Who We Are
Meet Kelly
Kelly Ground
Founder and Principal Consultant
Kelly Ground is a seasoned leader in affiliate and partnership marketing with 20+ years of experience. She is the Founder and Principal Consultant of breakingGround Solutions, where she specializes in driving innovative growth strategies and scaling partnership programs for brands. Kelly currently serves as the Treasurer of the Performance Marketing Association, bringing financial leadership and strategic oversight to the organization.
Throughout her career, Kelly has consistently delivered transformative results. As Chief Growth Officer at a former acquisition marketing publisher, she spearheaded initiatives that drove over 100% user acquisition growth, earning her recognition as one of the Top 50 Women Leaders of Tampa for 2024. During her 6.5 years as Senior Director of Strategy and Insights at Acceleration Partners, Kelly guided global affiliate marketing programs and was named a Top 30 Partnership Marketing Changemaker in the US by Hello Partner in 2023.
Earlier, as Senior Digital Marketing Manager at HSN, Kelly significantly boosted revenue through affiliate and display marketing programs. Her diverse experience spans industries such as employee benefits publishing, manufacturing, and telecommunications, demonstrating her adaptability and strategic acumen.
A recognized thought leader, Kelly is a frequent speaker at affiliate marketing conferences and a published author in top industry publications. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a minor in Journalism from Clemson University.
Outside of work, Kelly enjoys spending time with her husband, two children, and their dog. Her weekends are filled with cheering on her daughter at soccer matches and her son on the golf course. Kelly’s strategic mindset, proven expertise, and passion for innovation position her as a trailblazer in affiliate and partnership marketing.
Meet Michael
Mike Ground is a highly regarded operations and financial services executive who is a proven leader, and has delivered more than 20 years of measurable accomplishments to the organizations for which he’s worked. Mike is extremely versatile with broad industry experience in Mortgage/Default Servicing, REO Oversight and Strategy, Vendor Management, Mortgage and Financial Capital Markets, Business Risk/Control Management.
Mike spent over 16 years at HSBC North America, serving in multiple key roles as Vice President of Default Servicing and Operations. He led teams across loan sales, loss mitigation, foreclosure, collections, REO, and vendor management, overseeing a $28 billion portfolio of more than 250,000 loans. He recovered millions through repurchase and warranty claim strategies and streamlined third-party vendor due diligence with a strong emphasis on compliance. Mike managed a team of over 100 staff, cut REO timelines by 50%, increased net proceeds, and delivered record-high property liquidation rates. He also developed foreclosure avoidance and liquidation strategies, where his teams successfully executed over 50,000 short sales and deed-in-lieus, saving the bank more than $1 billion. Additionally, Mike led the implementation of Single Point of Contact programs and regularly engaged with key regulatory bodies including the CFPB, DOJ, FRB, and OCC.
Following HSBC, Mike has consulted for top-tier firms including Goldman Sachs, Kroll, and Mortgage Policy Advisors. At Goldman, he advised the Residential Mortgage & Loan Asset Management Division, where he developed and implemented end-to-end repurchase and loan sale processes that improved performance timelines and operational efficiency. He also led repurchase negotiations on hundreds of assets, resulting in $43 million in recoveries. At Kroll, Mike directed high-stakes regulatory and litigation support projects for major servicers and banks—evaluating policy frameworks, guiding a Top 3 Servicer’s CARES Act response, and advising on legal defenses for a Top 5 Bank in servicing-related cases before the Supreme Court of New York.
Mike is currently the Principal at Ground Capital Management, where he manages a full-time investment portfolio focused on complex trading strategies across equities, fixed income, futures, forex, and derivatives. He is also the Co-founder/Managing Member of breakingGround Solutions, a consultancy he launched with his wife, Kelly. Together, they deliver expert advisory services across both the marketing and financial services sectors, offering clients data-driven, results-oriented solutions.
Michael Ground
Managing Member