Tim Litle

Serial entrepreneur Tim Litle has spent more than 35 years advancing commerce for the American direct merchant. Armed with degrees from the California Institute of Technology (CalTech) and Harvard Business School, Tim has married technology with direct marketing insight to found and lead several companies focused on serving companies that sell directly to consumers. His leadership has included the ground-breaking use of computers for list maintenance and subscription fulfillment, the development of what eventually became the USPS Carrier Route Presort System, and the three-digit, anti-fraud identification numbers on credit and debit cards. Today, Tim is founder and Chairman of Litle & Co., #1 on the Inc. 500 in 2006, a payment management and transaction processing company focused exclusively on meeting the needs of direct marketers, those who sell to consumers directly through Catalog, Internet and Multichannel Retail, Direct Response media including direct television (DRTV) and Online Services. The companies that Tim has founded, including the current Litle & Co., are responsible for processing more than 2/3 of all e-commerce and direct marketing payments. A recognized direct marketing and payments authority, Tim’s expertise has been called upon by the International Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and by the White House during hearings on privacy issues. More recently, Tim was a lead witness in the first U.S. District Court case to test and apply recent Supreme Court rulings on patent litigation. Tim was elected to the Direct Marketing Association Hall of Fame in 2005, joining 90 members who include the founders of L.L. Bean, Eddie Bauer, Lillian Vernon and Spiegel. In October 2007 Tim was honored with the Edward N. Mayer award by the Direct Marketing Educational Foundation for his lead role in promoting relevant education that supports the future of companies selling directly to consumers. Tim also serves as an advocate for and a director of several privately owned companies.