Retail Executive

JOEL MATTHEW MUSSAT

**** ****** **** **** ******, TX 75033

***********@*******.*** • 214-***-**** (cell)

SENIOR RETAIL EXECUTIVE

with comprehensive experience in

Store Operations Leadership

Strategic Planning & Execution

“Store in a Store” Concept Innovations

International Expansion

New Business Development

Digital Commerce Visioning

Corporate Scenario Planning

Competitive Response Planning

Acquisitions / Turnarounds

Coaching / Developing / Motivating

Visionary, strategic, and achievement-oriented Retail Executive offering a distinguished career in leading best-in- class, complex, mission-driven organizations to higher performance by driving continual growth and improvement in people, execution, and results. Demonstrated success in triggering disruptive change by pioneering innovative business growth prospects, architecting solutions, and implementing high-impact change efforts. Highly effective communicator, and leader with proven abilities to forge solid relationships and build consensus across all levels, including Board of Directors. A proven ability to manage with honesty, integrity, and transparency.

Identified as CEO successor

First-ever externally hired VP at Rent-A-Center, and quickest ever promoted to SVP and EVP

Continuously charged with executing on company’s biggest opportunities PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

RENT-A-CENTER, INC (RCII: NASDAQ) – Plano, TX May 2017 – February 2018 Provided executive leadership to the world’s largest rent-to-own retailer with 4,000 locations ($3.0B) SUMMARY OF TENURE

Executive Officer who reported to both the CEO/Chairman of the Board, as well as to the President/COO for over 11 years. Served as company COO to oversee $3.0B business. Served in President/CEO role for two new lines of business conceived as VP of Strategic Planning, then launched and expanded rapidly. Held full P&L and corporate support responsibility for these new businesses ($800M). Complete accountability for developing and driving vision, strategy, and corporate level business planning. Built Strategy department from the ground up, which provides hands-on leadership to tackle the company’s most complex challenges. Created competitive response programs to blunt competitive market intrusions and protect store-level revenue streams. Led annual BoD planning sessions. Delivered Wall Street investor presentations and quarterly updates. Hired and/or developed 14 staff who were promoted to VP/SVP/EVP levels.

Executive Vice President - Chief Operating Officer

Returned to company at request of Founder/Chairman/CEO and Board to help resuscitate company after removal of prior management team during an activist situation

In a declining industry, drove 1000 bps improvement in Same Store Sales over three quarters by focusing on ticket expansion, customer growth/retention, employee satisfaction, and in-store experience. Returned company to overall positive comps in January 2018.

Increased the value of our customer portfolio YoY, as well as five straight months to end 2017, which has not been accomplished in at least the last 10 years. 2017 was the first year of positive portfolio growth in five years, driven by re-inserting an “owner’s mentality” back into our multi-unit and store teams.

Implemented Mystery Shop and Voice of Customer (NPS) programs to derive actionable and real-time performance standards for sales execution improvement and employee coaching Joel M. Mussat Page 2 of 5

Completed overhaul of store inventory mix to focus on product assortments more aligned with the desires of our customer base, with an emphasis on aspirational product and a “good, better, best” inventory mix, and concurrently reduced our inventory levels by $40M

Modified Pricing to be more surgical within each category in an effort to drive both volume and gross margin

Drove 22% improvement YoY in employee turnover by installing focused programs on recruiting, training, and execution at the store level

Directed the closure/sale of 150 poor performing locations to preserve cash flow and operating margins

Rolled out new company culture via nationwide town hall forums to establish “Trust” as the basis of our customer relationships

VIXXO, INC (privately held) - Scottsdale, AZ January 2016 – May 2017 Chief Operating Officer

Drove growth for industry-leading firm in retail multi-unit facilities/asset management sector ($700M)

Implemented scalable operational standards for high growth company which handles all facility and asset needs for over 70,000 retail locations with a network of 150,000 independent contractors, 13 Service Centers, 100 trades, and over 700 employees

Led company to record revenues in first year as COO by reorganizing account management strategy and leadership, driving discipline in business development processes, and adding accretive Lines of Service to overall portfolio of services at current clients. Drove an additional $11M in project work YOY.

Delivered 150 bps improvement in gross margin by upgrading the quality of contractor network, eliminating presence of margin-dilutive consolidators, and increasing conversion rate of contractors who

“subscribe” to our network by over 35%. Increased contractor fees to Vixxo by over $7M YOY.

