 Profile
The innovative thinker behind Signature Days, a one-of-a-kind gift company that offered “experiences” in lieu of ordinary gifts, Andrew Playford has—for much of his life—embodied a wellspring of business vision, creativity, and leadership. After attending the University of Cape Town, South Africa where he studied Business Science and was the chairman of the Universtiy Rowing Club, he went on to start his career at Price Waterhouse in London where we qualified as a Chartered Account with the Institute of England and Wales (the US equivalent of a CPA). From 1996 to 1998, Mr. Andrew Playford was the Vice President of Operations for Think New Ideas, one of the first new media companies to go public in 1997.. There, Andrew Playford was responsible for overseeing mergers and acquisitions, acquisition integration and financial planning. His competence led to the successful identification and due diligence of five acquisitions. At Think New Ideas, Andrew Playford also designed and implemented group-wide corporate budgeting, forecasting and pricing tools, and conducted regular cost cutting and revenue enhancing exercises both at the corporate and business unit levels.
In 1999, along with David Kidder and Troy Tyler, Andrew founded SmartRay Network, Inc, a service company that provided a real-time network data delivery platform to vendors of real time information feeds. In August 2000, the company was acquired by LifeMinders, Inc., an online direct marketing company.
After Smartray, Andrew Playford worked as an investment consultant for Communication Venture Partners in London, where he consulted with the telecommunications fund on various private investments. After his time with Communication Venture Partners, he founded Signature Days, which—in a matter of years—grew to be a leader in its industry. When Signature Days was ultimately forced into bankruptcy, Andrew Playford closely assisted the bankruptcy trustees to ensure the closure process was as smooth as possible and then worked tirelessly to find new jobs for his 12 employees.
Andrew Playford is also an avid collector of the color sketches and artwork of Nelson Mandela. Originally hailing from South Africa, Andrew now makes his home in Chicago, Illinois.
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