Joe Walsh joined Thryv as CEO and president in October 2014. He is charged with leading the overall company strategy and operations.
A respected leader in the industry, Joe brings a wealth of experience to Thryv with previous leadership roles in a variety of companies. Most recently he was the CEO and chairman of Walsh Partners, a private company focused on investments and advisory services. He previously served as the chairman of Cambium Learning Group (NASDAQ ticker symbol: ABCD), a leading educational technology company.
Joe is best known for his leadership at Yellowbook, where he served as president and CEO. During his tenure, Yellowbook grew from a small telephone directory publisher to the nation’s premier provider of small business advertising and marketing solutions. He led the company through a series of acquisitions and new market launches, as well as unprecedented print and online growth. The company saw revenue expand from $38 million to $2 billion, with revenue doubling every two years for more than a dozen years.
Early in his career, Joe co-founded IYP Publishing, a company he sold to DataNational in 1985. He served as vice president of sales at DataNational until joining Yellowbook in 1987.
Joe has received numerous awards and has been recognized by some of the country’s top print and broadcast outlets. In 1999, Joe was featured in Forbes Magazine’s “Entrepreneurs – Up and Comers.” He was awarded Ernst and Young’s “Master Entrepreneur of the Year.” A front page feature in the Wall Street Journal highlighted his accomplishments in an article titled, “Yellow Book USA Grabs Business from Baby Bells with Cheap Ads.” He also appeared on news programs such as CNBC and CNNfn. In 2010, Joe was among an elite group of U.S. leaders selected to participate in the Joint Civilian Orientation Conference sponsored by the U.S. Secretary of Defense.
Joe served as chairman of the Local Search Association (LSA) and on the board of LSA’s predecessor, the Yellow Pages Association. He was also chairman and a long-term board member of the Association of Directory Publishers and served on the board of the Association of Directory Marketing. Additionally, he served on the board of trustees for the Bullis School in Maryland. Since its endowment in 1999, Joe has directed the activities of the Joe and Missy Walsh Family Foundation as chairman.
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