About Us

BIO OF RICK DIAMOND

Rick founded and Chairs Doceo Solutions, LLC in 2005 , to provide a broad array of consulting services to business executives and their organizations looking for new and different ways to put information in action.  Doceo is also a vehicle through which Rick identifies and evaluates potential business opportunities for investment and/or active participation.

Rick is also the founder and CEO of Breathe – Freedom from Nicotine, a business/social service organization to help people quit smoking, chewing tobacco, e-cigarettes and other nicotine products. Since Breathe has served more than 10,000 clients, to help them break their nicotine habits since 2007.

Rick was also CEO and co-founder of ACI Telecentrics, Incorporated. He served as the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the company from its inception in 1987, until 2005.   At 24, Rick, and his partner Gary Cohen, founded ACI with just $4,000.00, and they led it to its international scope.  ACI offered its clients internet-based customer services, outsourced teleservices, computer services, marketing consulting and site selection & expansion consulting. ACI had an annual growth rate that averaged 50% per year for the first 15 years.  ACI completed its Initial Public Offering in 1996 and was listed on the NASDAQ public markets exchange.  ACI operated dozens of offices and employed more than 2,000 people across the U. S. and in three countries.

Rick has a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Juris Doctorate from Washington University School of Law in St. Louis. Rick also studied International Relations at the University of London and completed Harvard Business School’s OPM program.   

Rick is a licensed attorney in Minnesota, and he has been involved in the founding or acquisition of several businesses over the past 25 years, including insurance, training for bodyguards of heads of state, travel, technology and office products dealerships. Rick has been very active in the International Organization of CEOs, since 1996.

Rick has spoken at many business conferences such as the DMA, TBT, ATA, the National Conference on Database Marketing, and Direct Marketing to Business and Industry Conference.  Rick has often spoken as a visiting lecturer at the University of Minnesota - Carlson School of Business, Morrison Center for Entrepreneurship, and Univ. of St. Thomas MBA program. Rick served in the Carlson School of Business' Mentors program. Rick has also served on the Board of Directors of the Animal Humane Society, the Board of Governors of the Alzheimer Association of Minnesota, President of the Harvard Business School Alumni Association of MN, and the Boards of Directors for ThreeWire Inc., C-Tech Inc, IntelAccount, The Sustainable Cities Project,  Non-Profit Partners, and  helped to found MN-SNAP (Minnesota Spay/Neuter Assistance Program - providing free or very low cost veterinary care for the pets of low income people across Minnesota, doing nearly 20,000 subsidized surgeries each year.  Since it's start in 2008, MN SNAP has provided more than 125,000 subsidized surgeries for pets  in need).
 

Rick has been featured in many media, including; Twin Cities Business magazine, CitiBusiness, Minnesota Ventures, TeleProfessional, Wall Street Reporter, St. Paul Pioneer Press, a KARE 11 News extra, The Navigator, Minneapolis StarTribune, International Voice Technology Review, JATA, Wall Street Transcript, CEOcast, Ventures Magazine, Profits Journal, Upsize Magazine, AM1280The Patriot, BOB radio, Simon & Shuster’s-Bureau of Business Practices, NewsTalk 1130, The Business Forum Show and others. 

Rick has also been honored with several awards, including; CitiBusiness 40 Under 40 Award, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award finalist, along with many recognitions given to Rick’s companies over the past years; including the ACCE Excellence Award, the MVP Quality Award, MN CUP semi-finalist, GTE World Champion of Vendors Award, Ventures Magazine Top 10 Best Performing Businesses Award, Quebec’s Coup de Coeur Award, The Business Journal’s Top 25 Fastest Growing Companies, many Top 50 Awards and several Rising Star Awards.

Other assorted past experiences:

* Judicial Clerkship - State District Court of Minnesota - 4th Judicial District - Judge Chet Durda.  

* Attorney - Law Offices of Stern, Levine, Lifson, Wagner & Strauss.  

* CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) certified

* FBI Citizens Academy Alumni

* Minnesota State Fair - assorted sales and operations positions 

* Editor at Piranha Press - Editor of the book, "Neither Madmen Nor Messiahs - A prescription for U.S. defense policies" written by Senator David Durenberger.