmussen, company founder and present-day board member.
Mike has seen the company through incredible success since appointed Chief Revenue Officer in 2017. From 11 acquisitions to profitable growth, he’s excited for what’s to come.
As Doxim enters its next chapter, Mike shares what compelled him to join the company, and his continued focus on delivering exceptional value to Doxim customers.
I can’t reflect on my time at Doxim without thinking about what drove me to join in the first place.
It was 2017. I interviewed with Chris Rasmussen, the company founder and CEO at the time, for the role of Chief Revenue Officer (CRO). While I couldn’t quite get a read on whether he was interested in hiring me, I pushed forward.
I was impressed with Chris’s thoughtful leadership style, and the fact that he built the company through seemingly insurmountable challenges, such as the bursting of the dot-com bubble and the ensuing economic downturn.
Additionally, as someone with a background in software, I was excited to join a company with a different focus. At the time, Doxim had more of a financial services focus, although that’s broadened to various sectors including healthcare and utilities over the last eight to 10 years.
On a deeper level, I appreciated what the company stood for in terms of the value proposition that Chris created and espoused – that Doxim is a CCM leader providing omnichannel solutions that improve customer engagement while reducing costs.
Chris founded a company on a hunch that people would be willing to invest in the digitization of paper. His ability to recognize customer needs and industry trends is the mark of a true visionary, and that was something I couldn’t ignore.
Landing the Role and Learning from the Best
I felt incredibly lucky to be welcomed into the CRO position at Doxim. And as I got to know Chris, a few things quickly became evident to me.
First, Chris is always thinking five to 10 years into the future. He always has a plan. In fact, in his current role as a board member, I would place a bet on whether he has a plan in his back pocket for where Doxim can and should go today. Given his track record, I figure he’s probably spot on about where we’re going to end up if we do things right.
Second, he has an uncanny ability to iterate from, for lack of a better phrase, ‘how the sausage gets made’, to being able to hold broad, strategic conversations. That’s a rare talent, especially in someone who’s built a company from the ground up.
And, lastly, Chris is just an exceptional human being. He doesn’t make decisions or let his values get compromised, regardless of how challenging things can be.
Valuable Lessons: You Can’t Always Expect Sunshine and Rainbows
Life happens. Things come and go. But if you stick to your core principles and remain resilient, particularly in a leadership role, it can have a profoundly positive impact on your culture. It resonates with your people, as well as the people in the organizations you acquire.
Leaders don’t waver, and when you live those values, your people exhibit those values, too.
It’s really important to lead by example and to recognize that the world can be a complex and messy place. But if you’re surrounded by the right people, and your strategy is built on what your customers need, you’ll be on the right track.
What we do every day really matters to our customers. We’ve always provided something essential, which means we must go above and beyond when it comes to serving our customers. Dedication is non-negotiable.
The Groundwork for Growth
Given my background in software, I encountered a learning curve, especially around the print and mail side of the business. I’m constantly impressed by the technology involved and the level and skill required to produce the billions of documents we now handle each year for our clients.
We owe part of our success to a great foundation of adaptability. Doxim has evolved organically and through acquisition, making us a much different company than we were when I first joined. From our origins in banking, to our most recent pivot into manufacturing, we’ve been able to create a suite of services that address our clients’ needs.
The challenge is communicating to the entire organization that all these components are equally essential to our success. That means that when our customers call, we must answer the phone and help them achieve the best possible outcomes.
Everyone in the organization should feel that their role is valued and appreciated. We need everyone to move in the same direction—toward innovation. By sticking to our pillars of value—protecting our clients’ data, maintaining operational excellence, and adapting our services to anticipate evolving needs—we’re clearing the path to success for our company, people, and clients.
What the Future Holds
I’m excited about our future. We have more and more opportunities to expand around the edges of our core value proposition. On our best day, we take in unstructured data from our clients, help them turn that into an experience for their customers, and then securely store and manage that data in a highly regulated environment.
Technology is always evolving. But some basic needs remain constant, regardless of channel. For example, people will always benefit from better understanding their financial statements, how their healthcare journey impacts their family, or how much they’re consuming in gas and electricity.
Chris’s original vision still holds true: Doxim will continue to develop and deliver software that improves customer engagement. We’re in a great position to build on what he created, and we’ve got an exciting future ahead, underpinned by our core values, and ‘doing right’ by our clients. That’s what matters most.
