Shepherd Whitcomb Email & Phone Number

Albion, Michigan, United States

Driving the success of Caster Concepts products by gaining a deep understanding of the customer experience and applicationsGenerating and leading the implementation of new ideas that solve customer material handling challenges and drive market growthOwner of product pricing and positioning strategiesScope, prioritize, and execute strategic activities based on business and customer impactCollaborate with customers, sales, operations, and engineering to drive growth

Maumee, Ohio, United States

Led the strategic planning and new product development for all storm door and screen products. I was brought into the organization to facilitate change, as the company transitioned from being a privately held company that lacked product management fundamentals to a business unit with-in a larger publicly traded company with a disciplined product management process. I rolled up my sleeves quickly became a subject matter expert (SME). Embraced the challenge of streamlining the complex legacy product lines and building a plan for growth. ● Partnered with the Direct to Consumer (B2C) team to identify, test, and refine the direct sales of niche product segments, resulting in a 200% sales growth in a 3-month period. ● Built a business plan and received buy-in from key stakeholders that supported capital investments of $4.5M. Partnered with Finance Team to provide solid business justification and an 18-month ROI.● Simplified SKU complexity by 60%, utilizing 80/20 principles to analyze, discontinue and replace underperforming product offerings, that did not align with the company’s strategic plans.● Coordinated with cross-functional teams including Sales, Marketing, Operations, Purchasing, and Supply Chain to ensure efficient product line transition.● Expedited comprehensive market research, which formed a critical fact base for product planning. ● Analyze online and offline customer journeys to improve traffic, both paid and organic, and funnel conversion rates.● Led 3 person product team. Invested in Agile Product Owner training for each member to elevate the product management acumen. Conducted weekly coaching and mentoring sessions. ● Stood up a dashboard of key metrics to provide high visibility of critical financial goals and business objectives through out the organization.

Detroit Metropolitan Area

Owned strategic planning for all video inspection tools in the automotive, aerospace, and industrial markets. Championed several significant programs. Quickly stepped in and led the effort to gather critical market requirements for the next generation of high-definition (HD) video borescopes. Principal product owner validating prototypes in real-world use cases and environments. Led the commercial expansion into the Ford Rotunda Tools, Ford Engine Diagnostic Training, and Kia essential tools programs. Piloted the development and deployment of real-time video and image sharing in the automotive diagnostic and repair process. Drove the introduction of use case-specific accessories that expanded the utility of the base tools and opened new markets. Collaborated with the Engineering Team to fortify the New Product Development process (NPD), which documented critical market requirements and shored up delivery schedules. NPD improvements saved the company $750K in anticipated overrun costs in the first year. Actively, worked with Supply Chain and Engineering to mitigate the production impact of chip shortages and validate alternative components. ● Developed and implemented a pricing strategy to ensure EBITDA targets were met. ● Built justification, recruited, hired, and mentored an Associate Product Manager colleague to increase the company's ability to address market opportunities. ● Conducted Voice of Customer (VOC) research, and communicated findings back to key stakeholders. Executed competitive market analysis inclusive of product attributes, pricing, promotion, messaging, and channel coverage. ● Implemented a concept backlog and quarterly grooming process. Provided critical software sprint scoping to the Engineering Manager.● In partnership with the Channel Marketing Team developed strategic marketing programs that increased market penetration by 4%.

Ann Arbor, Mi

Drove strategic planning for four distinct product platforms, across four unique brands. Led the New Product Development (NPD) process, including strategically leveraging supplier partners to accelerate development. Managed a high-performance Product Management Team. Partnered with an outside firm to research, visualize, and prototype a kitchen of the future concept. Monitored trends, and educate internal and external stakeholders on trends influencing the market. Identified product finish offering as a competitive gap. Set a strategic goal to update the finish offering and executed the largest new finish launch in company history. ● Managed a high-performance NPD and Product Management Team of 6 contributors. ● Tracked key in-market performance metrics, through the use of advanced business intelligence tools. ● Achieving a consistent New Product Vitality Index (NPVI) rating of >25%.● Led Voice of Customer (VOC) research, and communicated insights and findings back to stakeholders. ● Executed competitive analysis inclusive of key attributes, pricing, promotion, and channel coverage. ● Managed development and research budget of more than $750K annually. ● Increased the NPD concept pipeline to $320M+ in estimated value. ● Partnered with Engineering on value engineering projects that netted cost savings of over +$1m annually. ● Reduced launch related capital expense by +$250k, while launching 12 new finishes.

Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States

Led commercialization efforts for a Farm Management Software start-up company. Built strategies, and identified new markets, products, and services to support acquisition of new users. Worked with a cross-functional team to develop strategies to move new free users to premium paying customers. Gathered competitive analysis inclusive of current state features, channels, product tiers, pricing, and needs analysis. Presented data, conclusions, and action plans to senior management. Developed marketing plans including financial analysis, competitive analysis, customer value proposition, and customer segmentation. Created a comprehensive marketing communication plan including press releases, social media, content, blogs, and advertising. Utilized data to prioritize advertising spend. A-B tested messaging and graphics.Played a key role in the recruitment, hiring, and training of the sales team. Prepared and delivered product and messaging training to the sales team. Served as a strategic resource in business development discussions with customers and partners. Acted as an “Expert”, participating in industry forums, conferences, and trade shows, which increased exposure and opportunities. Closely partnered with Customer Success to gather Voice Of the Customer (VOC), troubleshoot issues, and align customer expectations.● Created clear, compelling value propositions that resonated with users in-app and online marketing campaigns. ● Communicated consumer needs to product development, sales, marketing, and customer success teams. ● Implemented a try, buy, renew model that guided users from free to premium paid services.● Mapped user's online journey and mobile application. Created user personas, epics, and stories to guide prioritization of development efforts.● Ensured value statements and messaging were consistent across the enterprise.● Conducted validation of software applications, which directly informed the company's decision to change business models.

Novi, Mi

Develop and maintain product road map. Responsible for a strategic plan for long-term sustainable growth.Identify and champion the integration of new technology that maintains an industry-leading position.Conducted capital investment and return on investment planning to ensure profitability on a project-by-project basis. ● Compile competitive landscape analysis. Develop product placement and benchmarks. Tailored the product mix into strategic ranges. ● Developed and executed successful marketing programs that drove an increase in sales by 50 percent over the previous year. ● Collaborate with partner companies to provide complimentary utility, sales, marketing, and financial support for two distinct products.● Manage the product warranty process and associated corporate risk.● Provide monthly, quarterly, and annual, revenue forecasts to executive management that informed the larger corporate strategy. ● Products managed have consistently been recognized by industry publications for innovation.

Plymouth, Michigan

Product planning for a category of electronic tools, targeted for the professional automotive technician market. ● Led the research, requirements documentation, and development of new products and complimentary accessories to broaden the product range.● Manage the global client relationships. To ensure sales and distribution support in all regions of the world. ● Work with each global region to tailor the product mix to meet the unique regional requirements and create a stronger product mix. Travel to client sites in the UK, Germany, The Netherlands, Japan, China, and Australia in support of the product and marketing initiatives. ● Monitor trade publications, attend trade conferences and network to keep informed of changes in the industry and market place. ● Work with legal counsel to develop strategies, and file patents to protect company’s intellectual property and bolster competitive position. ● Worked with supply chain colleagues, suppliers and contract manufacturers to improve complete on-time delivery performance by 30% and maintain a less than 2% warranty return rate.