Little River, South Carolina, United States
A veteran business leader with over 30 years of experience as an innovative problem solver, risk taker, and change agent for non-profit, banking and small business organizations. especially skilled at motivating and inspiring employees to work collaboratively in order to achieve organizational goals and objectives. Proficient at developing and executing creative business plans including financing, product design and development, marketing and sales execution. These business plans have resulted in contributions, partnerships, and volunteers for the not-for-profit organization and have driven revenue growth and profitability in the profit-oriented businesses. Exceptional leadership, entrepreneurial, sales and marketing talents have contributed to the success of a wide range of different enterprises. As President & CEO for the Waccamaw Community Foundation, his goal is to help create Legacies of Giving for Families, Businesses and Individuals that will support the Waccamaw Region and help improve the quality of life for all that call the region home.
I currently oversee all operations for a non-profit, economic development organization designed to promoted a rich, sustainable, entrepreneurial business environment. The SOD encourages job growth through the attraction of new startups, encourages existing business retention/expansion and helps draw in outside enterprises looking for a new home. I coordinate all business activities such as Strategic Planning, fund raising, establishing corporate and governmental partnerships, attracting new businesses to the area, lining up new business locations, advising new start-ups and managing governmental contracts. In addition, I take care of day-to-day functions such as marketing, promotions, managing the budget, accounting, and financial reporting. Selected Achievements: I established economic partnerships with over 10 corporations, whose investments created the ongoing financial foundation for the SOD. I helped increase area employment and raised the regional tax base by attracting several new start-ups to the area and helped them plan and fund their businesses. I improved the environmental sustainability of the region by partnering with the EPA’s “Brownfield” program which cleans up and reuses sites that are designated as hazardous due to pollution or contamination. I was nominated by the Board of Director as the Ohio Economic Development Association “Rookie of the Year”
Daydream Illusions is a start-up company that I founded and managed. The company focuses on photography of classic cars for the car show industry. Products included portraits, show prints, posters, show boards, tee shirts and other marketing promotions. I had full P & L accountability for the business and grew it from zero revenue to profitability in just two years. I also handled sales, promotions, marketing and customer service. Selected Accomplishments: I started the business, obtained the funding, brought in the first customers and achieved profitability. I designed a system where the customer can customize their product selection on-line.
I was in charge of administering the Colleague Incentive Plans for the Retail, In-Store, Phone Bank, Business Banking, and Commercial departments of a large, regional bank. I directed the planning for, and implementation of, the transition from a legacy incentive system to a more advanced approach based on a third-party company called Varicent. I supervised a team of eight business analysts who took care of the daily operations. I worked with executive management to design future incentive programs and collaborated with the IT department on the roll-out of the new software infrastructure.
I coordinated all activity around the retail sales process in conjunction with Commercial and Business Banking, Mortgage, and Investment banking for the Western Pennsylvania (Pittsburg and Erie), Eastern Ohio, and West Virginia markets. I headed up the Cross Sell and customer retention initiatives and handled the Service Level Agreements for all branch offices in the region. Additional tasks included P&L, expense control, facilities management, and serving on the Community Board and Corporate Committees. On a temporary assignment, I led a team that was tasked with improving retail sales strategies. Selected Achievements: I established and supervised a regional cash management program for 42 offices which enabled the region to be ranked first out of eight. I developed and implemented a marketing program which increased company growth by over 20% annually and resulted in the bank being ranked number one in market awareness above other regional and national competitors. I organized and applied the Coen/Brown sales program which resulted in increased sales and exceeding business objectives.