Manager Management

ZANE MISTRY

**** ******* ***** • Milton, ON • L*T 6G5 • 416-***-**** • ********@*****.***

PROFILE

A unique blend of Consumer Insights and Category Management expertise; specialized in leveraging a

variety of data sources and leading a multitude of research initiatives aimed at uncovering the root cause

of business issues and developing the right strategies to drive business results.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES

PepsiCo Canada (2007 – Present)

Consumer Insights Manager (2011 – Present)

Carbonated Soft Drinks, Energy and Coffee (PepsiCo Beverages Canada)

• Co-lead short and long-term strategic planning for some of Canada’s largest and most

recognizable brands: Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Mountain Dew and Starbucks. Achieved sustained

volume growth for Pepsi despite strong category headwinds, the successful launch of PepsiCo’s

largest innovation platform in Starbucks RTD Coffees and helped make Mountain Dew the

county’s fastest growing Carbonated Soft Drink in 2012.

• Lead the research agenda aimed at uncovering key insights and identifying the right strategic

choices to grow our brands. Developed strong functional expertise in variety of Consumer Insight

pillars such as Brand Equity, Innovation, Copy Testing and Portfolio Strategy through execution of

Segmentation Analysis, Qualitative Focus Groups, Conjoint, Market-Mix Modeling and

Consumption Tracking

• Work alongside Senior Management to review and analyze the impact of Canadian macro-trends

such as health and wellness, aging population and ethnic diversity on the overall business and

help develop strategies for long-term, sustained growth across PepsiCo Beverage portfolio

• Created and lead the first ever PepsiCo CSD Insights Council, an initiative bringing research

agencies, internal stakeholders and creative agencies together to maximize visibility to business

plans and collectively tackle key strategic issues and opportunities

Sr. Category Manager / Category Manager (2007 – 2011)

Wal-Mart (PepsiCo Foods Canada)

• Led the Category Management team (2 Direct Reports) collaborating with Wal-Mart on the

strategic development of 7 key categories including Vendor Advisors on one of the largest

categories in Grocery: Salty Snacks. Efforts resulted in strong category growth for Wal-Mart,

customized data and reporting tools and the creation of over 100 regional specific planograms

across the country

• Leveraged Nielsen Market Track, Homescan, Retail Link and Pro Space to optimize assortment,

merchandising, pricing and promotional strategies to enhance the consumer experience and

generate incremental volume for the category

Quaker Snacks (Pepsi QTG)

• Led the Category Management team (3 Direct Reports) responsible for collaborating with all

Grocery, Drug and Mass retailers to grow their Nutritious Portable Foods (NPF) and Light Snack

categories by demonstrating strong insights and shopper expertise.

• Achieved strong wins for both PepsiCo and our customers by leveraging a variety of data tools

and resources to optimize assortment, planograms, pricing and promotional strategies

• Became the internal expert of NPF and Light Snacks at PepsiCo working cross functionally with

Sr. Management, Marketing and Sales Strategy to develop effective plans for Quaker. Was an

Integral part of re-engineering Quaker’s entire go-to-market strategy in 2009, led the creation of

the sell deck and travelled coast to coast accomplishing a high degree of acceptance.

• Based on a key consumer insight, led the NPF Mainline Reinvention project aimed at growing

category volume by completely revolutionizing the shelf and adding consumer friendly tools to

reduce complexity and enhance the overall shopping experience

Nielsen Company of Canada (2005 – 2007)

Market Analyst / Senior Market Analyst

• Leveraged Nielsen expertise to work in collaboration with many of Canada’s leading retailers

including: Wal-Mart, Canadian Tire, Esso, Couche Tarde, Rexall Pharma Plus and Longos.

• Helped uncover a variety of growth opportunities by combining category trends and development

opportunities across the store. Top initiatives included store wide Control Label opportunities for

Wal-Mart Canada, strategic business planning collaboration with Esso and Mac’s and the creation

of a new on-demand syndicated category review system for Rexall Pharma Plus

Persona Corp. (2003 – 2005)

Business Development Manager

• Led all new business development efforts for company (4 Direct Reports), training staff on

effective selling techniques, delivering presentations and account management

• Worked with President to generate expertise in branding and image marketing, enhancing

customer’s visibility and credibility through effective creative communication and design

EDUCATION

MBA (with Distinction) - Schulich School of Business (2005)

HBA - Wilfrid Laurier University (1998 - 2002)

• President of Delta Epsilon Chi ( EX), leading 100 members in competing in Business Case

Competitions. Personally placed top 10 in North American competition

• Member of Varsity Baseball and Track and Field team

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