Mike Russell Email & Phone Number

Berkeley, Ca

Produce estimates and pricing for custom quote requests including offset, digital, large format printing, and mailing projects.Work in partnership with customer service staff, vendors, and customers to ensure that print estimates are both profitable and meet customer budgets.Collaborate with management to update on-line price lists as new types of products are added.

Account Management• Facilitated communication between clients, production management, and vendors to ensure seamless cross-functional coordination, optimizing product outcome based on set goals.• Communicated frequently with clients about upcoming projects whereby consultation of project options resulted in accomplishing budgetary goals.• Participated in daily strategic sales meetings with sales manager, which enabled prospective sales opportunities. • Collaborated with fellow account mangers and sales people to refocus and energize the sales effort; wrote team sales plan report for staff to reference, in order to enforce sales agreements made.Estimating• Negotiated prices with paper suppliers; proposed alternative paper options resulting in the creation and maintenance of competitive pricing.• Acted as primary print estimator for sales staff and other account managers; maintained and upgraded computer–based estimating standards.• Trained account mangers in use of estimating software, which ensured the maintenance and consistency of pricing among printing representatives.• Served as team leader in estimating role; increased percentage of estimated jobs to 100%.• Solicited bids from vendors for printing and finishing as needed, wrote specifications, drew diagrams and consulted with them as required, to create a fixed cost estimate from project start. Project Planning• Managed and coordinated printing of UC Berkeley General Catalogue; interacted with typesetter, editor, and designers; coordinated schedules with in-house press, web vendor, and bindery, resulting in the production of a complex bi-annual publication.• Served as customer advocate to ensure that entire production team understood client needs in order to effectively accomplish customer goals.• Explained production options to clients, conducted needs assessment, and referred them to third party suppliers, which entrusted clients to secure future business transactions with us.

Managed print projects for design and marketing firm and collaborated with in-house designers, sales people, and management resulting in the execution of projects within production budget.Managed quality assurance with vendors, and attended press checks as needed, which ensured that client expectations were met and project goals were accomplished.Wrote specification for print projects, and requested estimates from vendors, which optimized the production process.Identified and recommended print vendors and brokers for various projects after conducting thorough project needs assessment.

Collaborated with sales team and production management; effectively produced projects on heat-set and open Web presses.Planned and wrote project specifications for the printing, bindery, and fulfillment of election ballots for Sacramento County, resulting in the production of highly accurate political documentation.Managed buyouts at vendors for some finishing and print needs and attended press checks in order to ensure quality assurance of all completed projects/products.Prepared estimates in partnership with the estimating manager when estimate workload exceeded capacity, enabling us to meet all client needs on project timelines.

Consulted with clients to provide needs assessment and project specifications to optimize successful project/product.Managed, reviewed, and organized artwork with clients to effectively ensure product quality prior to production phase.Managed scheduling of shop production on an interim basis to ensure seamless production processes, resulting in quality assurance and client satisfaction.

Ma, Radio & Television

Ba, Political Science

Communications