Layne Cox
Chief Marketing Officer at Union
Denver, Colorado
Overview
Work Experience
Chief Marketing Officer
2022 - Current
Union powers a first-of-its-kind venue operating system purpose-built for the nation's busiest bars and restaurants. More than a point-of-sale, Union connects 1,500+ establishments with 5M+ consumers and leading brands through real-time consumption data. The platform drives operational efficiency, enables frictionless mobile ordering, and facilitates brand-patron interactions that enhance venue loyalty. With $2B+ in annual transactions, Union creates a virtuous cycle where venues improve customer experiences, brands gain direct consumer engagement, and patrons enjoy personalized rewarding hospitality—transforming high-volume operations into next-gen guest experiences.
UNION, a hospitality engagement platform that leverages data to deliver exceptional experiences for consumers, venues, and brands they enjoy
Raised $22,000,000.00 from Aquila Capital Partners, ROTH Capital Partners, Wellington Partners, New Enterprise Associates, Fiserv, Trog Hawley Capital, Clerisy and Anthony Catalfano.
Advisor / Consultant / Co-Founder / Fractional CMO
2015
I love nothing more than building and helping startups and founding teams win! Whether it is evaluating your go-to-market strategy, assessing new avenues for scale, reviewing brand positioning, auditing budgets and media investments, helping to find/hire your next superstar, aiding with your fundraising pitch/intros, and/or just being your sounding board - I’m here to help. A few of the great brands and teams I’ve had the opportunity to support or hold advisory roles with include: Opencare (Marketplace - Dental Care) Drizly (Marketplace - Alcohol Delivery) Street Easy (Marketplace - Apartments) Seated (Marketplace - Reservations) Care (Marketplace - Childcare) Reggie (Marketplace - Youth Activities) Handoff (Marketplace - SMB Liquor Store) Knowes (Marketplace - Manufacturing) ToMarket (Marketplace - Restaurant Supplies) [Advisory Board] HellaBella (Marketplace - Nail salons) [Co-Founder / Nov 2019-Oct 2020] SoldOut NYC (DTC - Fashion) POMP (D2C - Flowers) [Contract CMO / Oct 2020 - July 2022] Vinebase (B2B/Marketplace - Winery Back Office) [Advisory Board] Joe Coffee (B2B/Marketplace - SMB Coffee) [Advisory Board]
Vice President, Marketing (B2B, B2C, Acquisition & CRM/Retention)
2017 - 2020
Built from a passion to ensure local authentic pizza continues to be something we all can enjoy, Slice, founded by a third generation pizzeria owner, is dedicated to helping independent pizzerias compete with big pizza chains and thrive! Slice offers independent pizzerias everything they need to grow their profits and business; discoverable online presence, simple online ordering, personalized marketing materials and support, data driven automated customer engagement, and much more...... Through Slice, pizza consumers can not only always find authentic pizza close by, they can now order from their favorite, hard-to-get-a-hold-of, mom and pop pizzeria easily by downloading the Slice app. Because eating real pizza should be really easy, convenient, delicious - and always there! Responsible for all aspects of the marketing team from Acquistion to Retention to Growth for my last year. During my tenure at Slice we drastically moved from 3000 local pizzerias to over 15,000. I supported the build of our GTM strategy for local pizzeria acquisition as well all efforts to engage and retain our individual consumers. My team pioneered Slice’s entry into SEM - moving rapidly from $100 days to thousands, while still winning against our monster competitor budgets. We also launched the company’s first OOH campaign that doubled mobile downloads during the campaign duration. During my time at Slice we launched a number of growth tactics, including web and product conversion improvements that drove order volumes and consumer retention. I could share more but most of all my time at Slice was all about managing extremely dedicated people across the globe to do more everyday to help the local independent pizzeria win!
Director of Brand & Acquisition, Growth Marketing
2016 - 2017
Ibotta is transforming the shopping experience by making it easy for consumers to earn cash back on everyday purchases through a single smartphone app. Ibotta partners with leading brands and retailers to offer rebates on groceries, electronics, clothing, gifts, home and office supplies, restaurant dining, and more. Ibotta is the premier destination for rewarded shopping on mobile, and has paid out more than $200 million in cash back to its users. Launched in 2012, Ibotta has nearly 22 million downloads, and is one of the five most frequently used shopping apps in the United States. Responsible for building the brand and performance marketing team. Moved the company from a mommy couponing app to a broader base savings app with a mission to make everyday purchases rewarding. We expanded budget from a couple thousands dollars to millions over the course of a year, while maintaining growth targets and budgets. My team pioneered our entry into paid media within Facebook, Pinterest, Mobile Display, SEM and affiliate marketing. We also launched the company’s first OOH, Direct Mail, Radio, YouTube and Local/National TV buy. My team was primarily in house from buying to creative. Outside of media, my team conducted the company’s first ever brand survey and assessment, 3rd party consumer research, as well as created and launched Ibotta’s first consumer panel where real users aided us in brand, product and growth feedback.
