Robert Wheaton Email & Phone Number

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Toronto, Canada Area

Toronto, Canada Area

* e-Book and online sales (including responsibility for achieving e-book sales targets; pricing strategy; merchandising and positioning plans; retailer account management including Amazon, Apple, Kobo, and Google)* Digital product development (including app development; digital tools and services; coordination with international Penguin Random House companies for product launch support in Canada)* Digital publishing initiatives (including facilitating cross-departmental projects; as well as flagship online/digital publishing initiatives including Hazlitt)* Digital business development (including contract negotiation with e-book retailers and establishing strategic partnerships)* Building and managing a merged digital and online sales team across Penguin Random House Canada* Lead role in harmonized terms negotiations for the merged Penguin Random House Canada with accounts including Indigo and Amazon

Wrote profiles, features, and reviews for online publications, newspapers, and magazines. Writing has appeared in PopMatters.com, AlterNet.org, The Oxford American, Da Capo Best Music Writing 2006 (ISBN 9780306814990). A book on Portishead's Dummy in Continuum’s 33 1/3 series was published October 2011 (ISBN 9781441194497).

Toronto, Canada Area

* e-Book sales (including responsibility for achieving e-book sales targets; retailer account management; pricing strategy; and merchandising and positioning plans)* Digital product development (including app development; digital tools and services; and coordination with international Random House companies for product launch support in Canada)* Digital publishing initiatives (including facilitating cross-departmental projects; as well as flagship online/digital publishing initiatives including Hazlitt and Hazlitt Originals)* Digital business development (including contract negotiation with e-book retailers and establishing strategic partnerships)* Consumer insights (including customer segmentation; survey and focus groups; key brand management insights; digital market intelligence)

* Managed core replenishment buying and returns processes in book product group to maximize product availability to customers, maintain inventory within budget, reduce operational costs, and maximize margin against vendor discount structures.* With direct reports (team managers and process improvers) managed a team collectively responsible for inventory requirements against 75% of business revenue, across 160,000 unique SKUs at over 5 million active article/sites.* Worked alongside print Procurement group to identify and support merchandising and product placement opportunities, based upon customer demand patterns.* Led strategies resulting in 2% improvement in product instocks levels and 40% reduction in peak courier costs. Team specialized in identifying and responding to customer demand trends and anomalies.* Revamped departmental training and qualification programmes to ensure adherence to best practices, improve retention of institutional knowledge, and increase employee engagement. Hired and managed analysts and managers against these criteria to develop organizational talent.* Represented and advocated for Indigo’s interests in discussions with Canadian and international vendors involving inventory management practices and requirements.* Participated in cross-functional process improvement projects; managed departmental user acceptance testing for key business initiatives.

* Oversaw, developed, and maintained software solutions for independent online cultural magazine during expansion from a core monthly circulation of 1 million unique visitors.* Managed core technical requirements including content delivery; content submission and editorial workflow; information architecture; search engine optimization (SEO) via strategies including semantic markup, URL rationalization, metadata management; performance optimization.* Contributed to and implemented visual redesign in tandem with third-part design firm.* Developed solutions – and worked with third-party software providers – to keep feature set current with emerging trends including blogging platform, RSS, tagging, community, Kindle publication, podcasting, media syndication, social media integration.* Commissioned, edited, and contributed reviews and feature articles. Commissioned artwork from illustrators. Features included in-depth articles on books, music, events, and film, including investigative research and original critical analysis.* Worked with market research specialists to develop readership survey.

* Managed a team of Inventory Management Analysts in core trade product group. Team collectively responsible for largest and fastest-moving categories, across 80,000 unique SKUs at almost 4 million active article/sites.* Managed core returns process to efficiently maintain inventory within quarterly targets.* Revamped departmental training and qualification programmes to ensure adherence to best practices, improved retention of institutional knowledge, and increased employee engagement. Hired and managed analysts against these criteria to develop organizational talent.* Participated in cross-functional process improvement projects, including initiatives to redesign local assortment tools in use by store management. Managed departmental user acceptance testing for key business initiatives including ISBN-13 industry change.* Presented to retail management teams on assortment and inventory management processes.* Worked directly with vendors to secure inventory of key titles during periods of peak customer demand.

* Use of SAP to forecast and replenish articles in Indigo’s largest merchandise category. Responsible for replenishing fiction at over 250 sites, from multiple vendors and one distribution center.* Handled between 2,000 - 5,000 SKUs at most large format stores, with up 8,000 articles at flagship locations.* Managed hot supply-limited titles through periods of peak customer demand.* Presentations to regional and store management on replenishment logic and strategy.* Presentations to management about efficiency of long-term promotional strategies.

Designed and installed content management systems and eCommerce modules for small businesses; advised educational institutions on compliance with government usability and accessibility standards.

Master Of Arts (M.A.), Cultural Studies/Critical Theory And Analysis

Master Of Studies (M. St.), History

Bachelor Of Arts (B.A.), History

Education Abroad Program, History