LifeChange Marketing

In Memoriam - (1949-1923)
Michael Rybarski

Michael Rybarski (1949-1923) was the Founder of LifeChange Marketing and a Founding Partner of LifeChange Strategy Group. He was a luminary in the worlds of technology, marketing, and entrepreneurship and served in a variety of roles from founder, chairman, CEO, general manager and chief marketing officer for firms that ranged from pure startups to billion-dollar, NYSE firms.

Michael was a founder and principal of America’s leading strategy firm devoted to the 50+ market, Age Wave Target Marketing, where he created new strategies and programs for companies including Prudential, Kemper Mutual Funds, Russell Investments, (the Russell 2000) Simon & Schuster, General Motors, Johnson and Johnson, Tylenol, Buick, Merck, Pacific Care, Searle, Merck and Service Corporation International. (SCI).

After consulting for them as a client, Michael became Chief Marketing Officer, Worldwide for SCI a $3 Billion NYSE firm and created their Dignity Memorial Brand and consumer marketing strategies, which have been an integral part of the firm’s financial growth over the last decade.

Earlier, Michael turned around the Reference Division at Houghton Mifflin (NYSE), where he also founded the Business Software Division, the producer of the world’s first Artificial Intelligence-based spelling correction software. This startup was based on a collaborative effort with a Brown University cognitive scientist and software developers in Canada. The ground-breaking software they developed was licensed to virtually every computer company in America, including IBM, Apple, and Microsoft. Houghton Mifflin Software was ultimately spun off by its NYSE parent as a successful IPO.

His other startups and turnarounds include the launch of the first video digitizer for the Apple Macintosh, the acquisition and development of America One TV, the development of a major magazine and integrated media firm, and the founding of an E-commerce and benefit-driven direct marketing company.

He was the co-author of the book, StartUp Smarts: The Thinking Entrepreneur’s Guide to Starting and Growing Your Business. (Simon & Schuster) His articles on strategies and “changing world” trends appeared in American Demographics, Advertising Age, The Boomer Report, and the HealthCare Strategist.

Michael received his M.B.A. from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, an M.A. from The University of Chicago and an A.B in Liberal Arts Honors from Providence College.

A Chicago native and a globally recognized keynote speaker, Michael’s contributions to business and strategy were paralleled by his dedication to family, community service, and the pursuit of knowledge. His legacy as a mentor, a compassionate community servant, and a loving family man endures, inspiring those who knew him and those who will learn from his remarkable life story.