Ibotta is a web and mobile application.
Raised $92,915,076.00 from Koch Disruptive Technologies, Teamworthy Ventures, Jim Clark, Thomas Jermoluk, Harbor Spring Capital and Notable Capital.
Head of Marketing Strategy & Operations
2015 - 2016
GrubHub Inc. is the nation's leading online and mobile food-ordering company dedicated to connecting hungry diners with local takeout restaurants. Responsible for organizing and managing the strategic direction and operations of the marketing team, directly with the Chief Marketing Officer. Partnered with other marketing leaders to enable organizational alignment towards critical business objectives and lead the organization’s implementation of company-wide strategic transformation activities and strategic imperatives. Direct responsibilities included acting as Chief of Staff to the CMO, planning & management of budget & staff resources, aligning & maintaining organization focus on key strategic objectives, communicating across all organizational levels, reporting & analysis, strategic insights & development (establishing long-term & short-term direction), and infrastructure/process management, development and improvement.
Senior Manager, Offline Marketing
2013 - 2015
Responsible for the growth of both the Seamless & Grubhub brands through the acquisition of diners across all markets by leveraging traditional offline marketing channels; Out of Home, TV, Direct Mail, Radio, Print, Guerrilla/Local Activation, Distribution Partnerships and Charity/Sponsorship. Oversaw not only the strategy & budget planning but also the buying, negotiation, placement and creative development. All channels are validated and supported through channel analytics and consumer intelligence. Daily activities included strategic marketing planning, management of internal team and external agencies, creative development, media purchasing, testing/development of new channels, and reporting/presenting program analysis to Sr. leadership & Board.
Grubhub is an online platform that connects customers with local restaurants.
Raised $284,100,000.00 from Amazon and Yum!.
Manager, Acquisition & Brand Marketing
2010 - 2013
Seamless is the ultimate destination to find and order food instantly from every restaurant in your neighborhood for delivery or takeout. Responsibilities included managing the growth of the Seamless brand into and across all markets. I was specifically responsible for developing and executing our offline acquisition initiatives; Out of Home, TV, Direct Mail, Radio, Print, Guerilla/Local Activation, and Charity/Sponsorships. My team utilized these channels to launch both brand awareness & direct response programs that are derived and validated through consumer intelligence and behavior. Accomplishments included initiating and developing the Seamless launch into all major traditional marketing channels; TV, Out of Home and Direct Mail. Under my direction Seamless leveraged these channels to drastically accelerate awareness levels across all markets and acquire more loyal diners each month.
Manager, Catering Sales & Client Management
2008 - 2010
Sold Seamless' corporate catering solution and managed key client relationships (Top Law Firms and Financial Companies). Developed relationships with caterers to ensure clients received the best service, price point and variety. Supported special event planning and menu planning for board meetings, holiday parties, and staff events. All efforts supported maximizing client revenue and growing company's catering portfolio.
Seamless North America is an online platform and smartphone app that allows customers to order food from preferred restaurants.
Raised $51,000,000.00 from Stripes.
Food Service Director
2007 - 2008
Oversaw contract food service operations at KPMG Headquarters in Midtown Manhattan. Direct outlets included, retail cafe, casual catering, executive conference center, and vending/pantry units. Responsible for managing all aspects of day to day operation and future contract obligations of the location. Over 1.5M in annual revenue with 15 unionized employees and executive chef.
Assistant Food Service Director
2005 - 2007
Assisted in overseeing the daily operation of a food service contract with John Hancock/Manulife in their South Boston location including a Starbucks Liscensed store and Retail Cafe. Supported the roll out of corporate marketing initiatives at the regional level through onsite training and weekly communications with regional field team. Took part in several account openings and refreshes as the retail merchandising lead.
Aramark provides food services, facilities management, and uniform and career apparel to healthcare institutions and more.