B&G Foods                                                                                                                                                   January 2015- Present

 

Regional Sales Director 

Responsible for all aspects of sales efforts in fourteen states including foodservice distribution, national account, industrial/ingredient, redistribution, vending, GPO and corporate broadline relationships within the region.  Work with a national broker and engage on all levels from local to headquarter relationships.

• In first year, achieved net sales growth of over 10% drawn from incremental increases, existing account penetration and new account onboarding.

• Initiated & launched broker training initiative and curriculum, developed supporting materials and lead team to assess ROI of program.

• Implemented improvements to marketing and promotional efforts linking portfolio penetration and sales growth as performance indicators for promotional payout.

 

Additional responsibilities include design and implementation of processes and systems to ensure that the sales organization is working smartly and intelligently with support departments within the organization.

 

 

Custom Culinary                                                                                                                            November 2012-January 2015

 

Regional Sales Manager Southeast

Responsible for all business building activities in the Southeastern United States.  Manage five sales agencies, call directly on regional chain and national accounts as well as all foodservice distributors & small processors within the region.  Consult and coordinate with culinary and marketing resources within my company to provide relevant, profitable, on-trend support for our product portfolio, including food bases, sauces, soups and gravies. 

• Restored region to sales growth.  As of October 2012, region was performing at -9% vs prior year in net sales dollars.  By October 2013 region was at 8% growth and through April 2014 region is showing 11.5% growth.

• Established relationship and closed business with regional healthcare GPO that net over $100,000 in annual sales volume.

• In October 2013 was given additional responsibility of all chain accounts within region.  Within six months established relationships with seven new accounts and closed business at four new chain accounts totaling over $75,000 in incremental growth through April 2014.

• Led brokers through navigating competitive challenges with means other than product discounting including quality/ingredient comparisons, and ensuring correct products were being compared.

 

Unilever Food Solutions                                                                                                                   July 2002 – October 2012   

 

Chain & National Accounts Manager                                           

Responsible for relationship development and penetration at National Account and Restaurant Chains headquartered in Florida.  Gather and analyze consumer market research and consult with Culinary, R&D and Purchasing leaders to cultivate successful menu and ingredient solutions for various concepts in the QSR, Casual Dining, Healthcare, Education, Travel & Lodging and Manufacturing segments.  Work in tandem with channel marketing and corporate chef partners to develop solutions for clients.

• Tripled territory case sales from 2008-2012 despite a volatile and difficult economic environment and the divestiture of two key categories (seasonings and frozen). Developed partnerships with more than ten new accounts.

• Sales growth between calendar year 2011 and 2012 was on trend to deliver an increase of $900,000, equal to an increase of 30%  through Q3, 2012. 

• Established a relationship with Hard Rock Café that resulted in over $300,000 in sales annually.  At the time of my exit, an additional win of over $125,000 was imminent.

• Successfully managed relationships with Darden and Outback through our exit from custom/proprietary business.  Was able to shift some products to branded offerings

• Obtained sales in two new categories at Darden totaling over $200,000 in annual volume.

• Established hard specification relationship with Margaritaville Holdings including restaurants, casinos and hotels in two categories.  Generated annual volume of over $180,000 in annual volume

• Engaged as the lead with a major theme park corporation in Orlando on building a multi layered corporate partnership with Unilever.   Anticipated total annual volume to Unilever North America was in excess of $1.2 million.  Closed deal during my final week at Unilever.

• Participated on several internal teams and panels including the Restaurant Channel Business Team, Sandwich Pro, Sales Advisory, Branded Services Team, and Sustainability Council.

• Serve as lead Customer Development contact on non-traditional & industry group b2b relationships & events including Sun Capital, Unipro Multi Unit Group, IFMA Operator Forums, and COEX.

 

Distributor Sales Manager                                                                                                                              July 2002-August 2007

Responsible for all business building activities at several broadline and independent foodservice distributors in North Florida to include all aspects of communication, training of DSRs, execution of marketing events and creation & implementation of business building activities.  Lead on all aspects of relationship from DSRs to Executive level.  Achieved growth in excess of 20% per year with my distributors 2003-2006.

• President’s Award Winner in 2005 as a result of achieving 32% annual sales growth & Sales Advisory Team member 2006-2007 enabling participation on various projects throughout the business.

• Successfully managed marketing budgets and deductions within corporate parameters at all distributors within my responsibility.

 

US Foodservice                                                                                                                                                          1994 – 2002

Various Roles  

                                                                                                

Director of Marketing 1998-2002

Creation, management, coordination & execution of all marketing programs and events at $200 mil broad line distributor.  Managed a $5-8 million budget with revenues of $2.5-4.5 million annually.  Duties included planning trade shows, sales meetings, sales promotions, advertising, DSR training.  Managed segment specialists and signature brand managers. Worked with over 200 manufacturers and brokers on business building and managed all aspects of broker activity related to signature brands.  Worked as a brand strategist in the roll out of signature brands including product development, branding and marketing strategies. Awarded Commitment to Excellence recognition in February 2001 for my creativity, attention to detail, and dedication to my position.

 

Buyer  1997-1998 

Responsible for all aspects of purchasing, including inventory levels, pricing, deals, and vendor and broker management for over 100 manufacturers.

 

Distributor Sales Representative 1995-1997 

From zero sales base in Palm Beach County to over $30,000/wk in 18 months. Sales Rep of the month June, July & December 1996, March, May, June, & August 1997.  Rookie of the Year 1996, Sales Rep of the year 1997.

 

Customer Service/School Bid Coordinator 1994-1995

Handled all aspects of several school bids including bids, orders, delivery, and commodities. Successfully implemented a USDA commodities tracking program.