Roland Lindner Email & Phone Number

Greensboro/Winston-Salem, North Carolina Area

I am managing the US subsidiary of the German manufacturer HERWE, an internationally successful manufacturer of skin protection, skin cleansing, skin care and skin hygiene products. Our value proposition is to improve employee skin health and hygiene, reduce the risk to our customer's organization, reduce the environmental impact and enable our clients to save money.

I was selected due to prior experience leading international sales teams and distributors and fluency in Spanish to lead and grow sales within industrial Fortune 500 companies in the US and Central/South America after SC Johnson acquired Deb USA. Additionally, I recruited, coached, and led sales teams to increase top line sales and build distributor relationshipsConsequently, I closed several million in new sales annually within the US industrial channels and achieved 130% of quota over last 1.5-year period. Also notable, I increased revenue in Mexico by securing new distribution and closing contracts with large car manufacturers. Equally important, I grew Brazil sales by double-digits and improved profitability by resolving supply chain issues and reducing SKUs.

After Deb USA acquired the skin care business unit from Evonik Corp., I led a team of sales professionals to grow business in the manufacturing sector East of the Mississippi. In this role, I developed and executed a strategy to grow sales and profitability within the region. Additionally, I navigated the sales team through the cultural integration of the two organizations and achieved all sales goals. While serving in this capacity, I increased adoption of CRM within the sales teams and improved tracking and reporting of distributor data to help the sales teams track and improve performance. Additionally, I streamlined and simplified the distributor pricing to simplify rules, reduce costs, and help grow business faster.While my main focus was the US market, I started to support our business in Latin American countries with a focus on Brazil, where I developed a new inside and outside sales organization.

Greensboro/Winston-Salem, North Carolina Area

In 2009, I was handpicked by the CEO to transfer from Germany back to the US and lead the turnaround efforts after the US team lost its largest distributor in the country which contributed to 30% of all sales. In this capacity, I led a team of 43 direct and indirect reports. Upon arrival, I managed the group through the crisis and developed and executed strategy to recapture business in the uniform rental channel.

Germany

Promoted directly by CEO to lead sales and grow market share within most of Europe, Russia, and South America with a team of 43 sales/customer service professionals. Met or exceeded all goals for 9 out of the 10 years in this role. Tripled revenue during tenure and secured the company’s position as #1 industrial skin care product in Europe.  Grew sales to $6MM in Russia after establishing local distribution and hiring and leading a sales and support team.  Led expansion efforts into new markets over the years including Spain, Brazil, and U.A.E among others.  Built Russia into the 3rd largest market in Europe, closing contracts with oil & gas, railroad, and metal companies.  Championed sales best practices, coaching sales teams to utilize CRM to track and improve performance.

Greater Seattle Area

During my time in this role, I built relationships with distributors on the US West Coast and Western Canada and sold skin care products to end users. In 1998, I was promoted to Regional Manager and recruited 2 new employees and 1 agency representative to drive sales growth. As a result, I secured distribution with Airgas, a national distributor, which later became the 2nd largest distributor in the US. Additionally, I earned Sales Rep of the Year Award in 1997 by delivering the highest-dollar sales growth out of any of the sales reps.