Sales Customer Service

Peter D. Irish

**** ******** ***** ? Fort Myers, FL 33916

+1-703-***-**** cell ? **********@**.***

Executive Profile

International Business Development ? New Product Development & Launch ?

Global Innovation

International Sales & Marketing Management ? Organizational Development ?

Brand Management

Senior global business leader and top revenue driver with more than fifteen

years of success in sales, marketing, innovation and brand development.

Communicates effectively across cultural boundaries in English, German and

French. Institutes initiatives that create positive change, promote

efficiency, slash costs and increase profitability.

Transforms organizations by establishing, leading and developing effective

teams, processes and infrastructure that drive sustainable growth. Leads

initiatives in the consumer goods, hygiene/paper, publishing, food and

retail sectors. Builds upon strengths of diverse teams to achieve consensus

and shared mission. Leads successful branding, marketing and sales

campaigns in environments where results and growth are paramount. Extensive

qualifications in the following competencies:

? Marketing and Sales Management ? Change Management

? Strategic Alliances and Partnerships ? Mergers & Acquisitions

? Innovation Management ? Business Process

Improvement

? Team Leadership, Training & Mentoring ? Direction, Re-

engineering of Mission & Vision

Career Synopsis

STI Group, Lauterbach, GER

2013

Manufacturer, processor, and distributor of packaging and POS products

with 2,000 employees at 10 locations

Managing Director (Chief Commercial Officer)

Reported to Supervisory Board, led and directed sales, marketing, and

innovation for E300 million regional business. Maintained strong working

partnerships with key customers such as Unilever, Procter & Gamble and

Lidl, a German supermarket chain with 10,000 stores across Europe. Led the

strategic and day to day sales, marketing, and innovation activities of a

team of 80 professionals in 10 locations

Improved sales efficiency 28%, per head by reorganizing international sales

force and reducing headcount, eliminating long-term low-performers.

Introduced structured innovation process including stages and gates to

assure an assessment of market viability early on. Achieved transparent

pipeline of 50+ ideas in 30 days while using clear criteria to weed out

less promising projects clogging the innovation capacity.

Nurtured and launched first integrated industry solution for evaluating the

effectiveness of POS prior to manufacturing. Customers were fascinated by

our tool that incorporated on-demand quantitative, consumer panels

assessing affinity and buying intention, extrapolating this to probable

sales in-store, and then correlating sales to the cost of each given

design, delivering an "ROI Light" indication to facilitate greatly enhanced

spending efficiency.

Substantially improved access to key customer decision makers by

demonstrating multi-continental reach and predictive spending efficiency

tools ("ROI Light").

Formalized and professionalized sales processes including forecasting,

portfolio management, and supply chain to allow monthly three-month,

rolling forecasts as an aid to manufacturing resource planning and three

times a year a "latest estimate " for financial planning. Service levels

immediately rose dramatically (from circa 50% to mid-90's) during the peak

season.

Posivise Partners, Bergheim, AUT

2012-2013

Managing Consultant

Provided senior advisory services for trade and industry organizations,

focused on driving sales and marketing results. Aided manufacturers in

promoting and listing their products with key retailers in Europe and the

USA.

Added 8% annual growth for clients in two new key markets (US and UK) by

convincing Walmart UK and Ahold USA to list and expand client products and

assortment.

Wepa Produktion GmbH, Arnsberg, GER

2009-2011

Manufacturer, processor, and distributor of tissue products with E900

million turnover, 3,000 employees at 10 locations

Managing Director Sales, Marketing and Innovation / Vice President

Reporting directly to CEO and Owner, integrated, reorganized, and motivated

international sales team of 84 employees. Guided decision making at the

customer business unit and functional management (e.g., customer service

and innovation) levels. Marketed the company and its products to strategic

contacts within the retail trade and negotiated high-value contracts. Led

tactical and strategic business planning.

