A Q&A with Richard Deede, Director of Digital Marketing
Inside RAF’s Digital Strategy with Richard Deede
RAF’s Director of Digital Marketing, Richard Deede, leads strategy and growth initiatives across the firm’s portfolio companies. Since joining our private equity firm in 2025, he has guided businesses in navigating complex digital transformations and identifying key performance indicators in digital marketing, as well as new opportunities for sustainable growth.
In this interview, Richard shares what drew him to RAF and insights into his team’s approach to helping portfolio companies accelerate digital performance and scale.
Q. What drew you to join RAF? How does the firm’s approach to private equity differ from others you’ve encountered?
A. “I was drawn to RAF for a number of reasons. The first and foremost were the personal interactions I had with the various people within the firm, which were extremely positive and gave me an excellent sense of who they were as people and what it would be like to work with them. Their emphasis on smart growth, combined with an empathetic approach to working with the portfolio of companies, aligned very well with my values and approach.
The firm’s approach to helping our portfolio grow as much as possible under our ownership was the other attractive element in my decision-making. This growth strategy and mindset meant that we would explore all avenues and opportunities to improve these brands, and digital marketing would be a big part of that potential.
I enjoy building sustainable strategies built on best practices and a commitment to true audience connection, which is exactly what I saw in the mindset of RAF when working with their portfolio of brands.”
Q. How does the equity firm support digital transformation and business development, and what role do you play in driving that evolution across the portfolio?
A. “RAF leads with data-driven insights to craft a strategy that fits the needs, audience, and goals of each individual brand. RAF uses a bespoke approach to brand interaction, whether that’s for strategic insights, tactical execution, or goal setting and reporting.
In my role as Digital Marketing Director, I apply this same data-driven approach and layer on a process that utilizes an always-on test-and-learn approach to gather brand-specific insights and learnings. We then try to use an approach of general industry news dissemination combined with brand-specific assistance in whatever manner will aid them the most. This could be helping to brainstorm strategies, helping to build a content or testing calendar, analyzing analytics data, building reports, and everything in between.”
Q. In your view, what makes RAF a valuable partner for businesses and their leadership teams during periods of growth or transition?
A. “RAF is a valuable partner for our businesses because we can help craft strategy and tactical execution through both historical context and forward-looking preparation.
Using analytics and historical data, we can help perform a forensic analysis to identify areas of improvement and opportunity. We then work with the digital team within the brand to craft an optimization strategy. This can include A/B testing, process overhauls, and working with third-party channel experts to help implement these strategies.
In addition, RAF can help prepare brands for upcoming changes in the digital landscape by sharing insights around emerging trends, but also disseminating learnings between the various companies in the portfolio. We are able to leverage data not only at the brand level but across the portfolio to help brands avoid potential pitfalls and make informed strategic decisions using a much larger dataset than what would normally be available to them.”
Q. How would you describe RAF’s culture, and how does it influence the way the team supports businesses?
A. “I would describe RAF’s culture as one of support and empathy. We approach all situations trying to understand the goals and motivations of those we are interacting with. This cultural mindset allows room for learning and growth fueled by making mistakes and learning from those mistakes along the way to make improvements.
We treat each other as people, all with our own unique strengths and flaws, and realize we’re all on the same team with a common goal. That approach builds strong business partnerships within RAF and across our portfolio.
Q. What are some of the key opportunities or challenges you see when driving digital growth within private equity–backed businesses?
A. “The challenge, which ultimately is truly an advantage, is the diversity in the portfolio. Each company operates in different verticals. They have different audiences across various channels, with distinct goals and objectives. However, this diversity is an opportunity for us to scale insights and approach at a rate far faster than if we were isolated to a singular category with a singular audience and set of objectives.
And because we are focused on sustainable growth at RAF, we are centered on looking to build strategies that will help our companies expand and strengthen the bond with their target audience.”
Learn More About RAF
RAF was founded 45+ years ago and acquires control positions in middle market companies across a diverse set of industries. We maintain a long-term strategy focused on investing in businesses with strong management teams, a demonstrated history of business growth, and potential for acceleration, with EBITDA of $5-20 million.