Drove key client performance metrics (First Time Fix, On-time Job Completion %, Costs per Job, and Customer Sat) to historical levels by upgrading high-volume contractors in our major trades

Realized $3.5M improvement in Direct Costs by implementing organizational, process and technology efficiencies in Service Centers, consolidating Service Centers to eliminate excess capacity, and installing appropriate metrics to measure and drive performance. Built 2017 operating plan to realize an additional

$4M in Direct Cost savings via more aggressive intent to leverage technology to reduce Service Center footprint from 13 to 3 locations.

Overall, delivered $8M of incremental EBITDA (25%) in first year as COO

Forged a spirit of urgency, accountability, and aggressiveness to the culture within Operations RENT-A-CENTER, INC (RCII: NASDAQ) – Plano, TX December 2005 – January 2016 Executive Vice President - Chief Omni Channel Officer (Jan 2014 – Jan 2016)

In this role (equivalent to President’s role), realized eight consecutive quarters of improved same-store sales for $3.2B enterprise

Oversaw all Sales, Marketing, Advertising, Merchandising, Digital, Supply Chain, and Real Estate functions.

Designed and implemented a complete transformation of all Sourcing and Distribution strategies and partnerships to realize a 10% ($70M) reduction in COGS, as well as enable an e-commerce fulfillment capability for store-level product fulfillment on $700M in annual inventory purchases

Responsible for the build-out and launch of the enterprise’s Omni-Channel vision, strategy, and deployment of digital capabilities (e.g., rent on-line, same day delivery, direct ship to customer, mobile POS) in support of building and launching industry’s first ever mobile commerce channels

Revitalized merchandising plan, including overhaul of our Appliance and Furniture categories, and added

$220M in annual revenue by introducing the Smart Phone category to store line-up Joel M. Mussat Page 3 of 5

Executive Vice President of Store Operations – “Acceptance Now” Brand (Aug 2011 – Dec 2013)

Achieved startling results as senior executive over Acceptance Now (a “store-in-a-store” model), growing it from an incubation concept to over 1,300 locations and $500M in annual revenue, exceeding all company expectations for revenue, operating income, and EBIT. Line of Business IRR of 49%

In less than four years from inception, built an ecosystem of over 200 retail partnerships and created a new “sub-industry” within the rent-to-own sector, which drove our acquisition of over 500k new customers

Held full P&L responsibility, as well as oversaw all corporate functions (HR, Training, Marketing, Pricing, Sales/Development, Finance) including annual financial forecasting and business planning

Launched a technology-based kiosk tool to facilitate self-service transactions either in-store or online

Under my leadership, the successful growth of this emerging business was the primary driver in a 140% rise in RCII stock price, attaining a historical high of $40.80 in February 2013 Executive Vice President of Store Operations – International Operations (Aug 2011 - Dec 2013)

Served as lead senior executive and country manager for international expansion and market entry into Latin America and Canada (over 2,000 employees) and established our headquarters in Monterrey, Mexico

Entered Mexico in November 2010 and grew business to over 160 stores and $60M in annual revenue, with full build-out estimated at 1,000 stores and $1B in revenue. Line of Business IRR of 26%

Led market entry brand building campaigns across major regions of Mexico in an effort to educate the Mexican consumer on our value-prop and drive strong ramp-up for new store openings

Held full P&L responsibility, as well as oversaw all corporate functions (Merchandising, Supply Chain, Pricing, HR, Training, Marketing, Finance, Real Estate) including annual financial forecasting and planning Senior Vice President of Store Operations and Strategic Planning (Dec 2009 - July 2011)

Conceptualized, tested, and launched innovative “store in a store” concept to grow our industry footprint

Led acquisition diligence, closing, and integration of our largest competitor in the “store in a store” space, completing a 180 store, $75M deal to accelerate our growth and add to our existing 300 store footprint

Executive responsible for international expansion, including a global country viability analysis, market entry options and recommendations, product/pricing strategies, partnership models, supply chain preparation, and operational deployment

Conceptualized, built, and implemented a store operations selling strategy which led to a 35% improvement in customer conversion rates

Led initiative to implement on-line customer payments, the first of its kind in the industry, which led to a 95% improvement in retention rates

Vice President of Strategic Planning and New Business Development (Dec 2005 - Nov 2009)

Built company’s first ever strategic plan, including corporate vision, 1-5 year goals, supporting initiatives, scenario planning, scorecards, and benefits realization plan. This plan served as the roadmap to a corporate turnaround, where we moved from a stagnant organization to one experiencing rebirth and growth culminating in 6-8% CAGR realization.

