About Rich Bruer – consultant, facilitator, coach
based in Portland, Oregon
Hello, I’m Rich Bruer, a planning consultant, retreat facilitator and executive coach. And I’m on a mission to help you, the good guys, win. What’s so good about you? For starters: you care. About the health of our natural surroundings and the people and creatures who depend on it. About communities and economies that work for all. About delivering products and services that make a difference.
What else makes you good? You act. You’re leaders of organizations and individuals offering solutions and hope. You want more than anything to see your constituents or customers succeed and the world at large to benefit. Your bottom line is impact, whether your workplace is a for-profit or not-for-profit.
You’re the reason I’m in business. I make my impact by growing yours.
Putting My Experience to Work for You
R.Bruer Company is a melding of my experience across three decades as an entrepreneur, business and nonprofit strategist, storyteller and sustainability advocate.
entrepreneur
Rich Bruer
I know intimately what’s involved in starting, operating and growing a business. I previously co-founded McClenahan Bruer in Portland, Ore. Along with Kerry McClenahan, I grew the firm into one of the West Coast’s leading technology marketing agencies.
Creating and executing business plans, hiring employees, building a brand and culture, attracting and keeping customers, achieving financial targets, providing a steady hand through boom times and trying times — my often hard-won experience as an entrepreneur, owner and manager deepen and sharpen my perspective as a strategist, trusted advisor and coach.
I started R.Bruer Company a decade ago to scratch my itch to help businesses, nonprofits and other organizations achieve greater social and environmental impact.
strategist
I’ve advised dozens of executives and teams from environmental and social nonprofits to venture-backed startups, mid-sized businesses and large publicly traded enterprises. I love rolling up my sleeves and going to work, but I hit the pause button whenever I see tactics in search of a strategy. Keeping you connected to why or to what end is always at the heart of my work, whether developing your strategic plan, brand or positioning, facilitating your retreat or coaching you or your managers individually.
storyteller
I began my career as a newspaper journalist, followed by years of finding and capturing the stories of my clients and their customers and stakeholders. I lead workshops on the use and power of storytelling for organizations — especially strategic, purposeful stories that connect people emotionally to your mission and value. I also draw on my long experience across branding, PR, advertising, direct marketing and other communications disciplines to recommend the best ways to share your stories.
sustainability advocate
I left a career in technology marketing in 2006 to move my work down the path of sustainability. It’s what I mean when I say I’m here to help the good guys win. I choose to work with those who are protecting our environment and making communities and economies work for all — including conservation and climate change groups, community services providers, B Corps and other good doers. I am past chair of the Northwest Earth Institute board of directors and past chair of the Sustainable Business Network of Portland.
