Kairos President Alex Smith held leadership roles in each of the following case studies, which provide insights into the level of experience and type of services being offered by Kairos. Case studies featured are for Vertex, the Rohm and Hass Paint Quality Institute, the Main Line Chamber of Commerce, and Johnson Matthey.

Vertex was at a crossroads. Already established as a leading sales tax software company, the company was striving to expand its reach from a single product company serving a “niche within a niche” to enter new markets and serve new customers with new solutions.

From a business standpoint, the company was phasing out of an entrepreneurial stage driven by the original founder and striving to become a more mature, professionally managed company looking to grow on the heels of major technology and market shifts driven by Y2K.

This effort required bold new strategies and a major overhaul of the brand, marketing and communications infrastructure that resulted in a multi-year change management effort. As a highly collaborative culture, the re-branding process touched all aspects of the company and required the input of multiple layers of leadership, as well as in-depth market research with customers, partners, and future targeted customers.

Based on 3M’s corporate identity process and methodology, the resulting work provided Vertex with a flexible brand architecture, messaging framework, and new logo and creative that supported the introduction of new products and services over the next decade, including Vertex’s now flagship solution O Series and its industry-leading professional services division.

Rohm and Hass does not make paint.  It does, however, provide the key ingredient that determines the quality and effectiveness of latex paint – acrylic resins used in the manufacturing process. 

To support its many customers like Benjamin Moore, Finneran & Haley, and others, Rohm and Haas created an education initiative tasked with spreading the word about the virtues of high quality paints made with acrylic latex ingredients.

In the late 1980s, the Rohm and Hass Paint Quality Institute (PQI) was launched and through the efforts of researcher and spokesperson Walt Gozdan and others at Rohm and Haas the virtues of high quality latex paint have been made known to literally millions worldwide.

Using world class testing facilities located outside of Philadelphia, PA, the Paint Quality Institute showcased rigorous paint testing environments run by trained professionals to prove the efficacy and economic advantages of using quality paint products.

To establish PQI, Gozdan embarked on a nationwide media blitz and appeared on influential television talk shows like This Old House.  News and feature articles were regularly featured in leading consumer and professional home improvement magazines.

More than 20 years after it was first established and Rohm and Haas was bought by Dow, the Paint Quality Institute remains a fixture for consumer and painting professionals to better understand and promote the virtues of paint quality.

Like many chambers of commerce, the Main Line Chamber of Commerce located in Strafford, PA, west of Philadelphia, faces trends and challenges to its business model that has served its needs for many years. 

Historically, a significant portion of the Main Line chamber’s annual operating income was generated by providing special group rates for healthcare to small businesses.  However, for a number of reasons this pool of revenue is starting to shrink and could eventually dry up. 

To address this issue, the chamber launched a strategic advisor committee which developed a framework for future focus and growth. Three planks were adopted – Promote Regional Growth, Develop Future Business Leaders, and Attract and Retain Talented Professionals.

In 2013, the Main Line Chamber, embracing its role as the region’s “big connector,” hosted the Regional Congress on Talent and Education, which is designed to help area businesses forge stronger ties to the region's many higher education institutions.

Over the past two years the Congress has attracted more than 500 business and academic leaders to support the cause and led to the creation of a web site promoting internships for students at 21 Philadelphia area colleges and universities.

Johnson Matthey had a problem. A specialty chemicals warehouse and distribution operation located along Route A1A in Seabrook, NH suddenly and mysteriously burnt to the ground spilling thousands of chemicals into the surrounding area. 

To further complicate matters, the fire occurred within a few miles of the Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant and required that a trailer park located next door be evacuated. It took more than 12 hours to evacuate the trailer park, which was far more than towns people were told would take to evacuate the entire town in the event of a nuclear accident.  

Along the way Johnson Matthey experienced extortion attempts, overzealous and unscrupulous media coverage, and found itself in the center of a political hot potato that included then New Hampshire Governor and former Reagan Chief of Staff John Sununu.

Handling this controversy required a number of “on-the-spot” decisions about what to share, by whom and when. Decisions to participate in a town meeting and work with Seabrook officials resulted in a positive outcomes. Working with local media proved more challenging at times.

In the end Governor Sununu’s decision to not participate in a local town hall meeting shifted the crisis to more of a political focus. While keeping lines of communication open with local officials and the community, Johnson Matthey was able to focus on clean up and testing to determine the environmental impact of the chemical spill.