Amanda Abar Email & Phone Number

Leawood, Ks, Us

Kansas City, Missouri Area

Act as a senior executive at the C-suite level, both internally and externally with clients. Responsible for designing and implementing enhancements to the Barkley Client experience that drive trusted relationships, retention, and organic revenue growth with clients such as: Dairy Queen, Delta Faucet, Motel 6, Winnebago Outdoors, The Salvation Army, and UMKC. In addition, internally, partner closely with the Brand Leadership team and Operations to deliver productive workflow, resourcing, and scale across integrated teams.

Greater Chicago Area

Selected as first Head of Account Management for 360i, leveraging agency tenure while setting vision and laying the groundwork to create successful national account management department, while concurrently managing Chicago office.As Executive Team member of 360i, meet weekly to oversee new business opportunities, set agency vision, address financial and operational needs and overall agency growth. In addition, take on roles outside the Chicago office:• Handpicked as Interim Managing Director for LA Office, 6 months. • Consulted with Operations to launch Project Management. • Spearheaded account leadership, resourcing, and structure. • Drove national new business pitches and landed new wins. • Guide accounts to financial and operational solvency. • Deploy and ensure the success of The Referral Rating (TRR) system across the agency’s top accounts. • Expanded Chicago office and boosted overall revenue by a substantial percentage through net new (United Airlines and Kashi) with most Chicago accounts expanding organically. • Set course for Chicago expansion in 2019 by outlining key Chicago prospects, local growth opportunities, retaining high-performing team members, and enhancing Chicago office morale and resource support.• Collaborate with CFO and COO to establish revenue and margin goals for agency accounts and champion client leads. • Pioneered resource management for full account department billability, allocation, rotation, retention, and profitability.• Develop and roll out core competencies for the account department to set clear standards, best practices, training guidelines, and rotation opportunities.• Design an ongoing training program in partnership with HR, department heads, and account leaders to share knowledge and develop talent.• Manage and mentor direct reports by setting clear expectations, acting as the escalation point, and maximizing team morale.

Greater Chicago Area

Expanded Chicago office and boosted overall revenue through net new (Carmax, Kellogg, DSW, and Biofreeze), account expansion (Purina, Nestea, Nestle Pure Life, Butterfinger, Champion, ProFlowers, and Sheri’s Berries) and transfer from 360i Atlanta (JCPenney’s).• Led top-to-top relationships with senior client leadership, supervising client mapping, client retention, risk assessment, organic growth opportunities, and resource management. • Concepted and established: Working Mother’s Lunch, Annual Office Olympics, Monthly Coffee Chat, Pie () Day, Super Bowl Chili Cookoff, New Hire Breakfast, Annual 5K, Month of Good, Monthly Baller Award, Dabblers, Chicago Leadership Team, Smart Gong tweets.

Greater Chicago Area

Promoted in recognition of the Chicago office’s growth and success as well as overall contribution to the national agency. • Increased Chicago office revenue by bringing in 3 significant new clients: Target, Barilla, and Perrier.• Agency awarded AdAge Top 10 list from client work with Lean Cuisine, Oscar Mayer, Target, and Ben & Jerry’s.• Grew total employee headcount and set the bar across 360i offices with high employee retention rate.• Supervised office space expansion (construction, décor, workspace plan, headcount forecast, and placement.)

Greater Chicago Area

Promoted from Account Director role to join the 360i national Executive Team as a Vice President and 1 of the 9 leaders who run the overall 450-person agency.• Expanded Chicago office organically growing Kraft business and adding 6 new accounts (Lean Cuisine, Coffeemate, Skinny Cow, Ben & Jerry’s, Hanes, and H&R Block).• Significantly increased office revenue • Backed award-winning campaigns for Oscar Mayer, Lean Cuisine, Coffeemate, and Hanes. • Grew the Chicago staff and led the training, development, oversight and team growth.• Initially hired to launch the Chicago office to create a Chicago presence after landing the Kraft Foods digital business including Philadelphia Cream Cheese, Kraft Singles, Velveeta, Naturals, A1, the Kraft umbrella brand, and the Kraft Huddle to Fight Hunger Bowl.

Greater Chicago Area

Profitably led Chicago’s largest accounts (True Value, GGP).• Pursued by MARC USA senior management to strengthen a client relationship with True Value. Within 5 months, the agency received the highest Client Report Card markings in 5 years.• Championed couponing program, significantly increasing True Value Hardware basket size for 3 consecutive years.• Maximized True Value’s budget by enhancing and upgrading online marketing: SEO, SEM, PointRoll campaign, and new interactive microsites.• Chosen as the recipient of “Big Idea” award within MARC USA for conceiving and implementing a cost-efficient, digital technology system for GGP. Inspired risk-resistant client to embrace digital with a macro, scalable approach for 100 malls.• Geo-targeted Social Media.• Social networking with Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, and Yelp!• Website optimization • Mobile Marketing• Online sweepstakes & contests

Greater Chicago Area

Established organizational structure for high-volume, retail account, GGP, with the online ordering system, appropriate staff, internal processes, disciplines, and billing.• Elevated relationship to Agency of Record (AOR) and more than doubled revenue by driving organic growth (Gift Card, Platinum Trade Campaign, Bridgeland, 3rd Party Marketing, and Urban Development).• Pioneered microsite and highly effective online campaign for Sennheiser Electronics, spiking sales 20% and surpassing industry standards.

Teamed with top global management to create new vision, mission, core value list, and visual corporate identity to be embraced by Leo Burnett’s 9K employees, shareholders, clients, and partners.• Successfully introduced the new vision and corporate identity to 96 office worldwide by developing a “kit” that communicated the concept simply, clearly, and consistently, which included an innovative business card initiative.• Managed balance of brand versus retail messaging for Oldsmobile when GM discontinued the Oldsmobile brand.• Selected to move to Paris to drive European execution of multi-disciplinary creative campaigns for Disneyland Paris in 7 languages and 9 countries by championing the assembly of a “European Team” from 7 Leo Burnett offices.• Led 40-person French team on their only American brand and largest account.

Played key role in rebranding of Walt Disney World with a new umbrella identity, encompassing 4 theme parks, 3 water parks, 12 hotels, Downtown Disney, and Wide World of Sports.• Advocated and led first “Special Markets” (Hispanic/Spanish and African American) initiative for Walt Disney World, tripling African American attendance and doubling Hispanic attendance. • Contributed to the Walt Disney Word 25th Anniversary marketing campaign (Gold Effie Winner, 1999).