Rachael Schwartz Email & Phone Number

Louisville, Ky, Us

Responsible for general management of built-in cooking business including GE, Profile, Café, and Monogram Wall Ovens and Cooktops.Lead all product development initiatives including launch of a new award-winning line of induction cooktops.Manage products to drive revenue and profitability objectives including partnering with technology, supply chain, and manufacturing on cost-out, sourcing, and line optimization decisions. As Digital Strategy leader, define digital strategy, drive organizational change, and oversee execution and analytics to make GE Appliances the industry leader in connected cooking. Successes include:o Designed strategy around GE Appliance’s products getting smarter over time through over-the-air updates and managed team to execute updates to hundreds of thousands of connected owners. o Updated older units with new cooking modes like Airfry and Steak Modes, updated screens to add weather, have wallpaper themes that rotate with holidays, and add inspirational recipes tied to Kroger’s mobile app that highlight key ingredients and food partners for future ecosystem revenue opportunities. o Drove app updates to include features like partner recipes and videos, AI-generated recipes based on what ingredients consumers have on hand, and cooking chatbots. Build bridges across the organization to develop strategies, capabilities, and infrastructure around development, marketing, and monetization of digital features.

Support StartFast Fund partners in sourcing, diligence, and advising. StartFast is a pre-seed venture fund that makes 5 new investments each year with a primary focus on SaaS, ecommerce, marketplace, and IoT businesses. We work directly with founders to help build repeatable scalable business models, raise large amount of funding at higher valuations, and grow their teams to accelerate growth. We also leverage our network of exited entrepreneurs, investors, corporate executives, and subject matter experts to help take your company to the next level. By focusing on just 5 companies each year it allows us to dedicate the time, resources, networks, and energy needed to truly add value to each founding team.

Framingham, Massachusetts, Us

Led strategy for Bose’s Consumer Electronics Division (CED). As member of CED leadership team, served as strategic advisor to CED President and other business leaders. Directed division strategy, product strategy, technology strategy, and partnership strategy for $3B division.Advised leader in premium headphones, speakers, and soundbars around such key areas as AI, connectivity/IoT, partnering with tech giants, the changing retail landscape, shifting business models to be more software based, augmented reality, etc. Support development of brand new categories like audio sunglasses, audio augmented reality, and wearable computing including product strategy, partnership strategy, marketing strategy, M&A, and technology strategy. Drove consumer insights, market intelligence, and trend analysis work to inform strategies. Evaluated new business models.

Burlington, Massachusetts, Us

• Promoted to role which included continuing as IoT platform leader while also leading innovation team and driving product management organization, processes, and planning. Reported to CTO.• Built product management excellence through aligning customer insights with roadmap development, aligning market insights with financial projections, driving external development partnerships, driving collaborative culture, instilling KPIs, and installing new ways of working based on Agile principles. Resulted in increasing pace of development from one major launch every two years to 1-2 launches per year. • Established product innovation team based on lean innovation and design thinking principals, resulting in expanding funnel of innovations by 4x and shrinking the time from idea to start of development from 2 years to 6 months. • Expanded and spun-out Keurig’s IoT platform into stand-alone business unit. Drove monetization of IoT technology through sale of IoT coffeemakers, data products, internal efficiencies, and launch of several SaaS products. • Dotted-line report to CDO to drive digital transformation, develop digital and data monetization strategy, form personalization strategy, and building digital and customer analytics capabilities.

Burlington, Massachusetts, Us

• Built Keurig’s IoT platform from vision through launch. Managed P&L as GM of new IoT division with 50+ employees. Resulted in $3.5M revenue in Year 1 and ~$20M in Year 2. Expected benefit of $70M in GM contribution at scale. • Led strategy and planning work including: vision, business plan, marketing strategy, and financial plan. • Managed communications including internal buy-in and externally to investors, key partners, thought leadership.• Oversaw physical and digital product development (IoT coffeemakers, app, SaaS data products).• Hired and managed team and built collaborative, results-oriented culture. • Shaped Keurig’s vision of how Big Data, AI, and personalized marketing can drive business results, leading to significant digital infrastructure and data platform investments.

Burlington, Massachusetts, Us

• Served as Chief of Staff to the CEO, a one-year position reserved for high potential leaders. • Drove development of corporate vision and identification of top strategic initiatives, priorities, and KPIs.• Led strategy development and key analyses including product strategy, portfolio strategy, pricing strategy, manufacturing operations analysis, and partnership and M&A assessments.• Managed operating rhythm of executive team comprising strategy retreats and business reviews. • Supported CEO in preparation for key partnership meetings including those that led to a distribution agreement in Mexico with Del Valle, a JV with Anheuser Busch, and the sale of the company to JAB Holdings for a 78% premium.

Burlington, Massachusetts, Us

• Started innovation team, developed innovation strategy, built innovation process, and grew team to 15 direct reports and ~50 indirect reports at any one time. Reported to Chief Innovation Officer.• Led vision, business strategy, consumer insights, marketing strategy, product development, brand development, partnership acquisition/management, and go to market plan for large-scale complex innovation programs including:o Keurig KoldTM, a single-serve cold beverage system that attracted Coca-Cola to invest $2B (acquiring 20% ownership) to be the exclusive launch partner. Now in market as Drinkworks, a JV with Anheuser Busch. o International expansion strategy leading to opening up sales and operations in the UK and South Korea. o A line of food-based k-cups including Campbell’s Soup k-cups, Nature Valley Oatmeal with General Mills, and joint development programs with other leading food companies.o A partnership with Abbott Nutrition (Similac) to build and launch a single serve infant formula system. o A wellness line including launch of Green Mountain Coffee Wellness Brewed coffees with supplements, a joint development program with Novartis for Theraflu k-cups, and additional partnerships with leading pharma.

Williston, Vermont, Us

Strategy and Innovation consultant at boutique firm that spun out of IBM focusing on disruptive technologies and their impact on corporate and product strategy.- Clients included early-stage to Fortune 1000 companies across industries (including consumer products, software, medical device, food, pharmaceutical, defense, manufacturing, and financial services).- Managed internal and client teams to understand potential of new technology, develop vision, and revise corporate strategy, product strategy, technology strategy, and IP strategy. CONTRIBUTION VALUE: Developed new practice area which led the whole company to pivot in the direction of IP licensing.SKILLS FOCUS: Consulting | Innovation | Strategy | Product Development | Digital Transformation | Emerging Technologies | Project management | Client management | Financial analysis | Public speaking | Publications |

Williston, Vermont, Us

Williston, Vermont, Us

Bengaluru, Karnataka, In

Strategy consultant in Consumer Products and Pharmaceutical vertical of consulting firm focused on helping Fortune 500 companies disrupt themselves by leveraging new technologies enabled by Internet and mobile technologies. Work included digital strategy and digital transformation projects including:- J&J (McNeil and Centocor): Developed digital strategy and execution plan for connecting with B2B consumers to drive adoption for launches of Splenda® and Remecade®.- Abbott: Developed digital product strategy and prototype of a smart phone/ PDA-based pain management and dosing software program to drive sales of their pain medication portfolio.

Strategy and organizational development consultant at Wharton's Faculty Consulting Firm supporting public institution clients including hospital systems, library systems, and universities.

Master Of Business Administration (M.B.A.), Strategic Management And Marketing

Bachelor’S Degree, Design Of The Environment

High Potential Leadership Program - Nov 2014