New York City Metropolitan Area
It has been my pleasure and honor to work closely with our clients to design and produce the highest quality and innovative performance textiles that guard life and property in space exploration, rescue, defense, E-textile/Smart-fabrics, and many other sectors and applications. With a rich history in weaving – spanning 14 generations and reaching back to 1560 in Lyon, France – OTEX is a leader in the design, development, and manufacture of advanced technical and specialty narrow fabric products. 100% of OTEX products are manufactured in the United States and are tested and certified to meet the highest of industry standards. OTEX products are utilized in a wide range of mission-critical applications in some of the most demanding industries, including, but not limited to: Aerospace, First Responders, Military/Defense, Industrial Safety, Medical, Outdoor/Marine, and Transportation. OTEX is an inaugural member of AFFOA (Advanced Functional Fabrics of America ). A consortium housed at MIT that is cooperatively funded by the Department of Defense and private enterprise. AFFOA brings together universities, government and private enterprises ranging from fabric manufacturers, to software and nanotechnology developers in order to develop the next generation of technical textiles.
Developing and implementing both the Business Growth Suite (BGS) of services and Destination Innovation - the NJMEP's innovation system for manufacturing-specific product development and marketing - has been a particularly rewarding privilege. BGS is a comprehensive program focusing on 5 key areas of Top-line growth - Strategic Planning, Innovation, Marketing & PR, Sales & Sales Training, and Web-Based Growth. It has been fundamental in helping NJMEP clients increase revenues, expand and diversify their customer base, and develop their brand identity and recognition. Based in part on the Innovation Engineering approach, DI has - moreover - evolved from extensive work with manufacturers of all sizes and from various market sectors to become the go-to manufacturer's protocol for: - Generating an ongoing pipeline of new innovations (marketing, product-development, business-model designs) - Refining those raw concepts to become novel and customer-targeted assets - Lowering the risk and shortening the timeline typically associated with new product/market development - Effectively evaluating market demand and size for new ideas/projects - Vetting the concepts to identify threats to their feasibility - Strategizing methods to eliminate and/or mitigate those threats - Crafting effective marketing messages and strategies - Providing companies with an effective and sustainable system for implementing all of the above through a company-wide culture change BGS and DI have have directly helped increase the revenues, customer base, and profitability of more than 250 manufacturing firms in sectors such as: medical/pharma, aerospace, construction materials/components, defense, petrochemical, and many others. In addition to direct, on-site training and consulting, I also teach the program in an executive-seminar forum, as part of the MarketShift Innovation Academy, presented by NJMEP, NJIT, the New Jersey Innovation Institute, and the US Department of Defense.
Responsibilities included: - Researching and securing qualified vendor and retail clients - Design and strategy of marketing initiatives - Drafting patent & trademark applications - Product design, development, & sourcing - Factory inspection and compliance - Evaluating supply chain and negotiating terms Highlights: As president of Allied, and as a direct result of my research, advice, and negotiations, my clients enjoyed a steady growth in revenues, a diversification of suppliers/product lines, and a broadening of their customer base. The products and manufacturing techniques that I developed and patented have become great successes for brands that are household names in the US and abroad.
Responsibilities included: - Development and implementation of sales strategies - Oversight for all marketing and advertising strategies/materials - Design and contractual negotiations w/ licensor - Identification and securing of brand-appropriate retail partners. - Retail analysis and forecasting - Production and inventory oversight Highlights: Within 6 months of my being recruited by Kellwood, I was able to increase the brand’s weekly sell-through averages by 150% by overseeing a re-design of the line (to a more updated and cohesive look), creating a new national marketing campaign, and adjusting in-store inventories to highlight key styles and clearing out slow-moving styles.
Responsibilities included: - Management and coordination of all sales staff - Development and implementation of company’s long and short-term strategies (sales and marketing) - Coordinate efforts to strengthen brands - Develop private label customer base - Conduct contractual negotiations with key customers and licensors - Prepare and present the sales department’s progress reports and forecasts to the principles of the corporation. - Conduct market and trend research in order to coordinate efforts of both design and sales staff Highlights: During my brief tenure at this company, I managed to place this essentially unknown brand as an all-door vendor to May Department stores, as well as large programs with Belk Department stores, and Marshall Fields. In addition, I organized a major nation-wide advertising/PR initiative inclusive of direct marketing, regional and national advertising, special events, fashion-editorial coverage, etc. As a result, not only did we receive great attention from the press and the industry as a whole, but also our client base was significantly expanded (both branded and private label) and our sales tripled.