Founded in 2005 by a team of former C-suite executives, LifeRoading was born from a clear market need: organizations struggling with complex challenges needed more than traditional consulting—they needed battle-tested strategists who had actually sat in the executive chair.

Our founders—former Chief Marketing Officers, Chief Communications Officers, and senior finance and operations leaders—brought hard-won expertise from the front lines of business transformation.

Their collective decades leading strategy at companies like AOL, United Airlines, IBM, and Yahoo, alongside pivotal work with organizations including AARP, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, and the Federal Aviation Administration, formed the foundation of our approach: practical strategy that works in the real world, not just on paper.

Two decades later, we're still solving the problems that keep executives up at night: helping entire industries with reputational problems, rebuilding complex brands from the ground up, outmaneuvering competitors in crowded digital markets, architecting new business models that unlock growth, and transforming how federal agencies operate and perform.

Our Approach

Executable Strategy.

Kurt Lewin, the pioneering social psychologist spent his career advancing the idea that 'nothing is as practical as a good theory'. Not only is this something we passionately believe, but practice every day in the work we do for our clients.

We're not just thinkers, we're really good doers. It’s not just academic… it’s pracademic.

Understand your Audience.

Knowing our customers, influencers, and audiences lies at the core of business. With the breathtaking pace of change, today's "consumer/customer journey" is chaotic and complex. To stay connected and competitive, brands and their audiences have to be engaged in a continuous exchange of information and experiences.

Every assignment, project or task we undertake with our clients first starts with getting a deep understanding of the audience we're trying to reach.

What are their underlying needs and motivations? What are the micro-moments these consumers encounter, and how does the brand show-up during those times?

Having clarity of the consumer journey before we start has time and again proven to be the key in helping us develop the most effective strategies and programs for clients.

We've Been You.

Our people have been you, so we understand many of the complex problems, challenges, and opportunities you face. We've been CMOs, CCOs, senior operations, and other leaders within business. And we've done this for both large companies and big startups. Decades of success and disappointment working in various businesses, government agencies and nonprofit organizations has taught us valuable lessons in what works and what doesn't. Ultimately, it always seems to come down to the ability to execute.

 

“In every strategy or campaign, with every issue, problem, or crisis, there is only one true north: the audience. Lose sight of them, their values and needs, and everything else becomes noise.” — Cyrus Bamji

Success Starts with Purpose.

Whether you're launching a re-branding campaign, communicating during a crisis, or rolling out a new employee development program, success hinges on the the belief, support, and execution by your people. And it all starts with knowing your purpose.

Purpose is not what you make or do... it's why you do it. Your organization's purpose must be deeply ingrained in all employees. Purpose goes far beyond a mission or vision statement, social good program, or branding. Purpose has to be the foundation for day-to-day decisions and actions. It's about understanding why you're in business, aligning employees around it, and then getting them to practice it each day.

The work we do for our clients is often driven by helping executives define and live the organization’s purpose, and using that cornerstone for developing new products, strategies, campaigns and programs.

 

Cyrus E. Bamji
EVP & Chief Strategy Officer

Cyrus is a marketing and business innovator who has spent over 30 years creating successful communications, marketing, and business strategies for Fortune 100 companies, startups, non-profits, and governmental organizations.

Recognized as one of the foremost innovators on modernizing our concept of retirement, Cyrus has worked for corporate and nonprofit organizations such as AARP, Fleishman-Hillard, and CityNet Telecom, and consulted with groups like Jackson National Life Insurance, JP Morgan Chase, American Bankers Association, United Healthcare, and KPMG.

He helped create and was Chief Strategy & Communications Officer of the Alliance for Lifetime Income, the first financial services coalition focused on educating consumers and turning-around the reputation of annuities. He was Co-founder and CMO for a $375 million telecom startup, CityNet Telecom, that revolutionized the construction of broadband networks. He has helped revitalize a healthcare brand, LifeMatters, to take it from third to first in marketshare. He took a U.S. multinational into Latin America to open a new market for its products. He created a revolutionary new digital retirement planning startup and grew it to 2.5+ million highly-engaged customers in just two years.

Cyrus is a recognized expert and frequent speaker on Americans planning retirement and retirement issues, strategic communications and storytelling, innovation and creating market-disrupting products/services.

 

Cathy G. Bamji, BCC
President & Managing Partner

Cathy has worked with leaders and their teams for over two decades. A dedicated systems-thinker, she began her career in the banking industry where she helped pioneer Total Quality Management across the enterprise, and specialized in process management, team facilitation and measurement.

Using a unique combination of big-picture thinking and root-cause analysis Cathy works with leaders and their teams to understand and improve organizational performance. Her personal commitment to and passion for helping others improve the work they do has driven her to seek work with a wide variety of clients. Her breadth of experience enables her to be present in a state of constant change and to methodically work teams and individuals through a process of analyzing their current state, envisioning their future and implementing the required changes to successfully close performance gaps.

Known for her deep listening, astute observations and collaborative style, Cathy  leaves clients better prepared to face future challenges.