Business Honors - Top Management Perspective and Leadership

Progressive Business Development LLC serves as business partner for small, medium and large consumer products companies serving the B2B, institutional, commercial and retail markets. Clients: Prairie Wind, Arborjet, Ecologel, BioSafe Systems* Launched and expanded new product lines and created numerous marketing campaigns * Developed partnerships in the U. S. and Europe; Expended distribution of products in the U. S. and Canada* Facilitated the merger of two client companies

* Responsibilities included new product development and launch, national print, radio and trade advertising, public relations, social media, harmonized retail marketing and website development including Amazon * Launched 14 new items in 2 years* Established partnership with Garden Media Group for Social Media strategy and content; significantly increased Facebook followers* Launched public relations campaign, retailer loyalty program and new optimized website* Achieved a sales increase of 9% through sales and marketing efforts and new items

* Lead the inside sales, tele-sales and outside sales team of 24 people; P&L Responsibility* Increased sales by 7% after prior 3% decline; International sales doubled* Hired new salespeople resulting in a 21% increase in sales in their territories (versus prior 18% decline)* Created new sales incentive program focused on "profitable sales" resulting in improved gross margins * Launched GardenFest, the first hydroponics B2B industry buying show, which became an industry leading event; Sales tripled forecast* Restructured the purchasing, sourcing and product development team resulting in improved fill rate and reduced distressed inventory

* Lead the operations of Lawn and Garden Distribution division, The Works Import Division and GoodProd professional tools division; Team member of National Prime Source Division and Arett e-commerce Division including Amazon sales* Responsible for B2B and B2C business development, marketing and merchandising programs, pricing strategy, inventory management, global sourcing, research and analysis* Lead marketing and merchandising team of 10 people. P&L Responsibility.* Secured exclusive distribution agreements with strategic manufacturer partners including Crocs and Henri* Increased sales to Home Depot through National Prime Source division by 238% in two years* Increased company revenue by 39% in three years; Increased profit every year for 7 years* Directly imported products from European and Asian Markets. Frequently traveled to England and China* Launched over 250 new vendor programs and over 10,000 new items to market* Executed first company acquisition in 10 years, leading to expansion into the Midwest United States* Named Lawn and Garden Marketing and Distribution Association Distributor of the Year

* Lead a team of 8 marketing, channel management and engineering people* Responsibilities included product development, marketing strategy, website development, sku rationalization, sales presentations, marketing materials, trade shows, product packaging, market research, media relations and advertising; Launched new optimized website * Reorganized marketing department into channel managers resulting in improved product speed to market* Developed sku rationalization process leading to a 30% reduction in skus, resulting in inventory turnover improvement from 11.4X to 17.7X and improving cash flow* Added over 100 new items on time and under budget, including private label* Launched new innovative in-store merchandising program for Lowes Home Improvement* Expanded Home Depot business from 2 regions to the entire United States* Initiated new branding partnerships with Lysol and Microban * Increased sales significantly with Home Depot, BJ's Wholesale, Ace Hardware and True Value Hardware* Named Home Depot Vendor of the Year* Efforts lead to the successful sale of the company to venture capital (now owned by Newell Brands)

* Original team member of 7 people responsible for the launch of small store format Villager's Hardware* Conceived, developed and executed strategy for Villager's Hardware for housewares, furniture, storage and organization and Paint and Decor departments. * Conceived strategic direction on many store elements including the name, nostalgic store theme, colors, store services and product marketing signage * Sales at Villagers Hardware went to $51 million in four stores* Developed strategic and operating resource plan, category analysis, budgeting and forecasting, vendor negotiation, supply chain productivity analysis, sales and marketing programs and product development* Promoted to Global Product Merchant for Home Depot for Decor, Paint Stains, Adhesives and Wallcovering* Successfully merged the 1-800 Blinds and National Blinds Division into Home Depot DesignPlace Direct * Developed and executed online reverse auction process resulting in a savings of $8 million* Created a shrink reduction plan and competitive pricing process both adopted company wide* Total sales responsibility of $700 million; Trained in GE Six Sigma (Green Belt)

* Lead team of 10 people with sales responsibility of $335 million* Categories included Housewares, Toys, Appliances, Gifts and Holiday Goods* Established first company dedicated, planogrammed housewares department with focus on Cleaning and Storage and Organization* Created first company appliance floor planning finance program* Developed merchandising programs, category analysis, budgeting, inventory analysis, pricing strategy, vendor negotiation, trade show preparation, and product development. * Imported product categories from overseas markets including buying trips to Taiwan and China* Housewares Department named Department of the month by Home World Business magazine* Named to HFN Magazine Housewares Panel Conference

* Categories included Lumber, Lawn and Garden, Electrical, RTA Furniture, Housewares, Storage and Organization, Cleaning * Launched new Housewares, Cleaning, Storage and Organization, and RTA Furniture departments* Developed merchandising programs, category analysis, budgeting, inventory analysis, pricing strategy, vendor negotiation and product development. Imported product categories from overseas markets.