About / Vitae
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Christopher Krohn, Founder and Principal of CKC Impact LLC, is a business executive, consultant, board advisor, and educator based in the hard-working, results-driven city of Chicago. He specializes in leading businesses through AI and digital transformations, new business launches, growth initiatives, and turnaround situations.
In his most recent executive role, he served as SVP and General Manager at Toptal, where he built the company's Marketing Agency business unit, growing that business from startup to $17 million in sales in under two years. In addition, he built and launched two AI-powered product offerings: Sales Launchpad, a sales readiness and lead generation agent for startup founders; and Sonar, a GEO/SEO analytics engine and command center.
Areas of expertise include leadership, P&L management, strategy, e-commerce, AI and product management, business development, digital marketing, technology leadership, sales, and finance.
Prior to his time at Toptal, he served as Business Unit President at Sears Holdings, where he managed a $700 million multichannel retail business. Before that, he served as President of Restaurant.com, Chief Marketing Officer and VP Business Development of Carparts.com / Whitney Automotive Group, Vice President of Marketing for Harrah's Entertainment, and has also served as a Director and Advisory Board member for several startups and non-profits. He was head of marketing at Chicago Mercantile Exchange during its transition to electronic trading and preparation for its successful IPO, and was a founding Managing Director (CMO and CFO) of the digital startup exchange OneChicago LLC, which beat all competition in its market and ran successfully for 20 years.
Krohn has held a variety of consulting positions with leading firms such as Bain & Company, Aon Hewitt, and Accenture. Through CKC Impact, he currently consults with companies on a bespoke basis, helping drive growth initiatives, AI and digital transformations, and business turnarounds.
Earlier in his career, Krohn was a software engineer and IT infrastructure lead, and served as Instructor of Computer Science at the Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering at Northwestern University. He now teaches MBA and executive education programs as Adjunct Professor of Marketing at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Krohn is an alumnus of both these schools, having earned his BA in Psychology from Northwestern and his MBA in Strategy and Finance from Chicago Booth.