ECRM Acquired by Investment Group

Efficient Collaborative Retail Marketing (ECRM), a provider of business innovation and technology, was acquired by BV Investment Partners (BV), which – as majority shareholder -- plans to drive ECRM’s growth within current endeavors while simultaneously expanding into new areas. Greg Farrar, former president of Nielsen Business Media, is ECRM’s new CEO.

Founded in 1994 by the late Charlie Bowlus and his son Mitch, ECRM is known for strategic events and promotional tracking and analysis in the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industry. It is with this already strong foundation that ECRM looks to BV as a way to develop the business further. “I’m excited to partner with BV to help bring the company that my father and I built together to its next stage of growth,” said Mitch Bowlus.

With this transition, Mitch Bowlus is stepping down as president. “I will continue to be a significant shareholder and will be involved in the future strategic growth of the business but will be transitioning out of the day to day operations,” he said. “With this, I am pleased to announce Greg Farrar as our new CEO. The executive team is very excited that we have found a seasoned senior leader who will undoubtedly help us propel the future growth of the company.”

According to ECRM, Farrar’s proven credentials and established knowledge of the CPG industry made him the ideal CEO candidate to lead ECRM into a successful future. Farrar, formerly the CEO of Trade Only Design Library (TODL), is an innovative business-to-business media executive with a track record of successfully transforming and growing businesses. Under Farrar’s leadership, TODL’s professional membership grew by 50 percent while its manufacturer library increased by over 60 percent.

Prior to his time at TODL, from 2007 until 2010, Farrar served as president of Nielsen Business Media, a 760-employee, $310 million business-to-business media company. He led the business through unusually severe economic conditions and re-positioned it for future growth. Prior to that, Farrar was COO of Nielsen where he spearheaded the market-focused reorganization of the company’s operations.

“This is about growing and serving our customers better,” said Farrar. “It’s about taking the opportunity to enter into markets we don’t currently serve yet.”