Milwaukee-based MTI Connect has named Bob Hackett president and chief executive officer.
MTI Connect was founded in 2015 with the assets of the former First Edge Solutions, which were bought out of receivership by a Robert W. Kraft-led company.
MTI Connect provides direct mail, printing and digital multi-channel marketing services for a national client base. It has 52 employees at offices in Milwaukee and Phoenix.
Hackett, a Milwaukee native, has more than 30 years of operating, sales and management experience. He previously spent more than 10 years as vice president at RR Donnelley in Chicago, focusing on sales, management and marketing.
Kraft asked Hackett to return to Milwaukee and serve as the new company’s leader. Kraft’s son, Bobby Kraft, was president and CEO of First Edge but is not involved with the new company in any way, Hackett said.
“I spent some time with (Robert W. Kraft) and the board and looked at it and this business is really poised to take off,” Hackett said. “It just needs volume and it needs sales and marketing leadership.
“We’ll be working with companies who are looking to build and grow their businesses in the area of direct marketing, both from data analytics and understanding of data analytics and how to use and execute them.”
Hackett has experience working with firms of all sizes, from Fortune 100 to small businesses, he said. He plans to grow MTI’s geographic reach and product offerings.
“Throughout the more than 35 years I’ve worked in this industry, I’ve had the opportunity to work with some of the nation’s top marketing and printing firms and have come to understand that meeting the needs of customers has to be my top priority,” Hackett said.
He plans to add more employees at MTI Connect and expand to a larger location down the road. The current location at 7254 N. Teutonia Ave. is 50,000 square feet.
“As our business develops, we’re going to clearly need to grow, especially in the data and analytics side of our business,” he said. “I’m really looking for Milwaukee to become the future of our growth. We’ll continue to grow our Phoenix office, but Milwaukee is our corporate home.”
