The Results

I have known Jay for over 12 years as the CEO of Lister Technologies and partnered with him in delivering technology and Customer support solutions for four technology driven organisations. Jay is proactive, unafraid of charting new course of action and forward looking in use of technology for business outcomes. Jay is a  great change manager who brings to the table technology vision and extraordinary people skills that I have experienced time and again. Jay tells you as he sees it but with a soft touch, focusing on outcome. Great human being who brings warmth and honesty to all people interaction.

I have had the pleasure of knowing and working with Jay Topper over the past decade. Over our careers, I’ve worked with Jay twice, where Jay was my customer, and I represented one of his technology “partners”. Jay makes it a point to align with partners. These are organizations that work to learn the mission and objectives of the company, and how technologically, culturally, and business value objectives are met. It goes well beyond being a vendor. This is how to maximize the value and success of the relationship. Jay is masterful at the art of this strategy. His proven track record of leading the digital transformation of large, global organizations that positively impact revenue generation, customer experience and shareholder value is unparalleled. I’ve witnessed first-hand and admired Jay’s ability to develop, build, and promote individuals into strong independent teams to run various businesses successfully, while simultaneously building a positive and open environment.  It is rare to find such a combination of technical expertise, empathy and business savvy in one individual. And, he is always willing to help his partner network out with contributions in various industry events, corporate roundtables, and other high profile forums to further the cause of advancement.  

Jay is a digital technologist and digital savant. It is always a pleasure to partner with Jay on projects as he's a driver of results, a thinker and a doer, not to mention just plain fun to work with. No problem is too large or complex for Jay to take on and wrestle to the ground. He is a fearless driver of transformation and a natural leader. I have often watched in wonder as he rallies teams around his vision and passion. He instills trust and calm, and imbues companies with a will and confidence to win. Any team with Jay on it is simply a better team.

I worked with Jay 2006-2010 during Rosetta Stone’s growth period, IPO and new online product launch.  Jay was Rosetta Stone’s first CIO reporting to me, and in that function, Jay led an enterprise project “OHIO” to enable Rosetta Stone to go public.  The order-to-cash functions were broken and Rosetta had to cut their close from months to days while becoming Sarbanes-Oxley compliant.  This included fixing an ERP that was bleeding cash to re-reimplement, and creating the processes and systems for all back-office functions (finance, supply chain and product integration), managing the launch of a new website—including several international sites—and ultimately managing our customer base for all post-sales activities.  Jay’s leadership and sense of urgency were contagious across the entire company—and eventually with our customer base as he became the face of Rosetta Stone.   He not only was incredibly effective, but he was a motivational force behind large scale programs necessary for the success of Rosetta Stone.    He has a fantastic work ethic, embodies a culture of drive and accountability, and has a sense of humor to keep things positive!

I have worked with Jay for over 10 years at two different companies. When I was President of Vitacost (part of the Kroger Company) Jay was an incredible leader that thrived when he entered challenging situations that demanded strong leadership. He is deeply skilled in assessing talent, building team and uplifting morale, while developing and executing plans to achieve the desired business results. Jay was a partner at Vitacost.com where he re-organized and re-invigorated our entire technology team. In addition to the technology team, Jay also assumed leadership for the Customer Service and Operations teams were he achieved similar results. In summary, Jay is high energy, problem-solver with broad experience in technology and operations that flourishes in turn-around situations.

I worked with Jay both as a peer when General Counsel and as the CEO of FTD when Jay was elevated to Chief Digital Officer. As CIO and CTO, Jay added the responsibilities of Marketing, Partnership Sales and Merchandising, and retained shared services of Technology, Customer service and eventually the Supply Chain for all of FTD. He inherited a distressed P&L comprised of four consumer brands and helped lead the consumer business through a restructuring that culminated in a successful sale process. Jay was a tireless executive and I was thrilled to have him as a true partner as we worked through a very difficult situation – implementing two major restructurings and what amounted to a complete turn-around of the floral business, with a successful exit from Chapter 11 in less than three months. Jay was a great peer, leader and friend—caring so much about the people and yet able to make very tough decisions quickly and collaboratively for the Company. He’s a perfect executive to have with you as you navigate major transformational change!