About
RUSH has, is, and always will be my favorite rock band. Although they shy away from imbuing the “Rock Star” persona, they have found themselves “living in the limelight” for their highly-skilled musical ability. Decades of musical excellence and accomplishments earned them a recent induction into the Rock Hall of Fame. I’ve been called a “Rock Star”, but not in the musical sense. Rather, it is because of the high-caliber skill I have for turning category and shopper insights into strategies that generate incremental sales growth. My strengths are building trusted relationships through listening to the retailer, discerning areas for improvement, and turning research findings into action plans that deliver positive results. Like many rockers, I’ve been known for taking written scraps and turning it into something meaningful. For example, at a time when consumer data was limited, I was able to extract the needed data from multiple sources to create meaningful insights. This led to the cus…
Experience
Customer Insights Manager - Walmart Team
Bob Evans Farms, Inc. · New Albany, Ohio, United States
Present
Category Development Manager | Refrigerated
Bob Evans Farms, Inc. · New Albany, Ohio, United States
Oversaw dinner sides category strategic development that aided in a 6.5% 5-year brand CAGR through January 2025. • Launched a new brand and innovative product offerings by collaborating with marketing to provide insights and guidance from in-depth category and shopper analyses; tested in grocery and later remodeled for Club. • Spearheaded creation of category selling stories and product sales sheets for sales teams while managing SharePoint site, streamlining presentation process and eliminating redundant work. • Developed assortment optimization tool for non-Circana retailers, providing product and shelving guidance to vital yet underserved retail partners and aiding in new item acceptance. • Ensured accurate and insightful category reporting by reconstructing Circana custom database.
Customer Insights Manager - Kroger & National Grocery | Frozen & Refrigerated
Bob Evans Farms, Inc. · New Albany, Ohio
Developed new business in multi-million-dollar #1 dinner sides, #1 regional breakfast sausage, #1 refrigerated breakfast potatoes, and #1 branded liquid eggs categories by delivering actionable insights and strategies. • Secured new and expanded distribution for 3 UPCs, resulting in $1.5M in incremental sales by creating compelling sales materials and developing persuasive sales stories. • Positioned Bob Evans as preferred partner for Kroger by leveraging 84’51 / Stratum, Market6, and IRI / Circana data to identify category opportunities.
Social Media Content Manager
Self Employed · Cincinnati, Ohio Area
Initiated start-up of own agency to fill a gap in the underserved Small to Mid-sized businesses. • Brought failing small business back from the brink in 2 months with targeted Facebook and Instagram promotions. (Finalist for May 30, 2019, AMA’s Pinnacle Awards with this success story!) • Increased NextUp's social media engagement by 25% as Social Media Lead, ranking Cincinnati second among 22 regions.
Customer Category Manager - Kroger | Frozen & Center of Store
Tyson Foods · Mason, Ohio
Managed frozen protein and center-store protein snacking categories for multi-million-dollar retail portfolio of company's flagship products (typically top 1 and 2 brands) across Kroger’s 2,500 stores. • Met or exceeded sales goals, leading Kroger team with 270+ “total points of distribution gains” for new items and product expansion. • Collaborated mutually beneficial solutions by aligning retailer goals and directives with category reviews, promotion analysis, market analysis, and shopper strategy. • Revitalized declining categories through optimized product assortments by providing in-depth category assessments and formulating actionable recommendations.
Customer Category Manager - Alternate Channels | Frozen & Refrigerated
Hillshire Brands · Mason, Ohio
Directed category leadership for Drug, Dollar, and Value for frozen and refrigerated food, limited assortment categories. Expanded channel responsibilities to include Club, Convenience, Military, Natural, and Export. • Generated unprecedented product acceptance of 9 items within dollar channel through fact-based category and shopper insights. Recognized as sales team of the year based on outstanding results. • Established Hillshire as food category experts in the underdeveloped channels by providing consumer analysis and insights, and writing compelling reviews, proposals, and recommendations. • Determined overall space allocation for plan-o-gram, optimizing space by showing over- and under-allocated items.
Education
Northern Kentucky University
Bachelor's, Management
University of Cincinnati
Associates, Applied Business
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