• Independent Consultant
  
• VP Client Services for Provider of Price Optimization Software to Grocery/Drug/Convenience Sector
  
• 8 years Arthur Andersen / BearingPoint Business Consulting
  
• 15 years Montgomery Ward & Co.
  
• 3 years Campbell Soup Company
  

• Retail General Merchandise, Grocery, Drug, Convenience, Packaged Goods, Software Services
  
• Business Process and Organization Improvement
  
• Pricing Strategy and Promotion Planning
  
• Business Analysis and Strategic Repositioning
  

• Energetic, Team-Oriented Leadership / Initiative
  
• Project Management / Client Relationship Management / Negotiation
  
• Analytic / Creative Problem Solver / Board Room Credibility
  

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

GoldStar Consulting www.goldstarconsulting.com - Present

• Assisted a provider of headquarters merchandising systems applications with marketing and business development activities. The software firm provides item maintenance, price management and promotion planning solutions for grocers GoldStar's activities involved marketing collateral, website layout and content, trade show coordination, sales targeting, sales calls, analyst and alliance discussions.
  
• Assisted the startup of a small, strategy development consultancy focusing on midsize clients.
  
• Provided research and strategy development assistance for an industry trade association challenged by declining membership and trade show attendance.
  

KSS is a small provider of price analysis and optimization software for the retail grocery, drug, convenience and gasoline industries. As SVP Consulting Services, my role was to build and manage client relationships, ensure successful completion of client deliverables and assist in development and marketing of the U.S. retail business.

• Assisted the implementation of a new pricing software application at a major national drug chain.
  
• Began to rejuvenate KSS' market presence through targeted prospecting, trade shows, presentations, increased alliance dialogs.

Arthur Andersen Business Consulting (AABC) - 1995- 2003
Note: In July, 2002 AABC dissolved and was acquired by BearingPoint, formerly KPMG Consulting

• Managed or assisted as Subject Matter Expert more than 25 projects.
  
• Addressed a wide range of issues in engagements including merchandising/marketing process redesign, pricing strategy, industry and customer research, systems assessment, inventory management, expense and headcount reduction, business analysis and retail strategies.
  
• Managed team that revised pricing strategy for national hardware retailer resulting in $20 million gross
  margin improvement and enhanced credibility of centralized pricing function.
  
• Managed team that developed new food service trade promotion process and infrastructure, including
  systems assessment and functionality definition for major, national consumer goods company.
  
• Managed or assisted numerous teams involved in organization realignment: redefine organization structure, roles and responsibilities, performance measures, job levels and definitions, career paths and training needs.
  
• Managed numerous engagements with frequent exposure to c-level management and responsibility for project budgets, resource requirements, workplans, hours and expenses.
  
• Received Coach of the Year Award in 1997. Received average 40 hours/year of consultative training.
  
• Played a major role in developing complex pricing project proposals for firms such as Walgreens, RadioShack, Target, Big Lots and Sysco.
  

Clients: A partial list of consulting clients includes: Sears, Sara Lee, Ace Hardware, Casual Corner, Jo-Ann Stores, Rich's Department Stores, National Drugstore Retailer, Lowe's, Bath & Body Works, Lindt & Sprungli, Chicago Museum of Science and Industry, Ultramar Diamond Shamrock and Petro Stopping Centers.

Montgomery Ward - 1979-1994
Positions included Divisional Merchandise & Marketing Director, Senior Buyer, Buyer, Pricing Administrator, Manager Merchandise Planning & Control, Consumer Research Coordinator and Corporate Economist

As a former merchant and line and staff manager, I have a deep understanding of the intricate issues associated with merchandising and its related processes, advertising, inventory management and people development.

• Led merchandising/marketing for retail division with 340+ retail outlets nationwide, $350 million sales, $25 million marketing budget, extensive advertising and promotion, high SKU count, numerous national brands and an established private label program.
  
• Repositioned and renegotiated multiple merchandise categories resulting in savings in excess of $12 million, sales increases ranging from 10%-40%, and substantial increases in advertising funding.
  
• Certified Trainer for "Bottom-Line" Buying program. Trained 75+ members of buying staff over 3 years.
  
• Managed staffs of up to 18 people.

As Strategic Planning Analyst, assisted in preparation of economic forecasts and divisional strategic plans. Became heavily involved in acquisition studies and completed analysis of European business on site.

• Presented "Retail Revenue Management Roadmap - The Route to Customer-Centric Price and Promotions Management," Professional Pricing Society Spring Conference, Las Vegas, April 2003.
  
• Presented "Process and Organization Implications of Retail Revenue Management," Symposium on Retail Relationships - Linking Customers, Pricing and Promotion through Technology, Royal Society of Arts, London, April 2003.
  
• Co-author, "Precision Pricing," presented by my co-author at the retail industry National Retail Federation Annual Convention, NYC, January, 2002.
  
• Co-presenter "Improving the Precision of Pricing Analysis," Professional Pricing Society Fall Conference, Chicago, November, 2001.
  
• Co-author "The Precision Pricing Revolution: Customer-Based Pricing Strategies in the New Economy," International Trends in Retailing, Arthur Andersen Business Consulting, December, 2000.
  
• Co-author "At What Price - Guidelines for a Customer-Focused Pricing Strategy," Arthur Andersen Business Consulting Whitepaper. Received more than 20,000 hits to date through Internet hot link.