Sales Project Manager

Laura R. Riehl

***** ********** **. ~ Macomb, Michigan 48044 ~ USA

586-***-**** (cell)

**********@*******.***

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Highly motivated leader with experience in the Automotive, Banking and

Loyalty Industries. Proven track record in executing strategic business

plans and projects in a competitive environment while exceeding expected

profitability and growth. Finds creative solutions to complex problems and

capitalizes on market opportunities, improving company position and sales.

Develops and maintains loyal client and vendor relationships; using strong

communication, negotiation and interpersonal skills. Ability to

understand business and technical needs which provides confidence with

clients due a technical background.

~ Business Development ~ Cross department management ~

Opportunity Identification

~ Strategic Alliances ~ Project Management ~

Relationship Building

~ Contract Negotiations ~ Customer Relationship Management

~ Operational Efficiency

~ Sales Strategy ~ RFP/RFI Response ~ Team

Leadership

Professional Experience

January 2005-present Affinion Loyalty Group

Affinion Loyalty Group (ALG) is the highest performing division of the 1.3

billion dollar Customer Engagement Company, Affinion Group. ALG has been

offering ways to drive profitable behaviors among consumers using any means

possible: points, miles, rewards, incentives, enhancements. ALG partners

with some of the best-known global brands such as Bank of America, General

Motors and Delta Airlines, helping them attract and retain customers by

offering rewards for using or purchasing their products.

www.affiniongroup.com/loyalty

President Circle award recipient in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 which is

given to the top 10 employees who demonstrate teamwork, career growth,

exceeding defined goals, mentorship and work ethic. (Once promoted to VP,

not eligible for award)

Vice President of Account Management and Client Solutions

June 2010-present

Added responsibility for the Client Solutions department while retaining

the Account Management team. The Client Solution team is responsible for

responding to all client RFPs and partnering with existing clients to find

solutions to their business needs.

. Partner with Sales team to create sales strategy for client RFP/RFIs

. Prioritize opportunities to manage pipeline of demand on organization

. Present ALG capabilities and processes to clients

. Develop new product requirements to align to industry changes and trends

to provide diverse products and services

. Updated internal processes to reduce re-work and create efficiencies

between Client Solutions and Sales teams

. Ensure presentations/solutions are tailored to meet client business needs

and highlights the benefits of partnering with ALG

. Create employee career paths, mentor for employees throughout the

organization, noted as the top leader in the organization that employees

want to work for

Vice President of Account Management

October 2008-present

Leader of the Account Management Department which consists of 22 employees

supporting over 30 key clients. The department strives to have clients

consider ALG as an extension of their teams instead of a vendor. Each team

member stays abreast of industry trends, client news and ALG's products and

services to provide strategic advice to our clients. Client roadmaps

created from the client's vision, mission and goals aligned to ALG's

product and services ensure success for both parties.

. Executive contact for client requests, new business opportunities and

escalations

. Internally, ensure all departments are working together to provide

seamless support to the client

. Leader of executive steering committees for department vice presidents

and directors involved in each project

. Decision maker on outsourcing work to suppliers, executing RFP and

selection process and negotiating contracts

. Ability to handle change from working in a dynamic marketing climate with

evolving requirements due to industry trends, marketplace competition and

economy

. Understand the importance of tailoring messages for the audience; from

client executives to IT teams to audit staffs and ensuring effective

communications across the organization

Key Accomplishments

. Successfully negotiated several multi million dollar contracts including;

pricing, terms, scope and service levels

. Lead a cost efficiency project to drive consumers to self serve channels

to reduce call center expense by 50%

. Achieved clients aggressive cost reduction initiative while increasing

ALG profitability

. Restructured client quarterly business reviews and received feedback from

every client that new structure provide the best review they had with ALG

and showed a strategic partnership

. Executed contract extensions for 6 major clients under renewal, 3 of

which were done through a RFP process

. Successful passed SOX, SAS70 and PCI audits for clients

. Met 100% of deadlines and billed several million additional dollars from

scope management for all major client launches

. Created and developed a new annual week long company spirit event to

foster team work and cross team interaction

Account Executive

January 2007-October 2008

Consistently achieved strong record of sales performance, new business

development, and strengthening client relationships by delivering enhanced

service solutions.

. Strategically solved both short term demands of the client, internal team

and subcontract partners as well as successfully develop and execute on

long term goals

. Negotiated pricing and contract terms with client and suppliers

. Created additional revenue, enhance profits, and generate new business

within numerous marketing teams

. Utilized consultative selling techniques to identify client needs

assessments and execute profitable solutions

Key Accomplishments

. Increased marketing programs supported for client from initial contract

of 3 programs supporting 25% of their sales to 16 programs and 41% of

client sales

. Increased revenue by 12% a year for both years in position

. Reduced client oversight from 4 people to .5 by becoming a subject matter

expert in the client's business

Account Manager- General Motors

January 2005- October 2008

. Managed scope and service levels of a 60 million dollar contract

. Successfully launched multi vendor, multi location, 70,000 hour business

process outsource project

. Managed ongoing operations and new development for infrastructure,

contact center, interactive voice response unit, 25 websites, marketing,

finance and application development teams

. Decision maker for escalated issues and risks with client executives

. Provides status and escalation to ALG President and client executives

. Experience working with cross-functional team environment with

accelerated deadline demands

. Ensure successful audits of SAS70, PCI, SOX and CMMi Level 3

February 1998-January 2005 Electronic Data Systems

Client Delivery Executive - General Motors

November 2003-January 2005

. Identified business opportunities and proposal development and

presentation to clients

. Served as the customer for some production support projects that

transcend multiple clients

. Managed the risks of the client's contracts to EDS' financial and

business performance expectations

. Contributed to the growth and development of employees by preparing

training plans, career plans, compensation plans, and objectives

. Managed 35 million dollar budget

Program Manager- General Motors

February 2003-November 2003

. Successfully launched 2 new banking products in the GM rewards system

. Interacted with the Account Managers to obtain funding and staffing

approvals for new projects

. Resolved and escalated issues that could not be resolved at the project

level

. Lead cross-project planning, dependency management, and conflict

resolution

. Reviewed the status of commitments, and the status, results, and issues

relative to performing the project's defined software process activities

on a periodic basis

* Promoted quickly through the company: Information Analyst (98-00),

Project Team Leader (00-01), Project Manager (02-03)

Education

Michigan State University Bachelor of Arts in Business

Administration May 1998

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