Valentina Vitolo

Experienced Europe-Wide Sales and Category Manager | Driving Growth Across Diverse Channels | Presidents' Club Award Winner| English, Spanish, Italian, French speaker|

United Kingdom

About

I bridge the gap between product innovation and retail success. My career has been defined by a dual expertise in Category Management and Strategic Account Development. Whether I’m navigating the Google Pixel ecosystem or scaling the HyperX gaming brand from the ground up in Southern Europe, my focus is always on the "Total Solution"—aligning product lifecycle management with aggressive revenue targets. What I bring to the table: ● Portfolio Strategy: Expert in JBP, VIR, and SOW frameworks that drive mutual accountability. ● Analytical Rigor: Using market intelligence to identify "white space" and pivot investments toward high-ROI activities. ● Cross-Border Leadership: Seamlessly managing relationships across EMEA, from local distributors to C-Suite stakeholders. Selected for HP’s "Talent Development Program" and a consistent over-achiever of business objectives. Always looking to connect with professionals in the Consumer Electronics and Gaming space.

Experience

  • Strategic Partnerships Development Manager at Google
    Sep 2024 - Present · 2 yrs 3 mos

  • HP (2 yrs 8 mos)
    • Senior Retail Account Manager UKI
      Mar 2023 - Jan 2024 · 11 mos

      Deep understanding of market dynamics, competitors, pricing strategies. Build and foster strong relationships with key customers such as Currys, Game Argos and Amazon. Implement strategic sales plans that drive measurable growth within assigned accounts. Build in-depth analysis of customer data, identify trends and opportunities, actively monitor performance, and implement corrective actions to ensure optimal results. Negotiate contracts and promotions, provide ongoing support and training to retail partners, meticulously provide forecasts and game plans. -Strategic Account Management: Developed personalized growth plans based on customer analysis (strengths, opportunities, KPIs, risks), leading growth even in a challenging market. Managed to gain more space in store and double the SKU count with key account. - Exceeded assigned sales quotas, demonstrating exceptional sales performance and ability to achieve goals. This led me to be selected for the “Talent development program” -Customer Centricity: Increased customer confidence and satisfaction by focusing on products that better respond to their customer base. Improved in house market share YoY. -Market Insights & Portfolio Management: Identified and communicated market gaps to improve product portfolio alignment (e.g., discontinued non-competitive products, reinforced marketing for high-potential products). Improved revenue and profitability YoY. -Cross-Functional Collaboration: Fostered strong relationships across departments and with key stakeholders, maximizing sales and brand awareness (e.g., partnered with other sales teams, created a "gaming ecosystem" across online and offline channels). Improved brand awareness by becoming more relevant to customers. -Executive Engagement: Actively engaged with senior executives, providing strategic updates, growth plans, and risk assessments.

    • Senior Retail Account Manager Iberia&Italy Hp-Hyperx
      Jun 2021 - Feb 2023 · 1 yr 9 mos

      Proactive connector who cultivates a robust pipeline of qualified leads. Excel at forging meaningful relationships with potential customers, fostering trust for long-term success. Passionate and results-oriented professional to drive sales and build lasting partnerships. -Demonstrating exceptional performance and earning recognition (HP Presidents' Club). -Leveraged data-driven insights to develop personalized account plans, leading to double-digit growth with key partners. HyperX became the second gaming peripheral brand in Portugal and the “HyperX Cloud Flight” headset become the second-best seller headset in Spain according GfK data. -Pioneered the first-ever global co-branded in-store project to maximize visibility and sales of HP Classic, OMEN, and HyperX product lines. -Provided senior management with detailed quarterly and semester game plans focusing on forecasts, goals, and profitability, ensuring reliable forecasts and consistent achievement.

  • Business Development Manager at HyperX
    Aug 2018 - Jun 2021 · 2 yrs 11 mos

    Fuel sales growth by building a robust pipeline of qualified leads. Proactive connector, forging meaningful relationships with potential customers. Own the entire sales cycle from strategy to execution, co-selling, forecasting, managing sales, and empowering both retail and e-commerce clients through tailored training and education. Serve as the trusted point of contact for partners and customers across Spain and Italy, fostering collaborative relationships. Bridge the gap between clients and the inside sales team, ensuring all stock, pricing, and product information needs are met. -Conducted market research to identify potential customers to establish the brand both in Italy and Spain. -Presented and peached the brand to new customers. Secured partnerships with key customer like Game, PcComponentes, El Corte Ingles, Media Market, and Carrefour in Spain. Media World, Unieuro and Euronics in Italy as well as Amazon for both countries. -Negotiate contracts and provided customers with targets and rebate to increase revenue and in house market share. The brand soon become relevant and increased in house market share YoY. 4 Headset were constantly in the top selling gaming headsets according to GfK data. -Defined a game plan for all customers and follow up showing results and achievements. The brand consistently improved in house market share with top customers. -Fostered strong relationships across departments and with key stakeholders, maximizing sales growth. --Work cross-functionally to integrate marketing, PR, and influencer strategies into the growth plan. Found a lead that facilitated access to key influencers and established a relationship by fostering a strong collaboration to expand brand awareness.

  • Kingston Technology (8 yrs 9 mos)
    • EMEA Business Manager/Category Manager - FLASH Products
      Nov 2014 - Jul 2018 · 3 yrs 9 mos

    • Nov 2014 - Jul 2018 · 3 yrs 9 mos
      Understand consumer needs and market dynamics, thrived in the role of Category Manager, excelling in optimizing product strategies for Flash products. Strategic planning and execution, Execute successful product launches, managed product lifecycles, and cultivated valuable partnerships that propelled consistent growth. -Market Intelligence & Analysis: Equipped with robust analytical skills, I effectively identify growth opportunities and product gaps. I proactively collaborate with Regional Directors for the EMEA market, fostering knowledge sharing through presentations of product vision, features, functionality, competitor insights, and potential growth avenues. -Strategic Collaboration & Partnership Development: I am a firm believer in the power of collaboration. I actively cultivate strong and enduring relationships across various departments, including marketing, PR, and engineering. This collaborative approach extends to establishing key partnerships with external stakeholders, such as those forged with iStorage Limited and Datalocker. -Maintaining a Competitive Edge: I am adept at conducting comprehensive competitive analyses, allowing me to gain a deeper understanding of market dynamics and identify unique differentiation opportunities. In the EMEA region, I played a pivotal role in establishing the strategic importance of Encrypted USB drives. This involved actively seeking strategic partnerships and investigating specific regional needs, particularly within the government and military sectors.

    • Inside Sales Account Manager for Italy, Spain, Portugal Israel and Greece
      Nov 2009 - Oct 2014 · 5 yrs

      -Account Management: Proactively manage and develop business & sales in assigned territories (e.g., Spain, Italy, Portugal, Israel). -Customer Relationship Building: Build and nurture strong relationships with both direct and indirect customers. Quoting & Negotiation: Prepare and negotiate competitive quotes based on market trends and deal specifics. Sales Strategy: Collaborate with internal teams (field sales, marketing) to develop tailored growth strategies for existing customers. -Customer Service: Resolve returns issues, provide product information, and ensure customer satisfaction. Business Analysis: Conduct customer business reviews, identify future needs, and recommend strategic actions to management. -Process Management: Manage order processes, including quoting, order processing, and delivery management. -Market Awareness: Stay informed about industry trends to optimize pricing strategies.

  • Inside Sales Account Manager Italy at Just Lamps Ltd
    Apr 2008 - Nov 2009 · 1 yr 8 mos

    Decision-Making, Communication and +7 skills