Rich Kneece

I build stuff.

Products, companies, and high performing teams.

I’ve had multiple stops as a CTO in scale-up roles, as well as battle scars as a co-founder and operator. I’m proud that my diverse and distributed teams have pushed the envelope of innovation, mainly in HR tech and digital health. This includes launching data-centric platforms, applied AI and machine learning, and scalable/secure B2B+2C solutions. But success isn’t just about innovative technology. As a people leader, I bring out the best in teams by focusing on empathy, clear paths of communication, individual/team growth and by encouraging psychological safety.

By doing this, I directly affect the bottom line through high-performing teams that are built to last by caring about the product, the customer and each other. I’ve been lucky to use my unique background in entrepreneurship, engineering, recruiting, go-to-market, and scaling teams, to build processes and cultures that build cool stuff, while making work fun, reducing churn and improving profitability and long-term success.

Some highlights.

• I founded MTC Labs, which was twice listed in the Inc 5000 as one of America’s fastest growing private firms. We were consistently listed as one of the top professional services firms in New England for our leading UX and engineering engagements, and won multiple awards. We turned a $10k bootstrap into a multi-million dollar agency.
• My tenure as Eskalera’s CTO was marked by triple-digit multi-year contracts and expansion in 30+ countries (while we tripled team size). We established a powerhouse product engine, delivered unparalleled people analytics insights, and effectively scaled as we grew.
• I co-founded one of the top niche job boards, which focused on healthcare and life sciences. I was even interviewed on outlets such as CNN, CNBC, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes and Wired.
• Past roles at Aetna and IBM have flavored my fundamental belief that strong cultures, a shared vision, and passion in your work all impact results and revenues.
• Alumni on my teams have gone onto engineering and product leadership roles at companies like Circle, Simplisafe, Workiva, Uber and Netflix. I’m like a proud papa when I see them succeed!

I also have significant experience in highly regulated industries, security and compliance (HIPAA, HITECH, SOC2 Type II, ISO 27001, GDPR, CCPA, HL7 / FHIR).

I’m open to full-time and fractional roles in startup and scale-up firms. If you’re interested in chatting, you can contact me here.