Ted Kulas Email & Phone Number

Greater Chicago Area

Responsible for all US Retail Shopper Conversion activities, with the objective of growing existing ACH revenue and market share. Develops US retail visibility strategy and supports account level execution of merchandising, in store promotions and shelf management. Lead research and analysis of business elements to optimize product assortment, shelf schematic, promotional execution, point of sale and trade investment.

Deerfield. Il

Developed Mondelez Latin America market activation opportunities for Meals and Beverage Category.Responsible for establishing optimized Latin American route to market platform across Modern, Traditional and Food Service channels for global divesture project.

Glenview, Il

Develop, implement and manage Grocery Division strategic sales plans. Manager of Headquarter Sales Planning functions for Grocery Division categories ($500 m) across all US retail channels.Leader of category initiatives to expand existing brands into Value, Club and Convenience Channels.  Supporting total US customer base; including both Kraft Direct Sales teams and broker sales organization. Ownership of category planning, forecasting and trade models, including accrued tiered, channel and customer marketing funding.

Latin American strategic leader of merchandising, promotion and in-store visibilityProvided Regional expertise for in-store merchandising, core portfolio definition, retail segmentation and shopper insights.Led transformation/elevation of Trade Marketing roles and responsibilities across Latin America.  Developed specific work processes/best practices for Trade Marketing functional responsibilities. Launched LA Sales Portal including online merchandising database of 500+ Latin American displays.

Responsible for delivering sales objectives and maximizing trade investment ROI for Field Sales Teams Leader of 8 member Central Region Sales team, $60.0 m revenue in 19 States across 62 categories (Retail & Foodservice). Managed 37 direct sale distributors and 72 retailers to achieved sales growth of +7.7% over PY.  Invested $2.4 m of trade funds in distributor trade programs and retail consumer promotions.

Liaison between Brand Marketing and Field Sales Organization, key contributor to both strategic and tactical plans Managed Convenience and Club channel global customer relationships including Costco, Exxon-Mobil & 7-Eleven. Immediate Consumption project team member, test marketed 45 new products in Convenience and Drug Channels. Commercialized test products delivered $35 m of sales in 2009.

Singapore

Established brand presence in underdeveloped markets with the objective of building scale to establish local Business UnitsDeveloped Kraft brands in Southeast / South Asia –2006 volume +17% vs PY, 2005 volume +20% in versus PY. Managed 13 countries, including Kraft’s only representative in India (2005), Bangladesh, Nepal, Reunion and Sri Lanka. Achieved volume growth by improving underdeveloped brands and launching new categories. Managed Southeast Asia Export Sales Team (Business Development Manager and Market Analyst) responsible for developing non-core brands in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.  Direct control of $700 k Advertising (TVC, print, radio and outdoor) and consumer promotion (sampling, premiums, display) activities.

Melbourne, Australia

Responsible for budgeting, planning and efficient investment of Asia Pacific Regional trade funds Transitioned US based Export Team to 3 decentralized locations in Asia Pacific RegionManaged $2.2 m marketing and trade budget throughout Asia Pacific Region for all Export brands/markets. Responsible for global retailer account strategy in AP Exports (Metro, 7-Eleven, Tesco)

Developed International markets for US brands via network of local in market distributors and brokers.  Managed US sourced brands in Latin American territories through an extensive distributor, direct sales (PriceSmart, Cost-U-Less) and broker network. Portfolio included consumer, institutional and channel specific products across dry/refrigerated/frozen platforms. Products portfolio encompassed the full range of all corporate brands (Kraft/Nabisco/Confections/Oscar Mayer/Planters).  Responsible for the development of US sourced confections in Asia, Middle East/Africa and Latin America. Owner of marketing / trade marketing functions for department including “export specific” products, packaging development, category brand catalogs and product /promotional information. Supervised the activities of Export Marketing Analyst. Launched Export Portfolio into expanded South American markets, which delivered over $5+ million of profit.

Leverage US brand knowledge, consumer insights and sales expertise in Nabisco International business units Managed international product and market development for U.S. produced brands. Product launches include biscuit, snacking and confectionery brands into Mexican consumer market. Grew Export business sales to $20 m USD. Liaison to U.S. Domestic operating companies for global customers such as Wal-Mart, Costco and Sam’s.Project Manager for online product catalog and brand register. Representative to corporate e-Commerce Committee responsible for developing on-line order entry and customer service applications.

Managed trade investment, customer promotional programs and shopper insights for US Sales region  Responsible for customer trade programs for Northeast Convenience Store Team, managed $1.2 million trade budget. Led the development and execution of chain level consumer promotions, including POS display, radio and print advertisements.Supported 23-person team with category management, sales analysis, customer presentations and strategic planningDeveloped trade fund management system, which was subsequently implemented on a nationwide basis.

Developed and executed consumer focused programs to establish and increase value of brand equities  Brand Management of $80 m LifeSavers Company Multipack business, including strategic plan, P&L, and consumer promotion. Implemented multipack packaging redesign for Care*Free, Breath Savers, Ice Breakers, Bubble Yum and Stick Free. Achieved $500K annual cost saving through plant optimization and SKU rationalization program.  Member of New Products Team, responsible for the development, consumer testing and introduction of confectionery items.

Bsba, Logistics / Operations

Mba, Marketing