John Simons Email & Phone Number

New York, NY, US

Stamford, CT

Lead the largest and most strategic customers in the Northeast Region: Ahold & Wakefern. Manager $100MM of revenue, partnering with third party brokers and customer direct call responsibility within the laundry, fabric conditioner, air care and dish categories.

Greater New York City Area

• De Cecco USA, Prodotti Inc.July 14 to Present – Northeast Regional Sales ManagerResponsible for the largest marketing region: New England, New York and Mid-Atlantic Region within the pasta category.
• Develop and manage growth plans for all customers across all classes of trade in the Northeast Region, partnering with both corporate and broker executives to drive De Cecco’s growth agenda in the US.
• Interface with the De Cecco Leadership Team in areas of Finance, Supply Chain, and Sales to improve revenue, market share and profit within the premium pasta category.
• Develop and present strategic sales and category management stories to key channels such as Grocery (Ahold, Wakefern, & Wegmans), E-Commerce (Amazon & Fresh Direct), and Natural (Whole Foods).

Ballston Spa, NY

• Accepted into competitive development program for potential agency leadership.
• Provide insurance & financial services to new and existing State Farm clients.
• Educate clients on insurance products including auto, home, & life insurance.
• Provide knowledge and assist clients within financial products such as mutual funds, 529 college savings plans, and IRA’s.

• Division lead responsible for 360 degree plan development which included $170MM trade budget, insights, retail execution, and shopper marketing to deliver growth on a $750MM division.
• Responsible for $170MM in trade funding and assigning spend rates to customer teams within the division. Led forecasting and projections for full year planning, based on consumer trends, historical data and spend.
• Collaborated with customer business managers and brand teams on joint business planning to drive revenue and market share through shopper and trade marketing opportunities.
• Cascaded strategic brand plans to divisional field sales team to ensure delivery of jobs to be done.
• Lead business reviews with direct sales teams and broker partners to assess performance and readjust plans when needed.
• Recruited and developed two trade marketing analyst. Both were promoted to other positions within the organization.

• Strategic customer development expert across Bertolli Frozen and P.F Chang’s Home Menu Frozen Meals, $385 million in sales.
• Launched P.F. Chang’s Home Menu into grocery, club and mass market channels, Nielsen’s #1 new product launch of 2011 which delivered $100MM+ in sales.
• Key strategic link between brand building/development marketing and field sales on planning, strategy and opportunity management.
• Developed customer and channel specific brand trade promotional strategies, budgets and targets. Communicated growth strategies to the field.
• Worked with the brand team to develop a seamless, fully integrated marketing plan for top customers including Ahold, Kroger, Publix, Safeway, Target and Wal-Mart.

• Strategic business development leader across Bertolli Frozen, Breyers, Ben & Jerry’s, Klondike, Popsicle and Good Humor Brands, $780 million in sales.
• Liaison between field sales teams, broker partners, headquarters and outside agencies in developing promotional efforts to achieve sales goals.
• Interfaced with field sales and brand teams to develop opportunities and identify risks to secure resources to deliver sector target. East Sector customers included Ahold, Delhaize, Publix, Wakefern and Regional Grocery.
• Analyzed and maximized return on investments within trade activities and shared best practices across the sector.
• Point person, responsible for delivering input to headquarters regarding pricing actions, product mix, retailer shopper marketing brand initiatives, and market implications.
• Communicated brand strategies and new item initiatives to field sales to ensure flawless execution.

• Jan 05 – Apr 07 Customer Business Manager – AholdResponsible for the direct customer call at Ahold inclusive of development and execution of the full year business plan aligning promotional and shopper marketing funds.
• Responsible for $60 million in sales and $13 million of merchandising funds. Developed and executed return on investment improvement, growing revenue by 6% over two years and profit by 3%.
• Increased market share on Hellmann’s, Wishbone, Lipton Tea, Lawry’s, Bertolli Olive Oil, and Skippy.
• Worked closely with Business Development Team to develop and identify merchandising opportunities as well return on investment with merchandising funds.
• Team leader for Ahold’s Customer Centric Retailing Initiative.

• Implemented brand category management initiatives at top Northeast accounts.
• Initiated category management, new item, and opportunity gap presentations for the Northeast Sales Division direct teams – Ahold and Wakefern.
• Key strategic link between Carb Options brand team and field sales on Unilever's Carb Options initiative. Allocated $16 million division target and $3 million of merchandising funds to field sales.

• Lead category management initiatives at a national basis to improve planograms, product mix, and promotional effectiveness.
• Interfaced with sales and marketing organizations on a national basis to develop account specific presentations for retailers such as Ahold, Costco, Delhaize, Kroger, Publix, Safeway, Shoprite, and Wal-Mart.
• Assisted Business Development Manager in creating annual plans for the Bertolli Brand. Evaluated trade spends to develop best return on investment activities.
• Provided market, account specific, and demographic analysis and interpretations for monthly sales commentaries utilizing ACNielsen & Spectra.

• Brand lead on all reporting, assisting key decision makers on the development and preparation of national programs and retailer specific initiatives.
• Collected, analyzed, and interpreted information to support key decision maker’s development of pricing and promotional strategy.
• Created and generated monthly and ad hoc reports utilizing syndicated data from ACNielsen, Spectra, and RetailLink.

Bs, Business Administration; Quantitative Methods

Master Of Business Administration, Marketing