Brenda Macfarlane Email & Phone Number

Chicago, Il, Us

Chicago, Il, Us

Chicago, Illinois, United States

- Conducted strategic explorations to identify long-term growth opportunities for the business.- Led cross-functional project teams through the broadband grant application process, collaborating closely with the government affairs, engineering, sales, finance and legal teams.- Secured multiple broadband grants totaling $16.7M in funding to close the digital divide in 35+ rural communities.- Identified target areas for coverage upgrades and expansion, completed NPV business cases, and collaborated to gain cross-functional leadership alignment.- Navigated complex regulatory landscape; developed and maintained relationships with state broadband offices and Tribal Nations.

Chicago, Illinois, United States

- Pursued opportunities to improve business results through subscriber and revenue growth.- Created the annual budget presentation for executive leadership team and board of directors.- Completed an in-depth review of nearly 100 departmental activities, evaluated the value of each activity, and recommended an approach to re-align and prioritize resources to maximize outcomes.

Chicago, Illinois

- Developed plans for customer acquisition, increased revenue (ARPU), and operational effectiveness.- Forecasted market opportunity and drafted go-to-market strategies for new products.- Business lead for 5G commercialization initiative, one of the largest projects in the history of the company.- Developed the 5G marketing strategy and go-to-market plan; led a cross-functional commercialization team.- Created and presented a 5G educational presentation for executives, stakeholder teams, vendors, and “toured” departmental townhalls; authored numerous online lessons to train the sales and customer support associates.

Chicago, Illinois

- Conceptualized and launched a new product category, consumer IoT, from the ground up.- Led enterprise projects to commercialize the first two products: the Apple Watch and a connected car device.- Managed Request for Information (RFI), negotiated terms with OEMs, and selected the product portfolio.- Built forecasts, business cases, and marketing strategies for the product line; monitored product performance.

Chicago, Illinois

- Tracked metrics across a $34M budget, identified interventions to reduce costs & improve customer experience.- Led a complex enterprise project overhauling the suite of service program offerings through customer experience enhancements, cost-saving initiatives, and the end-of-life of three legacy programs.- Presented results and updates to leadership and cross-functional teams both ad-hoc and on a regular cadence.

Aurora, Illinois

- Managed launch of a cloud-based IoT web product and the company’s first two mobile apps.- Led an offshore software development team through app development using the Agile method and JIRA.- Oversaw all user experience, user interface, and visual design aspects for web and mobile projects.- Developed and documented a new product development process and Business Requirement Document.- Authored technical documents including specifications, datasheets, product manuals, and technical bulletins.

Aurora, Illinois

- Managed new product development, product support, customer and staff concerns, and product updates for the Weather, Soil Moisture, Light, and Disease Modeling product lines.- Owned all product line projects, quickly developing subject-matter expertise in unfamiliar verticals.- Performed alpha testing of prototypes and organized beta testing with friendly users.- Assisted with technical support by troubleshooting, diagnosing, repairing, and upgrading returned products; executed a full product recall, diagnosing and resolving the issue, and updating customer units.- Hosted all-staff training sessions for new products and trained new employees on all products.

Master Of Business Administration - Mba

Concentrations: Marketing, Management

B.S., Agricultural & Biological Engineering

Activities and Societies: Twin Pines Cooperative House: Treasurer, Finance Committee Chairwoman, Parliamentarian, Constitution Committee.

Energy Tomorrow: An Engineering And Management Perspective

Study Abroad

Education record