Hayden Richards
Demand Generation Leader | B2B SaaS & FinTech | Full-Funnel Pipeline, Lifecycle & Marketing Automation
Southend on Sea, Essex, UK
hdnric@gmail.com
07397 901560
PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY
Demand generation leader with 14+ years building pipeline and content engines for B2B SaaS and regulated financial services, including 6+ years leading marketing teams of up to 10. I own the full revenue lifecycle — paid search, paid social, programmatic, retargeting, and lifecycle marketing — and pair commercial strategy with hands-on automation and AI-assisted execution to build acquisition engines that scale. CeMAP-qualified and experienced within FCA financial promotions rules.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Founder
August 2025 – Presentcomplexincome.mortgage (FinTech Demand Generation Venture)
Remote/UK
Architecting fully autonomous FinTech lead generation engines and end-to-end RevOps pipelines targeting complex borrower profiles.
- Launched a full-funnel acquisition engine spanning paid search, SEO, and introducer partnerships — a live 124-keyword Google Ads programme with CRM-attributed pipeline — built end-to-end within FCA financial promotions rules.
- Eliminated manual data entry across the adviser workflow with zero-touch case creation in the mortgage back-office CRM, via automated lead qualification, compliance routing, and system integration.
- Compressed speed-to-lead from industry-standard hours to under 60 seconds — measured from workflow execution logs — by connecting ad platforms, lead capture, and adviser handoff into one automated journey with segmented email nurture and retention touchpoints.
- Reduced campaign management overhead by deploying AI-assisted budget routing and anomaly detection across Google and Meta Ads.
Technologies: Marketing Automation, CRO, FCA Compliance, MCP, n8n, OpenRouter, Acre System, GitHub, Meta/Google Ads API
Marketing Performance Manager
December 2024 – August 2025CDP
London
Senior marketing lead owning demand generation strategy, pipeline, and attribution — leading a team of 2 CRM managers across lifecycle and retention programmes.
- Developed a brand engagement strategy contributing to 40% net-new lead growth through automated stakeholder targeting and segmentation.
- Designed MQL-to-SQL processes with my CRM team, increasing SQL acceptance rates by 17% through tightened lead capture, autoresponder sequences, and automated follow-up logic.
- Developed GA4 and Looker attribution reporting to identify inefficient marketing spend, improving ROI visibility and reducing wasted marketing activity by 18%.
- Led MarTech planning across Microsoft Dynamics 365, integrating ZoomInfo/intent data and establishing CRM resilience.
Technologies: Microsoft Dynamics 365, ZoomInfo, GA4, Looker, Marketing Automation, Attribution Reporting
Senior Marketing Consultant
May 2023 – December 2024Independent Practice
Remote/UK
Delivered interim senior marketing leadership for B2B SaaS and regulated-service clients, driving demand generation strategy and full-funnel optimization.
- Delivered interim senior marketing leadership for B2B SaaS and regulated-service clients, driving demand generation strategy, GTM planning, and full-funnel optimization.
- Engineered a bespoke GoHighLevel (GHL) lead management system for the mortgage sector, automating complex qualification workflows, multi-channel nurture sequences, and instant broker handoff to drastically improve speed-to-lead.
- Improved MQL-to-SQL conversion rates by 27% across client engagements through advanced marketing automation, nurture sequence design, and sales handoff improvements.
Technologies: GoHighLevel (GHL), Marketing Automation, GTM Planning, Funnel Optimization, CRM
Head of Performance Marketing
August 2021 – May 2023Croner-i
London
Led a team of 5 owning performance marketing for a leading compliance technology provider — paid search, paid social, retargeting, and marketing automation across an 8-product portfolio.
- Increased qualified demo bookings by 180% through strategic integration of ZoomInfo and ChiliPiper, improving speed-to-lead and routing automation.
- Reduced sales development research time by 45% through MarTech optimization, workflow automation, and stronger AI-driven account intelligence.
- Scaled lead volume by 35%+ while maintaining cost efficiency through automated LinkedIn Conversation Ads and review-site partnerships.
- Aligned 5 departments behind coordinated launches across 8 product lines by building the centralised campaign planning framework my team ran.
Technologies: ZoomInfo, ChiliPiper, LinkedIn Ads, MarTech, Demand Generation, B2B SaaS
Head of Digital Marketing
March 2019 – October 2020Wayland Games & Warcradle Studios
UK
Built and led a digital marketing team of 5 across acquisition, CRO, and retention for global eCommerce and tabletop gaming brands.
- Delivered 32% e-commerce growth through programmatic customer acquisition optimization and digital marketing strategy.
- Introduced rapid A/B testing frameworks to improve conversion learning and lifetime value tracking.
Technologies: eCommerce, A/B Testing, Customer Acquisition, Digital Strategy
Independent Digital Marketing Consultant
January 2017 – January 2019Freelance / Contract
Remote/UK
Delivered contract digital marketing engagements for e-commerce and B2B clients — acquisition campaigns, CRO, and marketing automation.
Technologies: Digital Marketing, CRO, Client Delivery
Digital Growth Strategist
January 2016 – January 2017Hip Hotels
London
Increased online sales by 67% through data-led digital marketing and CRO.
- Increased online sales by 67% through data-led digital marketing and Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO).
Technologies: CRO, Data-led Marketing, Digital Strategy
Co-Founder, IntelligentHQ & B2B Content Lead
January 2011 – January 2013Ztudium
London
Co-founded a thought leadership platform for social business — hiring and managing a 10-person globally distributed remote team across content, social, and creative production.
- Built and led a 10-person global remote marketing team through a centralised operating model sustaining multi-market content output.
- Grew company social presence 20% month-on-month on average by instituting an interactive social media training programme adopted across all departments.
- Owned B2B content strategy end-to-end — articles, white papers, webinars, and video — as primary project manager from planning to promotion.
Technologies: Content Strategy, Team Leadership, Remote Team Management, Thought Leadership, Social Media
Digital Strategist
January 2013 – January 2016Hennik Research Ltd
London
Grew social communities by 40% and contributed to a 9% sales increase via B2B event marketing and social selling.
- Grew social communities by 40% and contributed to a 9% sales increase via B2B event marketing and social selling.
Technologies: Social Selling, B2B Event Marketing, Community Growth
Royal Air Force Reservist
January 2000 – January 2010UK Armed Forces
UK
Managed operational delivery under pressure and led cross-functional team coordination.
- Managed operational delivery under pressure and led cross-functional team coordination.
Technologies: Operations, Leadership, Team Coordination
SKILLS
Demand Generation & Channels
Paid Search, Paid Social, Programmatic, Retargeting, ABM, CRO & A/B Testing
Lifecycle & Automation
HubSpot, Marketing Automation (Mautic, GoHighLevel, n8n), Email Nurture & Retention Programmes, Lead Scoring & Routing
RevOps & Attribution
Pipeline Reporting, GA4 & Looker Attribution, Microsoft Dynamics 365, Salesforce, ZoomInfo, ChiliPiper
AI-Native Marketing
AI-assisted campaign optimisation, LLM workflow automation (MCP, OpenRouter), Marketing engineering (APIs, webhooks)
EDUCATION
Bachelor of Arts in History and Social Sciences
University of The West Indies
West Indies
CERTIFICATIONS
Certificate In Mortgage Advice and Practice (CeMAP) (FCA-regulated financial services qualification)
The Institute of Financial Services
Advanced Marketing Analytics & Attribution Modelling
HubSpot Revenue Operations Certification
HubSpot