Customer Service Sales

L. Allen Taute

*** *** *** ******* ? Oak Park, CA 91377

310-***-**** ablt43@r.postjobfree.com

Qualifications Summary

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A results-driven senior management professional with an exceptional track

record and the leadership skills to ensure the effective execution of

numerous and simultaneous projects without compromising quality, timeliness

and functionality. An expert at providing strategic and tactical analysis

and execution of initiatives to increase sales, customer service and bottom-

line financial performance. Key competencies include:

? Strategic Financial Planning ? Contract &

Distributor Negotiations

? Financial Analysis & Forecasting ? Strategic

Alliances

? Corporate Finance Management ? Distributor &

Customer Relations

? Team Building & Training ? Project

Management

? Financial & Management Reporting ? Program

Management & Implementation

Career Synopsis

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Jim Beam Brands Co.

2007-Present

Director of Business Analysis (2009-Present)

Primary finance support for US executive leadership team and marketing

organization, a $1.4 Billion business comprising over 50% of Fortune Brands

(FO) total profitability. Organized into three main Category Brand Teams

(CBTs) my team ensures sound strategy development, provides reporting,

analysis and decision support and structures our corporate planning &

forecasting processes. We also provide direction for the

development/evolution of pricing strategy and optimize brand investment

through marketing mix analyses and effectiveness evaluations.

. Built the Business Analysis team from scratch as part of corporate

initiative to drive brand investment effectiveness - developed monthly

reporting package; set up monthly business review cadence; drove

strategic and annual planning process; optimized brand investment.

. Helped drive 10% savings in non-working advertising through agency

consolidation, allowing reinvestment in working media.

. Pushed the brand teams to allow "optimized" pricing on weaker brands,

driving significant net sales and share growth in key markets without

sacrificing overall profit.

. Advocated new brand investment allocation expected to drive 2%

increase in return on invested capital (ROIC).

. Created automated exception based reporting allowing for greater focus

on causal data and recommended actions.

. Worked closely with Sr. Operations and Operations Finance teams to

ensure proper planning for long-term capital investment and whiskey

lay-down policy (most of our whiskeys are aged four to nine years

before bottling, cognac and scotch longer).

. Delivered 2009 operating income commitment and established an

aggressive yet achievable target for 2010.

Director of Finance (2007-2009)

With five direct reports, managed over $230 million business unit and

business unit budgets (exceeding $70million) including regional marketing,

discounts, overheads, T&E, etc. Key player on region management team.

Responsible for full financial reporting and support for the West Region.

Active in distributor negotiations, execution of contracts, pricing and

marketing supports. Refocused regional finance from a reactionary

collection of individuals to a team that plans for upcoming issues,

anticipates risks & opportunities and advises our General Manager on

appropriate courses of action.

. Reorganized the finance team from a geographic to a functional focus,

resulting in faster turn-around and more consistent and pro-active

reporting and support.

. Implemented monthly Risk & Opportunity assessment to anticipate

potential shortfalls while maximizing opportunity.

. Realized a $500K incremental margin without a loss in volume by

implementing consistent pricing changes across all brands and

geographies, ensuring targeted price per ounce ratios between sizes.

. Re-engineered the distributor profitability assessment tool, allowing

reporting for distributor profitability while analyzing the impact of

pricing, discounting and promotional activities/products.

. Managed allocations of short-supply and new products ensuring maximum

profit without sacrificing customer relationships.

. Developed new reporting utilizing syndicated (ACNielsen) and in-house

data to simplify the discovery, prioritization and exploitation of

market opportunities (pricing, distribution, local advertising and

promotional methods, etc).

R sum of Taute, L. Allen, 310-***-****, continued

Page 2.

Heineken USA, White Plains, NY

2004-2007

Director of Operations (2006-2007)

For the full supply chain for Star Brand Imports (Heineken's portfolio of

specialty beers), managed the European Demand Point, in which a single

warehouse allows distributors to order mixed loads of the nine European

brands sold. Managed operational communications with eight breweries in

Europe and one in the Bahamas. Oversaw customer service and sales and

depletion volume forecasting and analysis. Provided business planning

guidance and advice for the General Manager. Lead the Star Brand Imports

Vision Project: objective was to develop the goals, aspirations and

specialty strategy and how these fit within the overall strategy of

Heineken USA.

. Successfully negotiated for reductions in ocean freight and an

increase in "free days" at port, saving $0.15/case or nearly 11% on

ocean shipping costs.

. Developed and implemented SAP enhancements allowing for simplified

ordering and customization, cutting both ocean and inland shipping

costs by nearly 20% for the top distributors, or 60% of the business.

. Began measuring forecast accuracy and adjusted department priorities

to forecast accuracy improvement and better inventory management,

improving customer service levels from 97% to 99% and reducing at-risk

aging product from 10% of inventory to less than 1% of inventory.

. Implemented statistically-driven inventory management at the European

Demand Point, reducing average inventories from 30 to 25 days while

maintaining 99%+ customer service.

. Developed the 'Weekly Business Position' report, providing senior

management with a quick, easy and complete view of the business and

reducing the almost daily requests for information.

Regional Finance Manager (2005-2006)

Provided full finance support for the Western Region for P&L, annual plan

and quarterly LE. Built volume and detailed financial plans for Corporate

to consolidate. Recommended and implemented pricing actions for HUSA,

Distributor and Retail. Negotiated with distributors for pricing,

dedicated personnel and media contributions. Reported on volume and

financial results vs. Plan and LE. Assisted Zone Directors in reallocating

resources and assuring profit delivery. Developed the necessary

cost/benefit analysis to properly weigh trade-offs and opportunities.

. Supported the Heineken Light launch, ensuring proper allocation of

resources resulting in first-year volume greater than 50% above plan.