Implemented "customer business units" and re-oriented production to meet

specific customer requirements, shifting the business from a purely

geographic focus to a customer profitability focus, enabling resources to

be allocated based on the relative return of the customer cluster. For

example: the margin of our largest customer (circa 25% of sales) improved

by almost 2% points through this focus, a Euro 4 million improvement.

Enhanced cashflow E8 million in six months by developing and implementing

flexible demand management processes through lower inventories due to

improved forecasting and more aggressive accounts receivables collection.

Bolstered customer satisfaction particularly with our largest customer who

benefitted from the customer business unit focus, experiencing better

service levels. At the same time we improved our profitability by several

points through better attention to mix.

Established strategic relations with retail customers such as LIDL and

Biedronka, positioning the company to outgrow the market by a factor of

100%.

Introduced innovation concepts based on consumer preferences including E100

million sales turnover in environmentally-friendly tissue products made

with lower CO2 emissions while using lower cost raw materials and

generating +5% higher margins.

Executed price increases of E30 million per annum while growing top-line

twice as fast as the overall European industry (5% vs. 2.5% average) by

expanding distribution.

SCA Hygieneprodukte AG, Munich, GER

2000-2008

European market leader in sanitary product industry with E10 billion sales

and 46,000 employees

Vice President Business Development (2007-2008)

Reported directly to President of Americas business unit. Directed a team

of 10 at multiple sites in a major M&A project.

Successfully led a multi-national, multi-cultural team to acquire $350

million diaper business in North and South America.

Vice President Sales and Marketing (2003-2006)

Reported directly to President of E1.5 billion Tissue Europe business unit.

Strategically responsible for brands with E350 million sales, reevaluated

brand equity, improved media spend efficiency and reawakened innovation so

much so that the group decided to invest heavily in the branded business.

Managed SCA Consumer Tissue Global Category. Developed global strategy and

revenue model. Reorganized sales structure of Tissue Europe and Personal

Care divisions. Defined policies for interdivisional sales coordination.

Directly managed retail customer with private label sales of E150 million,

significantly improving the business climate and professionalizing business

relations. Introduced traditional category management. Led a team of 35

sales, marketing, and product development professionals.

Added E500 million sales by handling sales and marketing due diligence of

acquisition of P&G European tissue business and successfully defending

acquisition to EU Commission, obtaining full approval.

Delivered E6 million annually to the bottom line by implementing first

price increase in four years with major customer.

Captured E2.5 million in yearly savings by restructuring logistics to meet

regional business demands.

Revitalized and optimized European brand strategies, improving

profitability and justifying further acquisition.

Stimulated and transformed innovation throughout organization and processes

and introduced innovation concepts focused on customer preferences.

Introduced licensing strategy in order to improve brand loyalty growing

sales by linking with the Star Wars, Happy Feet, Tom and Gerry and other

well known franchises.

Operated nimbly to meet the needs of quickly growing lucrative customer

segments in the European market. For example, by creating key account teams

dedicated to discounters (Mercadona, Aldi and Lidl), we were better able to

serve these demanding customers and significantly outgrow the overall

market.

Director Customer Development Consumer Business Unit (2000-2003)

Reported directly to President of business unit. Developed effective

customer strategies for 26 European countries, including infrastructural

and organizational requirements. Appointed and instructed best practice

teams to identify and disseminate best practices in category management,

promotional efficiency and value adding services, such as logistics and e-

business. Clarified complicated cross-border retail discounts. Introduced

customer strategy and European key account management process. Personally

led and trained key account managers for major customers comprising 40% of

EBITDA.

Simplified discount structure by reducing 320 different types down to only

six substantially improving internal price transparency and reducing

administrative costs as this trade allowance structure was rolled out in

SAP.

Significantly Improved customer awareness by entering WorldWide Retail

Exchange WWRE/Agentrics as first supplier member and achieving uniquely

high level access to most major retailers on three continents.

