Ryan joined the COMPAS board of directors in 2022. He is the Head of Marketing for SalesMessage, Inc. Both a lifelong hip hop and spoken word artist, as well as a creative marketing professional, Ryan has more than 15 years of experience working in marketing and strategy for over 20 brands.
He started his career as an artist in the Twin Cities spoken word and hip hop music scenes, and after graduating from the University of Minnesota with a BA in English and a creative writing emphasis, he began professionally applying a creative lens to software and technology marketing.
With more than a decade in the trenches at global B2B and B2C software companies ranging from true startups to mid-market and enterprise-level businesses with Fortune 500 clients, he grew into Director- and VP-level marketing leadership roles at organizations based in both the U.S. and Canada.
Most recently, as the head of Kopperud & Co., Ryan consults with both technology startups and consumer brands on business strategy, messaging and positioning, go-to-market strategy, creative, branding, and more. Continuing to moonlight as an artist and podcaster all the while, Ryan’s music has received hundreds of thousands of listens and views, and the podcasts he’s hosted and produced have amassed millions of downloads.
Ryan lives, works, and plays in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and is passionate about creativity, storytelling, social justice issues, and the arts.”
