Derek Holota

Background

About Derek Holota

I’m a business leader with a foundation in marketing and communications, rising to CMO within a decade. My career has been about building, scaling, and transforming — whether that means creating marketing functions from scratch, driving growth strategies, or steering professional services firms through change. I’ve led business development programs that give professionals confidence to win clients, built inbound growth engines and driven integration and transformation after acquisitions. I thrive in environments where growth, clarity, and operational discipline are needed to take a business to the next stage. While my background is rooted in brand and communications, my value lies in leadership, turnaround, and building functions that deliver commercial outcomes. I’m particularly drawn to growth-stage and professional services businesses, where I can combine strategic vision with hands-on execution to unlock transformation. Highlights- Promoted 4 times in 10 years - Selected as 1 of 13 Future Leaders at Dye & Durham — a company of ~1,300 employees (2023)- Built functions from zero: Created the UK marketing and communications function for a global tech company and later built the marketing engine for a fee-share law firm, establishing inbound lead generation, brand strategy, and scalable communications processes - Led transformation and integration: Unified acquired brands into a single identity at Dye & Durham post-acquisition, partnered with the C-suite on AI positioning, and managed a £500K budget to strengthen the firm’s market presence - Designed business development programs: Conceived and launched firm-wide BD training for consultant lawyers, boosting confidence and client acquisition in a competitive market