Kimberly-Clark C&EE, Vienna, AUT

1996-2000

Managing Director Central Europe (1998-2000)

Led business unit with $100 million annual sales in Czech Republic,

Slovakia, Hungary and Poland. Directly reported to VP Central & Eastern

Europe. Developed heterogeneous sales, marketing and customer service

organization in four national markets consisting of 35 individuals. Trained

team to be customer marketing experts who were able to delist competitors

in targeted retail channels. Established retail contacts at highest

levels; took advantage of relations to achieve preferred supplier status

Developed cost-efficient and effective sales structure for four countries.

Implemented category management (the assortment management technique

through which a supplier can influence listings in key retailers,

ultimately delisting competitors while growing the retailer's sales and

profits.)

Maintained diaper market leadership in Czech and Slovakian markets against

P&G and other competitors.

Established Huggies diaper brand in Hungary by leveraging distribution

agreements with Unilever to gain broad weighted distribution quickly.

Reduced distribution costs by $9 million annually by restructuring sales in

Poland, extending weighted distribution from 50% to 90% for example, by

entering the Biedronka discount chain in Warsaw.

Marketing Director Central and Eastern Europe (1997-1998)

Reporting directly to VP Central & Eastern Europe, led and directed a team

of 11 marketing professionals.

Achieved 41% growth in revenue for diapers through regional marketing

programs by establishing and positioning Huggies in all relevant countries,

repositioning products in segments and creating new packaging design and

new TV commercial advertising.

Increased weighted distribution of Russian diaper business from 20% to 40%

by introducing products to regional retailers in markets outside of Moscow

and St. Petersburg.

Stabilized Kimberly-Clark market leadership in feminine hygiene market in

Czech Republic and Slovakia, retaining market leadership while generating

healthy profits to fund the fast growing Huggies business.

Managing Director Czechoslovakia (1996-1997)

Took over leading local diaper manufacturer. Integrated production sites,

sales and distribution of business. Created and implemented transitional

branding (to the Huggies brand). Trained and established functional

management team of 10 local individuals and fundamental management systems

to effectively monitor manufacturing, logistics, personnel, sales and

marketing. Planned and developed sales team of 25 individuals, while

successfully shifting from wholesale to retail customers.

Increased Kimberly-Clark market share in diapers from 0 to 37% to become

distinct market leader.

Introduced and implemented novel "baby home" sales promotional concept in

selected stores, delisting competitors and growing Kimberly-Clark and

retailer sales 3 to 4 times faster than the market in general.

Increased production of diapers by 35% within 6 months without capital

expenditure.

Optimized procurement and production saving several margin points.

Drove revenue to $22 million and reversed internal control evaluation from

"poor" (acquired) to "good" within 12 months.

Knorr Foods / CPC Foods, Prague, CZE

1991-1996

Managing Director / Development Manager

Directly reported to Managing Director Austria, led and directed a local

management team of 12 functional experts through a complex transition and

into a period of high growth.

Captured $50 million in new business by taking charge of all business

development for the company.

Improved distribution rate to 90% for Knorr and Hellmann's brands by

establishing, leading and mentoring sales team.

Increased market share from 0% to 25% for Knorr and from 38% (pre-

acquisition) to 60% for Hellmann's by launching both brands in the Czech

and Slovakian markets.

Saved $ 2-3 million USD per year introducing and monitoring procurement and

quality assurance programs.

Reduced costs by controlling number of ingredients. For example, the Knorr

range ingredients list dropped from 207 materials to 110, doubling the

share we could source locally while reducing raw material costs by 10% and

improving consumer preference scores significantly.

Early career at International Association of Amusement Parks & Attractions;

W. Bell and Co.; and C & L Communications

Education & Training

Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA

Master of Arts degree in German Literature

Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature

Carnegie Mellon: e-Commerce Strategy

Thunderbird School of Management: Strategic Decision Making

Kimberly-Clark: Finance of Non-Financial Managers

CPC Foods: Storwars (Insead-Derived Business Simulation)

Contact this candidate