Built and led a store operations improvement transformation, which included innovations in labor model, sales processes, delivery processes, and merchandising. Improvement led to $10M in labor savings and

$3M in process efficiencies.

Conceptualized, built, and launched successful transformation from a decentralized (store-based) purchasing model to a centralized model, leading to best-ever store inventory positions, and highest per store sales rate totals in seven years. Annual product purchase savings estimated at $35-45M.

Initiated cost cutting programs within corporate headquarters, resulting in corporate budget reductions of

$10M without a single job reduction

Served as lead senior executive on a 750 store, $735M acquisition integration of RentWay, the 3rd largest player in our space. The integration of the two firms was completed ahead of plan as all corporate functions and store processes were converted within six weeks of transaction date. Joel M. Mussat Page 4 of 5

IBM GLOBAL SERVICES (FORMERLY PWC CONSULTING) – Dallas, TX July 2000 to December 2005 Senior Manager – Retail Strategic Consulting Practice Served as key retail strategist to Fortune 50 retailers, with a focus on growth roadmap development, initiative planning, and execution. Developed new multi-channel business opportunities, built external partnerships, and executed complex retail engagements. Developed new service offerings for multi-channel retailing, including solution definition, market sizing, and go-to-market strategies. Served as a mentor to several high-potential staff. Selected Achievements:

For a global large box retailer, completed a store optimization and efficiency study in an effort to drive improvements in the profit/loss performance of retail operations across 1,200+ locations. Developed implementation plan for series of recommendations focused on store process, technology, inventory, and organizational enhancements to deliver approximately $175 million in near-term P&L improvements.

For a warehouse club retailer, directed a category growth initiative to increase market share for two consumer electronics product lines. Led market analysis and sizing, competitive assessment, and customer segmentation to create a customer-driven buying model. Delivered a pilot solution which generated a 35% incremental sales lift and 55% increase in cross-sell success rate by revamping both the in-store sales model and the merchandising strategy.

For a large PC retailer, executed strategic visioning engagement to develop future operating model. Built the business case, and developed a comprehensive transformation plan consisting of 10 initiatives to migrate the business unit to a new multi-channel operating model, including options for offshore IT and call center outsourcing. Analyzed existing operations center processes, org alignment, and desktop technologies to propose solutions to decrease returns 25%, increase cross-sell rate 10%, and increase close rate 12%.

For a global auto manufacturer, completed a Lead Management strategy development effort to generate improved lead quality, customer close rates, acquisition rates, and reduced defection rates. Built an industry leading, end-to-end Lead Management strategy, including a tiered qualification model, scoring algorithm, treatment strategy, and recontact plan to handle over 2 million inquiries annually and deliver $270 million in realized benefits.

Lead Manager for University of Michigan campus recruiting efforts ACCENTURE – Charlotte, NC and Detroit, MI June 1994 - June 1998 Managed a wide range of large engagements with a focus on process improvement and change management. Senior Consultant (Cross Industry)

Developed and implemented strategic short and long-term business improvements to position organizations for growth opportunities. Worked on acquisition integration initiatives for the largest US retail bank. Served as a mentor to several junior level consultants.

Selected Achievements:

For a large US retail bank, completed diligence and implemented process, technology, and organizational integration recommendations for large, multi-state banking acquisition

For a large US retail bank, created an internal call center to facilitate post-merger integration. Completed department reorganization by developing a new organizational structure, improving information flows, and implementing best practices through benchmark studies.

Managed the creation, implementation, and support of a new Measurement and Evaluation Department for the Credit Card Division of the nation’s second largest bank

Executed a business systems and organizational reengineering plan (SAP) for utility industry client to prepare for statewide deregulation

Participated in all annual regional level campus recruiting efforts Joel M. Mussat Page 5 of 5

EDUCATION AND CREDENTIALS

M.B.A. – Cornell University (Johnson Graduate School of Management) – Ithaca, NY – May 2000 Park Leadership Fellow - A full merit scholarship in recognition of academic achievement, professional experience, and demonstrated leadership Completed MBA internship in Bell South’s Corporate Strategic Management Unit B.A. Organizational Behavior, University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, MI – May 1994 Professional Development

Corporate Scenario Planning – Global Business Network, Berkeley, CA Gettysburg Leadership Course

Situational Frontline Leadership – Blanchard Group Park Leadership Development Program – Cornell University Process Improvement Seminar – Cornell University

Professional / Community Affiliations

Board of Directors – Plano, TX Chamber of Commerce (2008-2011) NCAA Football Official – (2006-2013)

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