Hunter Hess Email & Phone Number

Kansas City, Mo, Us

Kansas City, Missouri, Us

Kansas City, Missouri, Us

I have held progressive leadership roles in a major, multi-year transformation initiative focused on reshaping Hallmark's future. My current role has responsibility for the organization's change management efforts, training program, and developing a comprehensive business deployment and cutover plan. Change Strategy and Engagement•Developed and executed a comprehensive change management strategy, leveraging Prosci best practices for smooth adoption of new processes and technologies.•Managed change-related programs, increasing employee understanding, readiness, and willingness to embrace change.•Collaborated with senior leaders and managers to secure support, as well as to develop sustainment and governance plans.Training Program Oversight•Directed the project training team, crafting an extensive curriculum for thousands of employees through self-paced and instructor-led courses.Stakeholder Communications & Engagement•Orchestrated the project communication plan, ensuring accurate and timely information dissemination through organization-wide Town Halls.•Established an employee listening program, using surveys, focus groups, and other methods to gauge change readiness and adjust tactics accordingly.•Collaborated with business partners, including senior executives and project sponsors, to gain support and mitigate impacts during implementation.Business Go-Live/Cutover Planning•Leveraged end-to-end business process knowledge to determine cutover/go-live schedules, requirements, and priorities across Hallmark's supply chain.•Captured technical installation requirements across multiple platforms, including SAP, Manhattan, and Blue Yonder (JDA), designing a comprehensive business and technical cutover plan.•Gathered input for contingency plans, identified key decision points, and assessed overall business readiness using stakeholder feedback, project progress metrics, and testing outcomes.

Kansas City, Missouri, Us

Selected to help to shape Hallmark’s future by delivering a business and software transformation initiative on-time and on-budget Served in Project Management Office (PMO) of an end-to-end, multi-year project focused on implementing industry-leading business processes, infrastructure improvements, and software and technology investments to radically enhance Hallmark’s capabilities and operations.Key Activities & Contributions:Business Go-Live/Cutover Planning•Leveraged end-to-end business process knowledge to determine cutover/go-live schedules, requirements, and priorities across Hallmark's supply chain.•Captured technical installation requirements across multiple platforms, including SAP, Manhattan, and Blue Yonder (JDA), designing a comprehensive business and technical cutover plan.•Gathered input for contingency plans, identified key decision points, and assessed overall business readiness using stakeholder feedback, project progress metrics, and testing outcomes.Deliver Value Case by Managing Implementation Activities•Utilized concepts from LEAN, Agile, and Waterfall to manage the project’s implementation and progress, delivering outcomes on-time/on-budget. •Provided 22+ scrum teams, 10+ work-streams, and business/project leaders with daily/weekly scorecards and analysis of project health.Share the Vision & Manage Change:•Evangelized the project’s end-to-end outcomes, benefits, and processes, serving as a key liaison between the project team and Hallmark’s business units/leaders. Facilitating this linkage required in-depth knowledge of Hallmark’s operations and is imperative to successful implementation of software/process changes across Hallmark’s businesses. Manage & Mitigate Risk•Managed the project risk and issue tracking process, including the establishment of impact/probability criterion, analyzing trends, auditing and updating mitigation plans, and providing visibility to project sponsors, business leaders, and Internal Audit.

Kansas City, Missouri, Us

Provided senior-level merchandising guidance leadership to help establish and deliver category and vendor strategies•Asked to step into a part-time consultancy role, alongside business transformation work, to provide senior-level category leadership for the consumable/candy, home fragrance/candles, bath/body, and local departments for 250+ corporately owned stores. •Directed end-to-end category assortment plans, pricing/margin strategies, and promotional activations by leveraging historical sales, open-to-buy financial targets, turn and inventory metrics, market conditions, and consumer insights •Helped oversee Hallmark’s vendor partnerships, including vendor selection, terms negotiations, category alignment, and developing of strategic partnerships to deliver profit margin and streamline operations.•Supported digital and omnichannel retail distribution through Hallmark.com; provided category analysis and vendor-distribution plans to deliver a seamless consumer experience via Hallmark’s website.

Kansas City, Missouri, Us

Strategic retail leader with consistent, proven track record of product development success and business growthPromoted to lead the strategic direction and implementation of the everyday-gifts business for the Hallmark Gold Crown retail channel, a multi-million dollar wholesale business that includes home décor, artistic collectibles, and licensed merchandise.Key Activities & Contributions: Innovative Strategist and Consumer Advocate: •Possessed, applied, and continually refined a deep understanding of the Hallmark Retail consumer and brand to bring appealing, innovative products to life that meet and exceed consumer expectations at market. Deliver Retail Financial Results:•Applied robust product life cycle, inventory, and retail metric expertise to drive a strong retail P&L, including maximizing turn-ratios and GMROII while reducing inventory liabilities and markdowns. •Owned and oversaw the wholesale P&L, managing key inputs, including cost-of-goods, retailer terms and incentives, and other miscellaneous attributes, to maximize top-line revenue and exceed gross-margin results.People Partner & Developer:•Partnered cross-functionally to bring program-level strategies, product development, and growth initiatives to life; this includes daily collaboration with Sales, Finance, Creative, Retail Buyers, and Global Procurement to develop a strong, differentiated product portfolio.•Collaborated closely with marketing to develop marketing support plans, key items, promotions, and priorities, including direct mail product placement, social media, and email campaigns reaching millions of households. •Had direct management responsibility of two Associate Product Manager positions and a Product Assistant, including their career development goals, strategic coaching and growth, and job-related contributions, outcomes, and results.

Kansas City, Missouri, Us

International Sourcing Expertise with Strong Project Management and Cost AcumenI facilitated the supply chain development and international sourcing strategy for hundreds of gift products for Hallmark's Gold Crown retail channel, upholding Hallmark's industry-leading code, ethics, and compliance standards while delivering differentiated products that met cost objectives. Key Activities & Contributions:International Partnership: •I traveled internationally extensively to work with and develop production partners across a variety of materials/mediums in China and other southeast Asia countries. Process Improvement: •I implemented LEAN principles, including process mapping and waste reduction, into everyday business operations, both large- and small-scale, to deliver process improvement. I also helped devise division-wide implementation and training on key product development software rollouts, including PLM (Product Lifecycle Management).

Kansas City, Missouri, Us

I helped facilitate the wholesale product development process for everyday gift products for the Hallmark Gold Crown channel. By utilizing market and consumer insights coupled with key performance metrics, I assisted with the strategic development and evaluation of the everyday gifts business. This role required linkage with multiple stakeholders, including creative teams, procurement, demand and inventory, sales, and many others to help guide a product through its life cycle.

Kansas City, Missouri, Us

I analyzed the performance of thousands of seasonal greeting cards and attributes within the Gold Crown retail channel, combining consumer insights and research with financial results. This information was used to support new ventures and optimize model line decisions.

Master Of Business Administration (Mba), Strategic Management & Supply Chain Management

Bachelor Of Science, Business Administration, Concentrations, Communication Studies & Human Resources