AT THE HELM

CEO of The Chameleon Group Dana Lariviere. Amy Root-Donle photo

Even almost a decade after its demise, the influence of the former Cabletron Systems (the computer networking firm co-founded by former New Hampshire Gov. Craig Benson) is never far away from numerous high-tech firms based in the Seacoast region.

Portsmouth-based Chameleon Group specializes in outsourced sales and marketing solutions and was founded in 2002 by Cabletron alumnus Steve Tentindo. In 2004, another former Cabletron sales executive, Dana Lariviere, was brought in as president and chief executive officer.

Lariviere nurtured a hard-working, innovative, accountable, and casual culture that has led to explosive growth (its employee count has grown to 40 from single digits in fewer than three years and revenues continue to rise for the multi-million dollar company) and allowed Chameleon to live up to its name of changing its colors to serve its clients best.

Chameleon is big on constantly being measured and integrating its thinking and processes to be the sales department its numerous high-tech industry clients don't have.

"We need the feedback to know how to do our best," he told Ventures recently.

Lariviere told Ventures that Chameleon has separated itself from outsourcing sales firm rivals by unleashing experienced and successful salespeople who can grasp the technology and take on a large degree of responsibility.

On the company name

The name is by design, not by accident. It is intended to represent that, like chameleons, we adapt and "become" one with our clients. Many traditional "telemarketing" firms take a one-size-fits all approach and essentially ask that customers fit their model. We take just the opposite approach. We recognize that each and every business is unique as are their corporate cultures, value propositions and differentiators.

As a business development partner, our services are critical to our clients' growth and success. Therefore, it is far more important that we understand and adapt to our customers' needs, rather than ask them to adapt to ours.

On Chameleon's strengths

Our strengths lie in the fact that we clearly understand the critical nature of what we do for a business and the fact we must be measured on results each and every day. In order to be able to sustain those strengths, we need to be able to monitor, measure and manage those results on a constant basis "" down to the level of working with each individual to develop their maximum potential.

On the best part of his job

Without a doubt, the best part about my job is that I get the opportunity to work with and for some very special people. I am continually amazed at the ingenuity, drive, creativity and caring that I see in people on a daily basis. The power that they can bring to a given situation or circumstance can be truly astounding.

On industry trends

Interesting "" my industry is really a microcosm of all industries that I serve when you think about it. We tend to reflect the market and the economy as a whole, and provide services on either end of the economic outlook. When the economy tightens, companies turn to us to provide very specific functions that can be turned up or down as needed, to supplement and augment their internal efforts without resorting to additional head count. When the economy booms, we can get people to market faster, more affordably, and with much less management overhead than traditional in-house hires would require.

On the biggest challenge in the next five years

Attracting and retaining quality people will always be our biggest challenge. Our people are our product. Our entire value proposition begins and ends with the quality of our people and our ability to measure, manage and motivate them. Once you have the kind of talented, high-quality individuals that we have at Chameleon Group "" it becomes far easier to sell that proposition to our clients.