. Introduced risk-based contingency planning to the Region, resulting in

us achieving plan EBIT for the first time in five years.

. Developed and implemented financial reporting package to better

utilize TM1, resulting in a 48 hour improvement of the Finance team

performance in analysis and reporting.

. Trained sales and marketing associates to better understand financial

reporting and how their actions impact the P&L, resulting in a 22%

reduction in fixed costs in 17 months for the Region.

. Proposed and successfully implemented a Tecate price increase and

distributor pricing alignment in June 2006, resulting in a 2% increase

in realized sales per case and no reduction in volume growth, ending

the year up 18% vs. 2005.

Business Support Manager (2004-2005)

Responsible for by-item, by-state and by-demand point depletions forecast

for the Western Region, 13 states, supporting the annual Plan and LE

process. Built statistical item/state-level forecasts based on historical

depletions, in-market spend levels, promotional calendar changes,

competitive actions and market conditions to use as a baseline for

discussions with zone directors. Determined and approved the monthly

forecast detail each quarter. Reported monthly depletions performance vs.

Plan, YAG and LE to the regional sales team, highlighting variances and

risks/opportunities in the YTG. Performed ad-hoc analysis for pricing

actions, promotions and budget allocations.

. Acted as the new liaison between the sales and operations departments,

resulting in an improvement in forecast accuracy by 12 points over

seven months.

. Supported sales directors with the Tecate 24oz launch rollout plan and

pricing recommendations. Accurately projected pipeline fill by state

and the first twelve months volume based on index to competition and

competence of local distributors.

. Developed a new forecast process that provided enhanced visibility for

senior management, greatly reducing the time requirements for sales

and operations and increasing overall accuracy.

. Developed a detailed promotional analysis worksheet providing better

allocation of the $2.5 million e-coupon budget.

. Improved the depletions reporting process and format delivering all

key data and comparative statistics in a standardized three-page

report, reducing the time required to build reports and simplifying

comparisons among different regions; this process and format were

adopted throughout the company.

R sum of Taute, L. Allen, 310-***-****, continued

Page 3.

Mars Incorporated, Vernon, CA

1999-2004

Financial Planning Manager (2002-2004)

Provided insight to Uncle Ben's current financial position including

available tradeoffs and options to ensure plan was met or exceeded.

Provided monthly financial updates to the management team and brand

managers, developing a whole picture view of the Uncle Ben's P&L. Led

Sales and Marketing Directors in the development of strategic frameworks

for new product introductions and 5-year promotional spend plans. Provided

profitability targets, decision analysis and managed financials for new

product launches and completed post-launch assessments on each; e.g., Uncle

Ben's Ready Rice. Set price floors and recommendations for annual and

multi-year contracts, balancing financial targets with each customers'

strategic importance.

. Managed and developed upcoming year marketing plans with Sales and

Marketing senior managers to ensure promotional spend met ROI targets,

resulting in two years of achieving both volume and profit targets.

. Developed a database for SKU-level by-channel financial reporting and

analysis on a monthly basis; new information led to the recommendation

to discontinue several items and reallocate resources among existing

items/brands that resulted in the company exceeding plan profit by 1%

of revenue in 2003 and setting up for similar success in 2004.

. Developed the complete financial model for the Uncle Ben's Ready Rice

launch; won approval for the successful 2004 launch as the first

microwave retort rice in the market, helping the Uncle Ben's brand

break from several years of nearly flat sales.

. Set price floors and recommendations for annual and multi-year

contract sales and gave clear guidelines to field sales, reducing

contract approval turnaround time and resulting in a contract success

rate of 37%, up from 31%, with no deterioration in average margins.

Demand Planning Analyst (2000-2002)

Was responsible for by-item, by-period and by-warehouse forecasts for over

300 Kal Kan Petcare items with over $1.2 billion in annual sales:

Pedigree , Whiskas , Cesar and Waltham brands. Managed three direct

reports. Built consensus with Sales and Marketing senior managers for

monthly forecasts, annual operating plan forecasts and 5-year plan

forecasts. Partnered with market research managers to analyze new product

potential including market sizing, trends, household penetration and

marketing practices.

. Expanded the use of trade inventory models to all pet food products,

driving further forecast accuracy improvement of seven points over 12

months, improving customer service and releasing over $3.5 million

free cash back to the business in the form of reduced inventories.

. Developed and implemented new forecast checks to eliminate system

errors being passed in the forecasts to the plants and allowing plants

to respond immediately to changes, reducing lead-time by one half to

one full day and eliminating uncertainty.

. Built full year total company volume plans that were within 1% of

actual performance vs. a 10-year track record where 3-4% was

considered good.

. Developed "New Product Introduction Models" with market research,

bringing first-year new-product volume accuracy from 50% to 15% and

accurately projecting monthly sales timing.

Demand Planning Coordinator (1999-2000)

Was responsible for by-item, by-period and by-warehouse forecasts for seven

Pedigree dog snacks and 75 Pedigree canned items with over $300 million

in annual sales. Developed forecast recommendations for monthly meetings

with Sales and Marketing senior managers.

. Piloted the use of trade inventory modeling, resulting in improvements

of two points on Pedigree canned and over 15 points on Pedigree dog

snacks forecast accuracy.

Delta Technical Coatings, Whittier, CA

1998-1999

Forecast Analyst

Prepared monthly sales forecasts for over 5,000 products in 10 product

lines. Assisted with Production Planning and Master Production Scheduling.

Developed and presented 5-year volume plans to senior management and

owners.

Education

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University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA

Master of Business Administration degree in Finance

California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, CA

Bachelor of Science degree in Economics

Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH

Completed first two years of undergraduate study

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