Christopher Shepard

Senior Category Insights Manager

Red Gold

Present

As Senior Category Insights and Product Manager, I lead the Category Insights department. Our mission is to support the Sales, Marketing, and Product Management teams with business intelligence that leads to increased sales and enhanced customer relationships. Mining data from various sources like Circana and surveys, our team delivers thought leadership through the development of impactful fact-based reporting to sales as well as senior leadership. We conduct category, product, competitive, and consumer analysis leading to actionable insights for customer-facing presentations, identifying new product areas for growth through category reviews and analyzing new item sales trends.

Product Manager

Red Gold · Elwood, Indiana

As Product Manager, I improved my skills in Product Marketing for both Branded and Private Brand retail. Areas of focus in this role were Portfolio Management, Product Research, Project Management, and New Product Development. I learned to leverage syndicated data to draw category insights that led to strategic decisions both internally and for our retail trade partners. I identified new product areas for growth through category reviews, creating business cases with profit models and pricing scenarios. I led all retail Branded and Private Brand new product initiatives from ideation to commercialization through cross functional collaboration.

Assistant Product Manager

Red Gold · Elwood, Indiana

My Assistant Product Manager role introduced me to Product Marketing for Private Brand retail. In this position, I served as a knowledge center for products and a corporate champion for product improvements and new products, utilizing company assets to grow our product portfolio profitably. I assisted the development and execution of our short and long term product strategies. Areas of emphasis included project management for product initiatives, research and analysis related to market metrics, and new product trends. The position also required continual evaluation of how well the company's products meet current and potential customer & consumer needs versus the competition.

Assistant Category Manager

Marsh Supermarkets

The experienced I gained in Category Management helped shape the next phase of my career in CPG. Having an intimate knowledge of retail category dynamics is critical to understanding how manufacturers start conversations with retailers and become trade partners rather than having a transaction based relationship. Category Management introduced me to product trend data analysis that supports category growth. Allocating shelf space to products that serve an ever changing consumer is no easy task. I worked with major CPG companies like Tyson to introduce new items, align promotional strategies, and ultimately maximize category dollars and margin.

Supply Chain Analyst

Marsh Supermarkets

As a supply chain analyst, I helped to coordinate logistics from a third-party warehouse to all Marsh stores. I worked closely with outside account executives to facilitate and maintain a positive working relationship. I learned the importance of supporting the stores that support the business. Using Microstrategy, I partnered with business managers and helped them build store programs that maximized revenue and margin, while reducing shrink. I also learned how to leverage data analytics with our competitive advantages in the marketplace in order to meet new opportunities.

Store Manager

Marsh Supermarkets

I was a store manager for four years and worked at two locations. In my first year, I was able to increase EBITDA by 15% over the previous year through P and L management. Store management has taught me the importance of standards and expectations. Employees must know how they are expected to perform. When expectations are clear and the goal well defined, teams achieve greater results. At the end of the day, this job is all about consistent results. I have developed a new understanding of ownership and truly believe that you cannot be successful in this position if you do not run the business as if it were your own. I conduct weekly meetings to keep my team informed of operational directives and implement the execution of these programs. I have also learned that store managers must meet the needs of the communities they serve.

Co-Manager

Marsh Supermarkets

As co-manager, I worked at four stores serving in each of the three divisions of store operations. At separate times, I was responsible for center store operations, customer service, and perishable operations within the store. I was responsible for the hiring, training, scheduling, and disciplining of store associates. I learned human resource policies, including state and federal regulations. I was responsible for communicating these policies and regulations to our store associates. I also honed my merchandising skills and created multiple award winning displays. I learned to manage and motivate people differently to achieve optimal results. After five years as co-manager, I was promoted to store manager.