Work Accomplishments
April 2006 - Current
Dechert-Hampe & Co.
Managing Director
San Juan Capistrano, CA
- Conduct productivity assessments of client sales
organizations. Activities result in various
degrees of business transformation including:
- Reorganization
- New business processes
- New strategy
- Increased ROI
- Develop analytical methodologies to examine core sales activities, for example trade promotion management, retail coverage, and item level sales forecasting. Results in new client business competence yielding improved client return on investment.
June 2003 - March 2005
Howard Stanford, LLC
Owner/Franchisee
Las Vegas, NV
- Founded a new franchise location for Alphagraphics, Inc. with an operating location in Las Vegas, NV generating $345,000 of revenue in 15 months.
- Researched site locations, receiving franchisor approval for three sites
- Developed pricing strategy, and adapted base franchise service offerings to fit customer base based on customer surveys, and company demographic data.
July 1988 - April 2003
Mars Incorporated
Purchasing Raw Materials Director (USA Operations all food segments)
Hackettstown, NJ (December 2002 to April 2003)
- Managed the purchase and hedging of all sugar & sweeteners, dairy, nuts, essentials & animal-protein raw materials for this $4 billion business unit, which included responsibility for 18 employees and $600 million spending responsibility.
- Regional team leader for a global plan to reduce cost of goods sold on the pet food business. Developed and coordinated country level cost reduction commitments, and key milestones in the route to success for each operating unit.
External Affairs Director--Americas (Corporate Staff)
McLean, VA(October 1999 to December 2002)
- Enhanced, or improved, Mars Incorporated’s creditability and image in the Americas
through ensuring that individual business units’ communication practices and activities:
- Did not create unintentional conflicts with activities or practices elsewhere around the globe, and
- Reflected the principles of Mars
- Developed and rolled out in each of the Americas business units a revised External Affairs definition. Worked through the unit management teams and within existing priorities to appropriately address all Crisis Management, Government Relations, and Public Relations activities.
- Oversaw and participated on crisis teams (throughout the Americas) that protected the
company image and brand value. Crisis examples include:
- allegations of the use of the worst forms of child labor in the farming and harvesting of cocoa.
- allegations of chocolate containing harmful contaminants
- protest and physical threats to associates or corporate assets
- plant shutdowns, and associate layoffs
- public campaigns or boycotts against a brand
- an associate death during a company sponsored event
- labor negotiations with high potential for a violent strike
- infested candy products in the marketplace
- Analyzed, developed and successfully carried
out communication strategies to:
- Increase consumer understanding about the health benefits of chocolate for consumers, nutrition experts and government regulators
- End Columbia’s discriminatory tariff structure for pet food imports
- Secure government funding for specific activities
- Secure the submission of government to government comments during the negotiation of international trade agreements
- Developed excellent working relationships across diverse cultures in a new
functional area through leveraging, a genuine desire to:
- learn,
- know individuals,
- avoid preconceived notions of corporate staff, and
- interweave local ideas within corporate directives.
Sales Western Division Director (USA Pet Food & Rice segments)
Vernon, CA (March 1999 to October 1999)
- Managed 14 employees, $400 million in revenue and directing all divisional sales activities including account planning, program execution, and associate development, while maintaining sales volume during this 6-month transition assignment to corporate staff.
Sales Market Development Director (USA Pet Food & Rice segments)
Vernon, CA (March 1996 to March 1999)
- Identified, developed, and put into practice a new business process for managing marketplace activities, which required the transfer of marketing responsibilities from Marketing brand managers to Sales market development managers.
- Key responsibilities included all pricing and
promotion activities with objectives for revenue, market share, and strategic pricing targets
while maintaining consistency with the brand personality and communications
strategy for five independent brand groups representing $1.1 billion in revenue,
budget expenditures totaling more than $200 million and 22 associates. Activities resulted in:
- Revenue growing more than 5%, and
- Trade and consumer promotional spend reducing when measured on a percentage of gross revenue,
- Delivered a centralized sales service center (new business capabilities at the time) to two management teams. Reduced the cost of sales through the management of all sales administrative budgets and activities.
- Trained and developed two associates for senior sales management positions in the newly created Mexican business unit. Development periods were 18 months for each associate.
- Developed an item rationalization process, which reduced costs and business complexity. The process established minimum business performance metrics, and clearly defined roles and decision making framework for finance, sales, and franchise associates. Analyzed more than 1,000 selling units, identifying complementary, substitutable, and customer specific value added roles for selling units.
Purchasing Wet Raw Materials Buyer (Pet Food segment)
Vernon, CA (September 1992 to March 1996)
- Introduced game theory practices into the modeling of market participants’ behavior and response leading to aggressive strategy development and pricing objectives for the global team. Reduced prices on key commodities by 50%, saving the company approximately 5% of revenue. Negotiated the crucial contracts required for global strategy implementation, while maintaining strategic supply routes from the US to Europe.
- Performed commodity pricing analysis and modeling for core commodity materials and related agricultural products by considering animal slaughter levels, feed supply trends, historical purchases by key competitors, foreign exchange rate forecast and consumer product market share trends.
- Delivered buying responsibilities within forecast levels each year. Developed budgeting tools to facilitate what-if planning by varying expected commodity prices, logistics costs for possible supply points. And reported the various affects to each commodities’ average price and the purchase dollars for domestic and export allocations.
Sales Planning Manager (Pet Food segment)
Vernon, CA (April 1991 to September 1992)
- Improved company’s return on trade promotion investment by creating a spreadsheet model for allocating slotting dollars based on expected sales volume, and distribution levels.
Sales Category Management Manager (Pet Food segment)
Vernon, CA (October 1989 to April 1991)
- Rolled out “new” category management technology into approximately 75% of the 40 food brokers serving the Western and Southern sales territories for the pet food business. Created a persuasive business case to grow broker revenue through technology adoption and facilitated broker competence development by organizing a database of category retail units, providing software support, and designing and delivering financial analysis training programs .
Management Scientist (Corporate Support all segments)
Mount Olive, NJ (July 1988 to October 1989)
- Surveyed the artificial intelligence field and found applications to retain corporate knowledge or learn from associate experiences. Introduced rule induction technology in the business processes of cocoa bean blending, currency trading, and consumer promotion effectiveness. Presented work to divisional senior management, and Office of the President for Mars Incorporated resulting in continued funding in the area.
July 1984 - August 1986
Arthur Andersen
Audit Division Senior
Houston, TX
- Passed CPA examination and was Certified Public Accountant in State of Texas 1985-1987
- Performed traditional audit assignments for healthcare, oilfield services, and airline clients meeting performance expectations and receiving promotions consistent with top performer among peers.
Education
- Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, Masters of Business Administration, June 1988
- Howard University, Washington, DC, Bachelors of Business Administration, Graduated Magna Cum Laude, Accounting May 1984
- Completed Level 1 of Certified Financial Analyst Program, June 2005
- Recently Completed Continuing Education
- Surgent McCoy CPE Courses
- The Best Individual Income Tax Update Course
- Complete Guide to Cash-Flow Analysis and Asset-Management Consulting
- Guide to Tax Reserach: Doing it Smarter, Better, and Faster
- Understanding Fair Value Accounting: A Practical Approach to Statement No. 157 and Its Impact on Financial Reporting
- American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) CPE Courses
- Accounting For Income Taxes – Applying SFAS No. 109/FIN 48
- Surgent McCoy CPE Courses
Licenses
- Licensed CPA State of Nevada