TransPerfect - Sales Director of the Year

Company: TransPerfect
Company Description: Localization and Translation Services
Nomination Category: Sales Awards Individual Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Sales Director of the Year

Nomination Title: Chris Grunther, Regional Director

Chris Grunther joined TransPerfect Legal Solutions (TLS) in 2009 to focus specifically on growth in e-discovery and legal support services. He was the division’s third sales hire and hit the ground running, excelling and winning the Sales Rookie of the Year award. In his first year, he grew his business 100% and hit the million-dollar mark in 2010. His momentum continued, and he achieved consecutive year-over-year growth, quickly climbing into the top 1% of TransPerfect’s sales representatives, with his business exceeding $16 million. Chris also stepped into a management and leadership role, overseeing sales initiatives and developing teams in New York, New Jersey, Boston, and Florida. Each of these teams grew into multi-million-dollar markets for e-discovery solutions, with a team book of business that now exceeds $20 million.

Keeping a finger on the pulse of the legal industry, Chris understands the rapidly growing need forglobale-discovery support and works with the TLS leadership team to develop capabilities in the APAC and EMEA regions. Chris’s business acumen has paid off in these markets as well; Hong Kong hit its million-dollar mark in just 18 months, and TransPerfect’s new Amsterdam data center generated seven figures in revenue in just six months.

Since July 2019, Chris has more than doubled his revenue from $7.5M to $16M, putting his sales in the top 1% of TransPerfect, with 12 clients who fall into TransPerfect’s Top 400. He has generated business with new clients, including Fortune 500 companies that span the financial, technology, and life sciences sectors, and he has expanded service lines within existing accounts.

Chris has also spearheaded several initiatives to drive revenue growth and replicate his success, not only for his team, but also for his division and company. Most notably, Chris started TransPerfect’s Antitrust Practice Group, which generated over $10 million in revenue in its first year and is on track to break that record in its second year. This niche service line offers our clients a dedicated team of experts to help navigate the challenges of mergers and successfully comply with the strict merger control proceedings for transactions valued at more than $300M. In the last two years alone, Chris has worked on seven Second Requests in heavily regulated industries, with these transactions valued at over $30 billion and generating over $10 million in revenue.

In addition to his own professional growth, Chris has inspired and nurtured members of his sales team across various territories to meet and exceed their goals. He was proud to promote four team members into the next stages of their sales careers with TransPerfect. Chris and his team are projected to close 2021 with over $23 million in revenue.

The context of a global pandemic can’t be forgotten when evaluating the business success Chris has driven over the last 22 months. Beyond his dedication to delivering solutions, he continued to show his clients the empathy and guidance he showed to his team to drive business in new ways. As the world quickly changed, Chris felt the need to do more to help his community. With the support of his wife and four children, he partnered with Zaro’s Bakery to provide thousands of dollars of free food to support healthcare workers and first responders in the front lines of the pandemic.

If you talk to Chris’s clients, you’ll quickly come to understand he has achieved a level of trust with them that has allowed him to sustain these levels of growth. You’d hear that he is extremely responsive, solutions-oriented, and proactive with anticipating their needs. His clients trust in his ability to be reliable and deliver results, so much so that they have introduced Chris to their colleagues and their own clients, putting their word on the line for him as a business partner.

Client testimonials:

Chris's attention to detail and true investment in our projects makes him an ideal partner for us across a variety of matters. He is focused on finding solutions to whatever problems arise, even if the problems are unexpected and critical, and even when the solutions require prompt and creative action. We always feel like Chris is looking out for us and working to get us what we need. Zachary H.Hemenway,Partner, STINSON LLP

hris Grunther has been my (company) representative for over 12 years. As we may all know, the litigation practice and its practitioners are very demanding. Chris is always cool, calm and collected when faced with an unpredictable or demanding task. His knowledge coupled with experience lend to always finding a solution. He is professional, reliable, trust worthy and responsive. Chris is also a genuinely nice person, who, I not only consider my sales rep, but my friend. Anthy Antoniou, Manager, eDiscovery and Litigation Practice Support

I have known and worked with Chris Grunther for almost ten years. He is the consummate professional, consistently presents creative and cost-effective solutions, and has always made time to address any issue—large or small—that I have approached him with over the years. In an industry that has increasingly become more and more competitive Chris is always ahead of the curve and I value his ability to anticipate client needs. - Austim D Kim, MSF Law