Christopher Shell
Chief Revenue Officer
London
Summary
Chief Revenue Officer and Commercial Executive with 24+ years’ experience leading global sales, marketing, customer success and commercial transformation across SaaS, data, B2B technology and information businesses. Proven track record scaling revenue to $100m+, doubling business performance, building high-performing international teams and delivering profitable growth through pricing, GTM strategy, operational excellence and customer centric transformation. Experienced in board-level leadership, P&L ownership and organisational change across Europe, APAC and America.
Overview
24
24
years of professional experience
Work History
Chief Revenue Officer
GlobalData PLC
London, UK
09.2025 - Current
- Led the global commercial organisation of 60 professionals across Sales and Marketing, with accountability for revenue performance in business with £30m+ annual targets
- Delivered 20% revenue growth in 2026, and 40% increase in new business Q4 2025, through commercial transformation, improved execution, and enhanced go-to-market strategies
- Redesigned the commercial operating model, organisational structure, and sales playbook, improving cross-functional alignment, accountability, and operational efficiency
- Introduced a new sales methodology and value-based selling, ROI tools, and structured sales enablement programmes, increased average order value by 20% and improving pipeline conversion by 5%
- Partnered closely with Marketing to strengthen demand generation and pipeline quality, increasing commercial activity levels for meetings by 40%
- Improved customer experience (NPS) by 14% embedding a customer-centric commercial approach, ensuring value selling was achieved through rightsized GTM approaches
- Built a new marketing team & SDR team from scratch, increasing inbound revenues by 1000%
- Built a high-performance culture through focus on performance, marginal gains, leadership, coaching, and organisational development, increasing employee engagement by 10% and increasing Gong scores by 35%
Global Sales Director
Brightmine (RELX / LexisNexis Data Services)
London, UK
03.2019 - 07.2025
- Led global commercial organisation of 120 professionals across Sales, Pre-sales, Sales Enablement and Commercial Transformation, with full P&L accountability and responsibility for delivering £70m+ in annual revenue
- Delivered sustained, profitable growth by doubling revenue over five years through commercial strategy, disciplined execution, and margin optimisation
- Developed and executed the global go-to-market strategy, increasing enterprise revenue by 50% across key markets through targeted Account-Based Marketing (ABM) and Account-Based Selling (ABS) initiatives
- Grew partnership revenue by 700% over five years by establishing strategic alliances and expanding indirect sales channels
- Designed and embedded a new sales methodology, supported by structured coaching and capability development, improving conversion rates by 30%
- Optimised pricing and packaging strategies to increase average order value by 40% over 5 years, driving both revenue growth and profitability
- Led international expansion, establishing new commercial operations in Los Angeles, Chicago and Manila, increasing operating margins by 10%
- Implemented a cross-functional commercial operating model that aligned Sales, Marketing, Product and Customer Success around shared commercial objectives, improving execution and organisational effectiveness
Sales Director, UK & Ireland
LexisNexis (RELX)
London, UK
12.2013 - 03.2019
- Led team of >50 staff in delivering £125m in new business in this role I did for 5 years, doubling new business revenues
- Ran the UK Tolley tax commercial business growing revenues by 27% in the 2 years
- Grew partnership revenues from £400k to over £5m winning Circle of Excellence as a result
- Won the company’s largest new business deal ever (£5m)
Executive Director, Sales APAC
LexisNexis
Sydney, Australia
03.2008 - 12.2013
- Led commercial organization of > 100 staff, with revenue responsibility of > $100m
- Transformed underperforming sales organisation, delivering 168% of budget in the first year through organisational redesign, leadership development and performance management
- Built a high-performance culture that significantly improved employee engagement, capability and commercial performance through structured coaching and talent development
- Recognised as Global Sales Leader of the Year, selected from more than 120 sales leaders worldwide for outstanding commercial performance and leadership
- Awarded the Circle of Excellence for delivering record year-on-year revenue growth and sustained business success
- Selected to attend the company's executive leadership program at Harvard Business School
- Earned three promotions within five years in recognition of exceptional leadership and consistent commercial results
Education
Bachelor of Arts – Honors Degree - Business Studies
05.2002
- Completed CIPD aligned modules eligible for associate CIPD membership
- GPA: 2:1
Skills
- Commercial Strategy
- Revenue Growth
- Sales and Marketing Leadership
- Revenue Operations
- Commercial Performance & Evaluation
- GTM Strategy Development
- Change & Transformation
- Forecasting & Commercial Planning
- P&L
- Data Driven Decision Making
- Cross Functional Collaboration
- Talent Development
- Sales Enablement
- Customer Centric
- Digital Transformation
- M&A integration
- Board reporting
- Customer Success
Featured Achievements
- Delivered 20% revenue growth as CRO in H1 2026 following commercial transformation at GlobalData.
- Doubled revenue over five years at Brightmine.
- Managed commercial organisations with revenue responsibility exceeding $100m & over 100 employees.
- Built commercial operations across Europe, North America and APAC.
- Promoted 9 times over a 24-year career, hitting target 22 out of 24.
- Closed multiple transformational enterprise deals including £5m largest company contract.
- Increased partnership revenue 700% in 5 years at Brightmine and 1250% at LexisNexis.
- Certified in Challenger, SPIN, Miller Heiman and Richardson sales methodologies.
- Completed executive leadership programs at Harvard Business School.
Timeline
Chief Revenue Officer - GlobalData PLC
09.2025 - Current
Global Sales Director - Brightmine (RELX / LexisNexis Data Services)
03.2019 - 07.2025
Sales Director, UK & Ireland - LexisNexis (RELX)
12.2013 - 03.2019
Executive Director, Sales APAC - LexisNexis
03.2008 - 12.2013
Northumbria University - Bachelor of Arts – Honors Degree, Business Studies