Manitowoc, Wisconsin, United States
Driven leader. Developer of people. Engaging. Inquisitive. Strategist. Hands-on manager. Entrepreneur. Visionary. Innovative. Tactician. Process thinker. Organized. Change agent. Loyal. Consensus builder. Customer/market focused. Able to lead through all types of economic environments, from growth to turnarounds. Relational management style. Passionate for success. Detail oriented. A love of all aspects of business. Strong written and oral communication skills. Excellent analytical skills. High integrity/moral character. Life-long learner. Trainer. Highly proficient in Microsoft Office. Strong in all functions – marketing, product development, finance, HR, sales, operations/manufacturing management.
Founder/President of TBD2 Inc., and President of Towsleys and Towsleys Holding since April, 2007 Provided leadership and direction to all companies. Directed/managed all legal and financial activities and strategies. Developed and directed sales, marketing and product growth strategies. Managed select key customer relationships. Managed banking and select international supply relationships. Created/maintained a family-like, positive/creative/customer focused culture. Insured that business is conducted with integrity. Key Accomplishments: Created a profitable business (TBD2) from nothing. Completed two successful turnarounds (Towsleys) in 2007 (cash flow crisis), and 2009 (economic downturn). Completed sale of the die cast models business in 2007. In 2012, I negotiated rights to highly profitable parts of the business when repurchase opportunities became available. Personally managed the die cast models business using overseas manufacturers. Developed sales growth and investment strategies, persuaded partners, and directed implementation; sales grew from $6 million to over $15 million in 10 years, earnings exceeded sales growth. Provided in-house legal counsel for contracts, intellectual property and litigation. Negotiated the contract for and managed our second largest account generating 10-15% of annual sales annually. Developed our brand promise and instilled it in the culture. Conducted major customer and e-commerce store presentations. Provided hands-on daily direction to e-commerce team in implementing new strategies/processes. Developed many of our sales, marketing, IT/e-commerce, and product development strategies; oversaw implementation. Brought to consensus three very diverse owners. Began developing staff to serve as the next generation of leadership/management. Developed a creative, fun, professional, success-driven, high integrity culture, focused on serving customers well, and providing leading edge, creative, branded products.
Vice President of Marketing. Assigned to Fisher Hamilton in Two Rivers, WI, which was the world’s largest manufacturer of laboratory furniture; a $200 million division. Directed all Marketing and Product Design/Development functions for the lab division. Responsible for developing overall Sales/Product strategies. Provided Marketing and Sales direction for LAN subsidiary, then served as Interim General Manager to develop/implement strategy for turnaround. Co-developed strategic plans/business updates to Corporate with President and CFO. Key Accomplishments: Established Fisher Hamilton as the innovative industry leader. Developed/directed implementation of a new product development process. changing the corporate culture to embrace the importance of innovation, and resulting in a six-fold increase in the number of new products introduced annually, sustained over four years, with no staff increase. Developed/implemented new strategic sales process. Personally led the creation of a highly successful totally new product concept. Developed/directed the implementation of an aggressive patent strategy. Identified/ directed the clean-up of potential product liability problems. Developed/directed the implementation of marketing/sales training programs, changing the selling process and increased sales effectiveness; personally trained the trainers. Converted two key customers from being anti-Fisher Hamilton to Fisher Hamilton advocates. Redesigned and up-scaled customer visitor program. Upgraded all marketing/sales support presentations/materials; developed and implemented new graphics standards. Implemented a continuous improvement mindset/process in my department. Managed the relationship with our largest account – Eli Lilly. Served as community liaison. For LAN subsidiary, developed/began implementation of a turnaround strategy to prepare the company for sale; implementation was completed and company successfully sold after my departure.