Raymond Crosby
President & Chief Executive Officer
Ralph founded Crosby Marketing Communications in 1973, following a 15-year stint as a journalist and a foray into the business world. That combination of journalistic expertise and hands-on business experience developed a unique approach to marketing communications that laid the foundation for Crosby Marketing to become one of the nation’s most successful independent agencies. Today, Ralph provides high-level counsel and oversight regarding the company’s strategic initiatives.
A graduate of the University of Maryland College of Journalism, Ralph began his professional life as a newspaperman on the Baltimore News American, later becoming a Washington correspondent for Chilton Publications, and culminating his journalistic career as an editor with the Kiplinger organization.
Active as an alumnus, Ralph has served on the University of Maryland’s Board of Trustees. He also serves as a member of the College of Journalism’s Board of Visitors, in addition, he has endowed several scholarships for the University. Most recently, Ralph received the U. of Md. 2023 Alumni Excellence Award honoring “his lifetime of community impact in marketing communications and journalism.” He also has been inducted into the journalism college’s Hall of Fame.
Ralph has been active civically in his hometown of Annapolis, having been president of various organizations, such as the Chamber of Commerce, Touchdown Club, and Annapolis Business Coalition, and he served on the board of Annapolis Banking and Trust Company for 26 years. He was honored in 2005 by election to the Annapolis and Anne Arundel County Chamber’s Business Hall of Fame.
Ralph has put his experience as a marketer into a book, “It’s The Customer, Stupid! Lessons Learned in a Lifetime of Marketing.” He chronicled his story of growing up in Annapolis, blended with the city’s remarkable history, in another book, “Memoirs of a Main Street Boy.” He also has published numerous articles in national magazines, and he authored an earlier book on corporate communications titled “Person-to-Person Management.” Most recently, Ralph published another book, “Poker, Politics and Presidents: How Card Playing and Other Games Impacted the Presidency—from George Washington to Joe Biden.”
