TRENT HARRINGTON

trent@hiretrent.com
256-326-8887

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Lover of creative campaigns, timeless design, and Alabama football.

I’m an award-winning creative leader with over a decade of experience in branding, marketing, and communications. 

As the Founder and former CEO of Red Brick, I scaled the agency to a multi-million dollar business, leading it to win over 70 industry awards, including three Best of Show honors. I specialize in developing transformative brand strategies and multi-channel campaigns that drive measurable business results, from increased market penetration to revenue growth. 

Now, as Vice President of Marketing & Communications at Apex Partners, I apply my expertise to help high-growth startups in the defense and creative industries scale through strategic marketing and brand development. 

Passionate about innovation and impactful storytelling, I lead cross-functional teams to deliver award-winning campaigns that resonate with audiences and meet business goals.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Apex Partners, Inc. | Huntsville, Alabama

APEX PARTNERS

Vice President of Marketing and Communications

September 2023 – Present (11 Months)
Huntsville, Alabama

Apex Partners, a leading venture capital firm focused on high-growth startups in military, defense, and creative industries, gave me the opportunity to leverage my strategic and creative skills to scale emerging businesses in highly competitive markets. After successfully leading Red Brick for over a decade,

I transitioned to Apex to tackle new challenges in the venture capital space, overseeing brand development and marketing initiatives for both the firm and its portfolio companies.

At Apex, I lead comprehensive marketing efforts that have significantly boosted the firm’s visibility, reputation, and inbound investment opportunities. I’ve driven a 25% increase in leads through integrated marketing campaigns, while custom strategies for portfolio companies have led to a 30% boost in market penetration and a 20% revenue increase. My leadership goes beyond branding; I’ve cultivated high-impact partnerships, organized industry events, and positioned Apex as a thought leader in the venture capital space.

 

Brand Strategy & Growth: Developed a comprehensive brand strategy that increased Apex’s visibility in the venture capital landscape and attracted significant new investment opportunities, strengthening relationships with top- tier stakeholders.

 

Marketing Campaign Leadership: Spearheaded multi-channel B2B marketing campaigns, increasing inbound leads by over 25% by showcasing the firm’s unique value proposition to target industries.

 

Portfolio Company Growth: Created and executed custom marketing plans for startups, leading to a 30% increase in market share and a 20% growth in revenue across the portfolio.

 

Strategic Partnerships & Outreach: Built strategic alliances with key industry players and media, extending Apex’s brand influence and increasing exposure in defense, military, and creative sectors.

 

Thought Leadership & Community Building: Established Apex as an industry thought leader by organizing high-profile events and initiatives that foster collaboration and engagement within the VC and investment communities.

 

Red Brick | Huntsville, Alabama

RED BRICK

Founder & CEO

July 2013 – August 2023 (11 Months)
Huntsville, Alabama

For more than a decade, Red Brick stood as North Alabama’s premier creative agency, renowned for its innovative and engaging work in branding, design, web design, film, and photography. Under my leadership as Founder and CEO, Red Brick amassed over 70 professional recognitions, including three Best of Show awards, for campaigns that spanned diverse industries, from defense contractors and government entities to local breweries and small businesses.

Our award-winning portfolio showcased a wide range of creative disciplines, from groundbreaking guerrilla marketing tactics to captivating cinematography and transformative brand development. Red Brick’s impact extended far beyond regional recognition, with work featured in industry-leading publications like ADWEEK and reaching a combined digital audience of millions.

 

Brand Transformation & Growth: Spearheaded full rebranding initiatives for municipal government, chamber of commerce, and public service organizations, conducting in-depth brand audits and stakeholder consultations to elevate brand identity and drive meaningful community engagement.

 

Compelling Storytelling & Content Creation: Served as lead copywriter and producer, crafting persuasive narratives and multi-platform content for diverse clients across industries, leading to over 70 industry awards and reaching digital audiences of up to 4.25 million through creative storytelling.

 

Political Campaign Expertise: Managed 20+ successful political campaigns across party lines, achieving a win rate of over 90% through services including speechwriting, photography, web design, and commercial production, delivering targeted messaging to diverse voter bases.

 

Operational Excellence: Built and led a high-performing creative team, establishing efficient workflows and implementing best practices that fostered a culture of innovation, resulting in consistent client satisfaction and increased repeat business for Red Brick.

 

Creative Excellence & Innovation: Directed award-winning creative campaigns for clients such as Blue Origin and Pinnacle Solutions, leveraging innovative storytelling techniques and media engagement to generate significant buzz, media attention, and successful outcomes.

 

Campaign Reach: Produced a viral guerrilla marketing campaign for Salty Nut Brewery using social media and influencer partnerships, achieving 4.25 million views and a 3000% increase in year-over-year sales.

 

Team Building & Leadership: Built a high-performing team of creatives, fostering collaboration, innovation, and accountability, and empowering the team to push boundaries and deliver impactful ideas.

 

Bottom Line: Built Red Brick into a multi-million dollar agency, recognized for creative excellence and achieving measurable results, including client acquisition and revenue growth.

City of Huntsville, Alabama

CITY OF HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA

Chief of Staff & Communications
Office of the Mayor

November 2008 – July 2011 (2 years 9 months)
Huntsville, Alabama

Drawing on my extensive background in strategic planning, communications, and community engagement, I served as a trusted advisor to the Office of the Mayor in Huntsville, Alabama, a thriving city of over 200,000 residents.

I served as the head of the Office of the Mayor’s staff and primary contact for all non-direct access department officials.

In this leadership role, I oversaw strategic planning, communications, and community engagement initiatives, driving results across a wide range of mayoral priorities.

 

Strategic Initiatives & Community Engagement: Led the development and implementation of key mayoral initiatives – including high-speed fiber internet, downtown revitalization, and renewable energy programs – by coordinating with key stakeholders and leveraging extensive public feedback, fostering high levels of community engagement and participation.

 

Community Engagement & Transparency: Launched the “Bright Ideas” initiative, a citywide campaign empowering residents to submit improvement ideas via an interactive online map, fostering transparency and collaboration, resulting in thousands of citizen submissions and actionable insights that shaped city planning and policy development.

 

Brand Transformation & Communication Infrastructure: Spearheaded
a comprehensive rebranding of the city government, transforming brand identity, digital platforms, and media channels, while establishing the city’s first communications office to develop robust public information channels and media relations strategies, significantly enhancing public engagement.

 

Economic Development & Revenue Generation: Supported economic development efforts through targeted outreach and business incentives, securing new businesses and investments that generated $100 million in new revenue for Huntsville between 2008 and 2011 by leveraging strategic relationships and data-driven outreach initiatives.

 

Representation & Leadership: Represented Huntsville in regional economic development efforts, attending high-profile conferences and trade shows like the Farnborough International Airshow, which increased the city’s visibility and resulted in new business partnerships and investment opportunities.

The University of Alabama

EDUCATION

The University of Alabama

Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication

1999-2003

TRENT HARRINGTON

trent@hiretrent.com
256-326-8887

linkedin
portfolio
bio