Keri Zipay Email & Phone Number

Cleveland, Ohio, United States

Proactively engage manufacturers based throughout the Northeast Ohio region (industry specific assignments include aerospace, additive, and companies devoted to DoD work) to understand two baseline indicators: 1. What opportunities do the companies see on their horizon for growth 2. What obstacles are standing in their way From there, action steps are assigned to help support the company's growth and success. Underlying goals of this work include retention and creation of living wage+ jobs and wealth building opportunities for Ohioans, ultimately leading to sustained economic viability.

Beachwood, Ohio

- Facilitate creation of marketing attraction collateral and direct strategic deployment to targeted industry companies, including commissioning of drone video.- Perform ongoing site visits/relationship building with Beachwood companies (200+ visits and counting). Create action steps via outcomes of visitation feedback and follow through to completion.- May 2019 installation of summer pop-up park on Chagrin Blvd. as a "business" community development initiative- Applied to State of Ohio Department of Development to establish city's first Community Reinvestment Area, and implemented two agreements- Established annual entrepreneurship educational series- Developed online intern matching program for summer student placement with Beachwood companies- Chamber Board member and chair of Women's Connection committee

Processed residential zoning applications for the city with over 600 processed in 2016Coordinated Community Engagement events on an as-needed basisImplemented transition to online zoning applications by assisting in the customized construction of the ViewpointCloud permitting software platform Oversaw a special project to promote food trucks in the city which involved researching 12 other city ordinances and consulting American Planning Association articles to compile data and justifications Supported Phase II of a major development project by conducting market research, contacting current and prospective businesses, and interacting with commercial real estate brokersCreated tutorials to support local residents in completing zoning applications appropriatelyDesigned the vision and coordinated footage collection for a city-wide promotional video Anchored Facebook Live videos to further community engagement efforts

Edit approximately 150 secret shopper reports monthly for spelling and grammatical corrections. Follow up with shoppers via email and phone for additional information as needed.

Promoted and assisted business owners with enlistment at Shop-Shaker.comPhoto documentation of available commercial propertiesPromoted and facilitated applications for the county’s Storefront Renovation Rebate programParticipated in leasing calls for the Van Aken development projectCo-planned the first annual Business Appreciation Mixer event (Zero Waste)Assisted in preparation for application of an EDA grant for LaunchHouseCompiled 2010 Census data (in comparison to 2000) for the Planning department

Managed all mystery shopping programs including holiday competitive promotions, diamond sourcing, luxury watch, and large-scale customer service in support of operational tests, key corporate initiatives, and as an intelligence gathering tool on the competitive landscape and diamond sourcing policyRequested proposals from external research vendors, review bids, and present recommendations to Director for custom research projects. Negotiate cost of services, establish project timelines, and obtain signed confidentiality and terms agreements. Monitor suppliers' adherence to research plan, project timeline, and deliverablesCompiled and distributed several key monthly reports to Sterling's executive committee and other departments including Causal Factors, Sales Hurdles, Economic Trading Conditions, Retail Industry Trade Data, and Ten-second Website Survey ResultsProvided insights to management on key competitors through holiday and large-scale mystery shops, online research, quarterly competitive updates, maintenance of major competitor promotional calendars, and monitoring of analyst callsCompiled and distributed Broadcast Analyses for Mother's Day, Valentine's Day, and Holiday periodsCompiled and analyzed home office survey results for Gift With Purchase itemsMaintained the Marketing Reference Document for use by senior management that included US Economic conditions, retail climate, category performance and trends, other channels of distribution, competitive intelligence, Sterling's market share, and all custom research results (i.e. consumer tracking, segmentation analysis, brand positioning, etc.). For information gathering purposes, reviewed daily newsletters, government reports, and business and industry periodicals for pertinent information. Managed supporting documentationPerformed mystery shops as requested

Managed sales forecasting, purchasing, allocation, and the open to buy for over 300 jewelry items, generating more than $300 million in annualized sales.Analyzed trends, sales, and productivity in order to maximize sales, turn, and gross margin initiatives and present recommendations to executive-level management.Developed relationships with vendors to share projections, reduce lead times, improve accuracy, and optimize inventory productivity.Contributed to a productive category team, which included working with merchandise directors, buyers, and planners on a daily basis to resolve issues and implement strategies. Managed an inventory specialist and prioritized her workload in order to achieve goals and ensure that orders were cut correctly and received as scheduled.

Created a customized allocation mechanism in excel effectively reducing roughly 4.5 days of allocation analysis down to approximately 6 hours

Lyndhurst, Oh

Supervised company-wide implementation of cost and retail changesServed as key pricing contact for 1,000+ store locations and corporate helpdeskCommunicated pricing and deal information to the advertising department for all print adsFacilitated competitive price shop program between vendor and buyers, performed shops as necessarySupervised and trained Pricing Analyst and Date Entry Clerk

Certified Economic Development Finance Professional

Certificate, Leaddiversity

Master'S Degree, Urban Planning Design & Development

Certificate of Economic Development, Spring 2014

B.S., Marketing

Activities and Societies: Sigma Sigma Sigma

Education record