Rex Richard
Strategy. Innovation. Building What Comes Next.
I work at the intersection of business strategy, digital systems, artificial intelligence and audience development—turning complex ideas into practical platforms, organizations and growth strategies.
My work spans private business, specialized industries, tourism and destination development, digital publishing, regional initiatives and emerging AI technologies.
Experience Changes How You See the Problem
I’ve spent much of my career building businesses, developing new ideas and solving problems where there wasn’t always an established playbook.
That experience has included business ownership and management, industry leadership, technical and standards work, education and public speaking, digital publishing, destination development and the creation of technology-driven platforms.
Today, much of my work centers on a simple question:
How do we build organizations and digital systems that are useful today while preparing them for what comes next?
That increasingly means thinking beyond individual websites, campaigns or technologies and looking at the larger system—strategy, information, audience, technology, operations and long-term opportunity.
Where I Focus
Digital Platforms & Information Architecture
Defining the objective before choosing the tactics.
I work on business models, growth strategies, organizational positioning and complex initiatives where technology is only one part of the solution.
Custom Website Development
Websites are becoming more than collections of pages. They are increasingly structured sources of information used by people, search engines, AI systems and emerging digital services.
I’m particularly interested in building digital platforms that make information easier to discover, understand, maintain and use.
Communities, Destinations & Regional Development
Artificial intelligence is changing how people research, compare, decide and interact with organizations.
My focus is not AI for its own sake. It is understanding where AI can improve information access, decision-making, productivity and customer experience—and where traditional approaches still make more sense.
AI Development and Integration
Digital technology can connect tourism, economic development, local businesses, attractions, communities and visitors in ways that were difficult to accomplish only a few years ago.
That intersection of destination development, structured information, audience building and technology has become an important part of my work.
Selected Work
Peak Dynamics
I founded Peak Dynamics LLC to help organizations think through digital strategy before jumping directly into tactics or technology.
The company works across digital strategy, websites and platforms, AI readiness, structured data, search and digital discovery, marketing and audience development.
goWhiteMountains
I founded goWhiteMountains.com as a regional destination platform for Arizona’s White Mountains.
The project brings together communities, outdoor recreation, history, culture, businesses, events and visitor information within a single regional digital ecosystem.
It has also become a working laboratory for many of the ideas I believe will shape destination marketing: structured destination data, direct audience relationships, AI-accessible information and regional collaboration.
Industry Leadership & Entrepreneurship
Before much of my current digital work, a significant part of my career was spent in the swimming pool industry as a business owner, industry participant, educator and speaker.
That experience continues to influence how I approach strategy today.
Technology changes quickly. The fundamentals of understanding customers, operating a business, building trust and creating something people genuinely value do not.
Strategy Before Tactics
Industry Leadership & Entrepreneurship
One principle connects most of my work:
Define what you are trying to accomplish before deciding how to accomplish it.
A website is a tactic.
AI is a tool.
Advertising is a tactic.
Social media is a channel.
Software is infrastructure.
None of them is the strategy.
The strategy begins with understanding the objective, the audience, the opportunity and the system required to support it.
That is the thinking I bring to the projects I choose to work on.
What I’m Thinking About Now
Industry Leadership & Entrepreneurship
Search is becoming conversational.
AI systems are becoming important gateways between organizations and the people trying to understand them.
Businesses and destinations are accumulating enormous amounts of information, yet much of it remains fragmented, outdated or difficult for machines—and sometimes people—to interpret.
I’m increasingly focused on how organizations can create trusted, structured and accessible information systems that can serve websites, search engines, AI assistants and future applications from a common foundation.
I believe that shift will influence digital strategy considerably over the next decade.
Let’s Connect
Industry Leadership & Entrepreneurship
I’m always interested in thoughtful conversations about strategy, technology, destination development, AI, digital platforms and ideas that challenge conventional approaches.
If you’re working on an interesting problem—or simply want to compare ideas—I’d be glad to hear from you.