Mike O'Brien Email & Phone Number

Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area

Proficient at celebrating each day like it's Saturday.

Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area

Responsible for the go-to-market business-to-business and business-to-consumer strategies and execution for introducing a new, more sustainable biofuel product for the United States. It was essential to create the process for developing our strategy while engaging and communicating with key stakeholders like employees, the management team, our board, and the biofuels industry. Key results included generating more than $800 million in sales in 2021. Also, more than $150 million in public and private grants were successfully obtained through my leadership. Through innovative partnerships, I created market access through 20 major retailers like Sheetz, Kwik Trip, Casey's General Stores, Kum & Go, Murphy USA, Family Express, Thorntons, Minnoco, and Cenex. Working collaboratively with these retailers, I led the creation of a national brand using consumer research, field trials, and sales analytics to optimize best marketing practices to maximize biofuel sales. Sales grew more than ten percent during COVID as I quickly revised our go-to-market strategy through video technology, online marketing, and more reliance on established customer relationships.

Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area

Responsibilities included developing the marketing and communications strategy for the global renewable energy (wind, solar, tidal) and oil & gas market electrical infrastructure segments. While in this role, I identified and created a sales and marketing strategy focused on key market segments that yielded a new $300 million opportunity for the division. Working in collaboration with our global network of five electrical infrastructure production facilities in the United States, Singapore, China, Norway, and the Netherlands, along with the sales team and senior management team, required superior communications and project management. A key initiative in this role included re-branding the 100-year-old company's effort into a more relevant and valuable partner for critical customers, especially those engaged in building infrastructure for the renewable energy markets.

Remote

Created the global marketing communications program for the company during the startup and introductory phase of a more sustainable biopolymer that replaced petroleum-based materials. Also, I developed and led the company's sustainability program that engaged the global environmental community, including authoring the company's first sustainability report. I created a consumer brand for seven business units through research and partnerships with more than 30 major global food, bedding, packaging, and clothing brands. Served as chief spokesperson for the company and designed a public relations program that generated more than 2,000 feature stories per year, including placement in marque media like Wall Street, Fortune, London Times, StarTribune, USA Today, Forbes, Japan Times, and CBS Evening News. The marketing budget grew from $750,000 to $18 million through demonstrating to the CEO and CFO the impact co-branding/marketing activities had on generating company revenues.

Master Of Business Administration - Mba, Social Media And Marketing Emphasis, 4.0 Gpa

Strategic Marketing Planning

Bachelor’S Degree, Marketing/Marketing Management, General; Economics

Activities and Societies: FarmHouse Fraternity - Secretary; National AgriMarketing Association (NAMA) - Chapter PresidentGamma Sigma Delta.

Associate’S Degree, Marketing

Activities and Societies: National President - Future Business Leaders of America; Student Senate Vice President; National AgriMarketing.

Market Led, Sales Driven Strategies