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The Vice President of Sales strategically responsible for developing and managing the International Educational Childcare and Hospitality markets.

National Sales Manager responsible for the strategic direction and management of the Educational Childcare international accounts.

- Led restructuring initiatives resulting in operational efficiency, lowering costs by more than $1M.- Achieved record sales year north of $20M in 2022 through international expansion and strategic retail partnerships with MARMAXX, Dollar General, World Market, Barnes & Noble, and others.- Orchestrated high-margin seasonal programs with international manufacturers, ensuring gross margins higher than 50%.- Implemented a sustainable, eco-friendly product strategy, boosting gross margins by 17% and Net Income by 9%.

As a member of the Executive Leadership Team, guided the strategic direction of company initiatives and directives, including formulating the mission, vision, and values, while being independently responsible for the sales, sales support, and sales operations staffs over-achieving a $12M sales budget.• Led a staff of 6 Sales Managers, 5 Sales Support Managers, and 3 Sales Operations managers responsible for over 5,000 customers and 60-plus products.• Strategic pricing increases and decisions exceeded gross margin requirements for internal production (58%) and collaborative third-party production (49%) products.• Realignment of Sales Manager responsibilities allowed stronger management of 71 commission sales representatives across 13 different agencies, sharper targeted vertical focus to increased market saturation and customer accounts managed through Salesforce CRM.• Marketing directives, including annual trade show plans, wholesale e-commerce via Faire, and efficient and streamlined production of company catalog increased customer base by 9%.• Direct collaborations with key national retailers including Whole Foods, R.E.I. Outfitters and Paper Source will provide increased revenue of $1.2M in 2021 with Gross Margins exceeding 60%.

Developed a startup division and led the strategic direction, continuous improvement, and operations management of the organization from inception through profitability in expansion in North America.• Sourced and led a domestic staff of nine employees, while managing remotely, creating a streamlined organization in day-to-day operations that grew annual sales by 25%-35% on a year-over-year basis.• Astute management of the P&L accomplished EBITDA at 10% -12% of gross sales.• Partnered with 9 sales organizations, training over 96 sales agents while handling key retail accounts maintained gross margins of more than 55%, utilizing sales support to execute strategy and goals.• Cultivated E-commerce with key retailers to exploit direct-to-consumer sales at increasingly high margins, above 75%, while maintaining a minimum-advertised-price (MAP) policy to protect brand.• Creating and purchasing a trade show booth to attend industry trade shows accomplished a customer base of over 4,200 international retail establishments and 8,000 rooftops.• Enterprising marketing campaigns, including designing and printing an annual catalog, direct mail, and electronic marketing consistently generated new and 48% repetitive orders • Calculated inventory management provided through sales metrics and forecasting enabled direct import orders from China and the UK, thereby facilitating rolling six-month on-hand quantities and low Capital, Storage space, Inventory service, and Inventory risk costs.• Accountable and sustainable stock control led to 99.995% fill rates annually with minimal back orders while custom programs and plan-o-grams were designed and preserved.

• Directs sales with international retailers, national book chains, display marketing companies, wholesalers, distributors and independent stores. Key clients include Costco, Walmart/Sam’s Club, Target, BJ’s Wholesale Club, Whole Foods, Barnes & Noble, Hancock Fabrics, Travel Centers of America, Giant Eagle Grocery Stores, Thornton’s Fuel Stops, Sterling Publishing, Books-A-Million, and Books Are Fun.• Hired, managed and trained a national account sales team of 23 sales representatives across four different commission sales groups, increasing sales 8% and 11% respectively in first two years.• Manages and directs 4 out of the top 8 largest card and gift accounts, with 2014 growth of 14%.• Organized and launched the companies first Scanned Based Trading Programs, with benefits including reduced invoice discrepancies, improved data management, enhanced vendor-retailer relationships, increased sales, lower inventory costs, shorter time to market and greater customer satisfaction.• Increased net sales by 47% in first full year while broadening customer base by 8%.• Sales in 2012 increased 99% over previous year; 2013 sales growth of 13%• Developed proprietary product lines with national customers to increase market share and brand penetration, leading to annual, renewable purchases of over $500,000 on a continual basis.• Collaborates with warehousing and inventory teams to evaluate and extrapolate sales matrices and demand in order to project orders while coordinating production with overseas vendors.• Negotiates domestic and international rights and distribution contracts for brand and product expansion.• Implemented data and information processes to transmit product information across all departments, while partnering with a leading company to translate ONIX data efficiently to customers.• Interprets and measures industry matrices to design, implement and coordinate high density displays that integrate into existing customer floor plans and schematics.

• Directed and marketed publishing products to national book chains, wholesalers, distributors and international retailers while creating cost efficient marketing and publicity campaigns. Clients included Borders, Books-A-Million, Ingram, Readerlink Distribution Services and Target.• Managed sales operations which generated yearly revenue of $8.7 million and a 10% lift in year-over-year sales in the Midwest regional territory. • Expanded market awareness within college marketplace and professors through multi-channel marketing campaigns including direct mail, samples and online programs.• Increased product penetration at largest account from 82% to 97% through market analysis, sales analysis and coordination with MIS department.• Analyzed and projected sales to meet P/L budgets for various channels and product lines.• Participated in international, national and regional trade shows including the Museum Store Association.

• Sold multiple product lines across various disciplines to national accounts, wholesalers, distributors, and retailers in an eight-state region. • Increased national account sales 35% in 1997 and 20% in 1996 while maintaining strict advertising, entertainment and travel budgets.• Performed monthly sales forecasts and competitive analysis that determined product performance levels, penetrated new markets, and met sales quotas.• Successfully launched new children’s product line into a competitive marketplace by performing extensive competitive research, identifying key niche accounts, and integrating multiple levels of vertical marketing.• Obtained comprehensive industry knowledge by researching market trends, developing relationships and networking among corporate leaders.

• Named the 1993 Sales Representative of the Year in the Cleveland district and Detroit Regional Sales Representative of the Year after posting the highest average sales, highest sales in a national account, most new accounts, most new product placements, most facings on store shelves and broadest product distribution.• Trained and instructed sales representatives from five districts on products, presentations, policies and competitive intelligence.• Won sales contests against colleagues in nine districts for most new grocery accounts, most new tavern accounts while earning second place for a regional display contest.