James Lucas Email & Phone Number

Colmar, Pa, Us

United States

Colmar, Pennsylvania, Us

Publicly held automotive/heavy truck aftermarket parts manufacturer with 3.6K employees and $1.35B in revenues.In this role, I managed teams for our retail and driveline businesses, then added the chassis business unit (2018 to 2020). I transitioned to leading 5 direct reports and an overall team of 135 in innovation, advanced electronics, and multiple business units, with P&L accountability for $400M in revenue (heavy duty and original equipment manufacturers segments). I acted as an advisor and assisted director-level staff in leadership coaching, strategy development, and creation/monitoring of sales goals and budgets. ► Facilitated inorganic revenue growth by collaborating with VP of Business Development on M&A activities including due diligence/target assessment, valuation, and development of synergies.► Architected integration of $200M acquisition by serving as commercial lead (on track to achieve goals). Defined strategic plan for combined entity including branding/commercialization approach. Nurtured product-driven culture within target company.► Achieved 30%+ average organic sales growth for each SBU by building 5-year strategic plan. Established go-to-market strategy for 35+ product categories. Focused on value creation and customer centricity. Enabled successful entry into new markets through market research and strategic messaging.► Realized zero customer disruptions during COVID by leading continuity messaging and strategy.

Colmar, Pennsylvania, Us

As Director of NPD, I managed a cross-functional team of 15 covering product management, engineering, materials, purchasing, and legal for light duty and heavy duty product lines. I assumed full responsibility for P&L and fulfillment of sales/margin/new product goals. To aid in product decision making, I conducted usability studies. I also set goals for forecasting and revenue planning.► Built Heavy Duty division from scratch, and grew to $40M business, by conducting our initial market assessment and implementing the launch strategy. I hired team members and launched 14 product lines and 800+ SKUs.► Achieved seamless SAP conversion by serving as the business process owner for Product Management. ► Enabled accurate pricing, forecasting, and ROI decisions by developing robust pro forma financial model used by all of product management. ► Empowered 2 product managers to attain director roles by providing coaching and training.► Facilitated revenue growth by serving as strategic technical advisor to sales and marketing teams. I served as a technical sales expert for meetings and presentations with key customers. I also acted as a strategy consultant for our marketing team in development of strategic messaging.

Colmar, Pennsylvania, Us

I was promoted again to manage a team of 4 product managers/assistant product managers and an overall matrixed team of 15 while reporting to Director of New Product Development. In this role, I selected and ranked which new products to move through stage gate process. As needed, I mediated competing priorities between product, sourcing, and engineering. ► Achieved $81M in organic revenue growth by launching 32 new-to-market product lines by spearheading the product development process from ideation to launch and commercialization. I also educated customers and generated product ideas by attending North American trade shows.► Enabled direct reports to achieve promotions by providing coaching and training.

Colmar, Pennsylvania, Us

I was initially hired as an Assistant Product Manager and then promoted to Product Manager within 3 months due to my subject matter expertise. I brainstormed new product ideas, gained consensus by developing compelling presentations, and managed new products from launch to market. To ensure successful launches, I collaborated with engineers on product design and with international sourcing team on the selection and management of suppliers. I collaborated with marketing to develop strategic marketing collateral and messaging. I assisted sales by serving as a technical sales expert at trade show and customer tours.► Accelerated time to market 25% by optimizing and streamlining stage gate process.► Grew unique product line 20-fold, from $40K to $800K in monthly sales, by developing successful market assessments and identifying opportunities for expansion. ► Facilitated overall revenue growth by shepherding hundreds of products through launch process.

Colmar, Pennsylvania, Us