I Built Australia's #1 Craft Beer Store From a Storage Shed.
16 years. 7-figure revenue. Successful exit. I’m Richard Kelsey — Head of Ecommerce. I built Beer Cartel from a storage shed into Australia’s #1 online craft beer retailer. Now I’m looking for the right business to do it again.
Looking for My Next Head of Ecommerce Role
After 16 years building and exiting Beer Cartel, I'm ready to bring that experience to an established brand. I'm looking for a senior ecommerce or marketing leadership role in Australia — ideally a business serious about growth, not just maintenance.
- Full P&L ownership & commercial leadership
- Cross-functional team leadership (4 direct reports)
- Shopify & BigCommerce end-to-end platform migrations
- Email/SMS lifecycle marketing scaled to 30% of revenue
- 5:1 ROAS on high six-figure paid media budgets
- AI tools applied to real commercial outcomes
- Board-level stakeholder management
- AU market expertise across B2C retail & online marketplaces
Let's Have a Coffee
I was once told the best roles come from conversations, not applications. So I built a page to make it easy. 30 minutes — in person or virtual.
Richard Kelsey
BCom, PGDipBA · Sydney, AU
About Richard
In 2009, I co-founded Beer Cartel out of a Kennards Storage Shed with a goal to build Australia's best online craft beer store. By the time we sold in 2024, it was Australia's #1 online craft beer retailer — high 7-figure revenue, 150,000+ customers, and a 4.8 Google rating.
As Head of Ecommerce and CMO, I owned the full commercial operation — P&L, platform strategy, paid media, email, CRO, team leadership, and board reporting. Four direct reports (Marketing, Procurement, Operations, Finance), with monthly presentations to the board.
Top 50 People in Australian Ecommerce (3×)
Online Retailer of the Year, Beer & Brewer (5×)
Best Online Retail Marketing — ORIAS
Retail Innovator of the Year — ARA
BigCommerce Make It Big Innovation (2×)
Retail Drinks Australia Board Member (2019–2025)
Areas I work across
16 years of hands-on commercial leadership. Not theory — actual work done at scale.
Strategy & Leadership
- Full P&L ownership & commercial leadership
- Growth roadmap development
- Team coaching and direction
- Board-level reporting and stakeholder management
Marketing & Conversion
- Conversion rate optimisation
- Email/SMS lifecycle marketing
- Paid media (Meta & Google)
- Customer acquisition and retention
Platform & Technology
- Shopify & BigCommerce migrations
- AI tools applied to commercial workflows
- Marketing tech stack review
- Automation and integration strategy
- Vendor evaluation and selection
What I bring to the table
Across 16 years, I've run every commercial lever in ecommerce — revenue, conversion, platform, marketing, and team.
Growth & Marketing
- Ecommerce roadmap development
- Meta Ads (Facebook/Instagram)
- Google Ads & Shopping
- Email marketing — retention & growth
- Conversion rate optimisation (CRO)
- Customer acquisition strategy
- Customer retention & loyalty programs
- Marketing automation platforms
- Content marketing & authority building
- Seasonal campaign planning
- Partnership & influencer marketing
Technology & Platforms
- Shopify, BigCommerce
- Platform migrations & replatforming
- Email/SMS platforms (dotdigital, Attentive, Mailchimp)
- AI tools applied to ecommerce operations
- Workflow automation
- Analytics & reporting (GA4)
- Customer support systems (Gorgias, Reamaze)
- Shipping/fulfilment integrations
- Payment gateway optimisation
Website & Merchandising
- Website/CRO optimisation
- Subscriptions & recurring orders
- Merchandising & product display strategy
- UX optimisation
- Mobile optimisation
- Checkout flow optimisation
- Product page optimisation
- Category page strategy
- A/B testing & experimentation
Available for Consulting Engagements
While I’m focused on finding the right full-time role, I take on a small number of consulting clients.
How I Can Help Your Business
Whether you want a free look at your site or embedded consulting support, here's what's available.
Homepage Teardown
- 15-min video walkthrough of your homepage
- Written analysis with screenshots
- 3–5 quick wins you can act on immediately
- Mobile experience review
- Trust & credibility assessment
- 100% private — delivered to your inbox only
Ad Hoc Work
- Strategy sessions & workshops
- Deep-dive site or funnel audits
- Platform migration planning
- Paid media or email reviews
- Team training & coaching
- Written output & next steps
Monthly Consulting
- Fractional Head of Ecommerce support
- Ongoing strategic guidance
- Slack/email between sessions
- Monthly strategy reviews
- Team access and coaching
- Priority scheduling
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