John Watkins Email and Phone Number

As part of my job duties, I oversee 90 merchant accounts and work closely with a network of 60+ partners to drive long-term growth objectives. In collaboration with the Chief Revenue Officer, VP of Corporate Development, and General Counsel, I manage all aspects of deal and partner management. This includes coordinating across legal, engineering, product, marketing, sales, and onboarding teams, ensuring seamless communication and operational efficiency at all stages of the partnership lifecycle.Key highlights from my time in this role involved:• Recognized for driving high-revenue partnerships, expanding market reach by integrating e-commerce companies and tech partners to offer consumer financing solutions.• Developed a new monetization strategy for the consumer database, generating $5M in GMV-equivalent solution-based revenue within a year.• Secured a $28M GMV technology partnership agreement through strategic negotiations, significantly boosting revenue potential.• Launched the first-ever Salesforce customer integration partnership, successfully onboarding the initial client and managing the end-to-end technology buildout, unlocking millions in potential net-new revenue.• Built and managed a diverse portfolio of partnerships across e-commerce platforms, agencies, fintech companies, and affiliates—including Shopify, Salesforce, ChargeAfter, PayTomorrow, Hawke Media, and Perpay—resulting in 21 net-new wins and hundreds of opportunities last year.• Directed API integrations and custom development initiatives for technology partners, ensuring ongoing training and enablement to drive optimal performance.

In this role, I drove B2B sales growth by partnering with health benefit brokers and co-selling to expand the company’s reach. Through co-marketing initiatives and local events, I educated brokers on our offerings, resulting in an expanded reach to 30 additional local businesses. Further, I also conducted national sales training for major account representatives, focusing on leveraging digital and print marketing synergies to increase engagement and initial meeting rates. In addition to spearheading new partner acquisition and supporting current partnerships, I mentored new hires, driving performance and uncovering new business opportunities.Following are my key contributions to the role:• Executed compelling value propositions and co-selling initiatives with 9 strategic partners, surpassing FY21 sales quota by achieving 106% as an individual contributor in the Pennsylvania region.• Enabled and co-sold a comprehensive SaaS suite (HR and Data Analytics) alongside the Alera Group, securing Pittsburgh's largest deal at $350K.

Drove new business efforts by running targeted digital marketing, securing partnerships, and launching affiliate programs, consistently doubling business growth each year while scaling the team to 5 cross-functional members. Managed the merger of a newly acquired German cookware company’s e-commerce operations into the existing U.S. structure while aligning processes to maintain customer satisfaction and achieve established sales targets. Developed strategies for chef, restaurant, and distributor sales in e-commerce and outside sales. Created far-reaching B2B and D2C marketing strategies across print and digital, continually A/B testing to optimize results. Handled external marketing agency (Melone Advertising Group), development agency (atmosol) and affiliate partnerships via Commission Junction to deliver on quota.• Scaled direct e-commerce business, executed new business initiatives, and transformed B2B sales into a digital-first experience.• Built both D2C and B2B e-commerce sites, managed trade shows, and delivered millions in revenue with margins in excess of 50%. • Introduced direct-to-consumer Facebook marketing, coordinating factory sale promotions with a $10K budget, generating $250K in immediate business and culminating in $1.35M in attributed annual revenue.• Established, nurtured, and enabled various new and existing strategic partnerships with organizations, such as the James Beard Foundation, Culinary Institute of America, Sysco Foods, Rosenthal US, Seabourn Luxury Cruises, and affiliates Slickdeals.net and Dealnews.com to deliver nearly $2M of partner driven revenue. • Steered U.S. trade show presence, booth design, and collateral for high-profile events, including Aspen Food & Wine, Nantucket Wine Festival, and Boston Food & Wine; launched 20+ SKUs.

Oversaw design, functionality testing, and analysis with a team of 2 craftsmen while collaborating across Marketing, Product Development, and Manufacturing. Identified a potential e-commerce opportunity from untapped consumer product registrations. Significantly contributed to the development of 7 patents including extensive international collaboration with teams in Colombia, France, and China.• Contributed and directed research initiatives, both domestically and internationally, dramatically enhancing my cross-cultural communication and project management skills, culminating in the creation of 7 patents. • Pioneered the introduction of in-house 3D printing and rapid prototyping, while reducing prototype costs from $10K to $500 and turnaround time from 1 month to 2 days; achieved a payback in 2 months.Patents #'s: 9,888,808 | 9,585,514 | 9,498,084 | 9,078,539 | 10,478,012 | 10,717,252 | 11,364,706 | US Patent App. 20160333436

Primary focus was to develop and document testing protocols for R&D experiments, including extensive use of FLIR thermal imaging tools and software. Another aspect of my role was to research material and new technologies relevant to the industry and present suggestions for new product considerations. This role was instrumental in laying the foundation for my ability to find solutions to challenging obstacles in an organization.

Converted an extensive library of 2D engineering drawings to 3D models which improved the organization's ability to conduct business with global suppliers. This was completed in direct collaboration with the engineering team, including the creation of new products using the latest virtual modeling techniques delivering powerful visualizations that supported marketing presentations.

Utilized triangulation data from field technicians to create detailed site plans of company assets.