Ray I Leake
*** **** ****** ****, ******, Florida 32713
386-***-**** - ********@***-***.***
http://www.linkedin.com/in/rayleake
Dear Sir/Madam:
Today's business environment requires knowledgeable management that possess
a unique blend of leadership, vision, broad based experience, and the
ability to lead, train and deliver exceptional sales and results.
My career reflects a record of proven leadership with over twenty years of
creative business development, operations and sales management, marketing,
business management, training, expertise in start-ups and turnarounds,
developing and coordinating diverse businesses, brands, retail operations,
competence in product development, managing products from design conception
through mass production and delivery.
A Visionary leader with outstanding record of success and consistently
creating sales growth, delivering positive bottom-line impact, process
improvement, and building strong teams that stay focused on delivering
world-class performance and customer service.
. In my last position VP of Sales position I was able to lead a sales,
marketing and product team to unprecedented increase in revenues that
began at just under $20 million dollars in year one to over $70
million in year three.
. I successfully coached a sales, marketing, and product development
team to a level of unprecedented success in a market of very
experienced competitors. We were able to capture and maintain number
one market share for our core product for, four consecutive years.
. Proven track record for delivering products and sales results with
most major US retailers/distributors.
. Managed national training, marketing campaigns and promotions at Voxx
International and Circuit City Stores.
. Multi National expertise. I have traveled extensively abroad, managed
sales, sales managers and representatives, distributors, contract
manufacturers as well as coordinated projects and production through
company offices located in Asia, Europe and Mexico. Over a four year
period we improved sales and reduced product cost by over 50% on our
key product line.
Key Competencies & Skills encompass:
. Innovation & Creativity
. Operations & Organizational Leadership
. Strategic & Tactical Process Planning
. Brand & Business Development Leadership
. Revitalization & Turn-around
. Sales Negotiation & Contract Management
. Team Leadership & Relationship Building
Please consider me for a position with your company which will utilize my
extensive experience and success in sales, marketing, training, business
development, operations management, leadership development, process
improvement, brand development, communications, product development, and
retail merchandising and operations. I would appreciate the opportunity to
discuss with you how I might contribute to your organization and look
forward to hearing from you soon.
I can be reached at 386-***-****.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Ray
Ray I. Leake
Enclosure
Ray I Leake
515 Soft Shadow Lane, Debary, Florida 32713
386-***-**** - ********@*****.***
http://www.linkedin.com/in/rayleake
PROFESSIONAL BIOGRAPHY
Ray Leake is a Sr. Sales, Operations & Business Development Professional
who has more than 27 years of broad based experience in retail, product &
brand development, merchandising, sales, marketing, business development,
and operations management. He specializes in Innovation and Implementation
Leadership. Ray has expertise in product management, marketing, and
business and brand development. He has developed a proficiency in
strategic planning, product development, as well as merchandising and sales
operations. Ray's primary focus is on organizational development and
operational improvement. Increased sales revenue, increased profits, an
increased market share, and enhanced customer satisfaction were
consistently realized as the products of Ray's investments in the area of
operations, sales and enterprise turnaround. Ray founded LX4 Inc and
currently works with companies to focus on developing brands, consumer
products and teams that are focused on delivering Operational and
Organizational excellence. Most recently, he served as a consultant for
business, product and brand development. In that capacity, Ray was
intricately involved in the development and marketing of several new
brands, and received a patent for a product he helped develop. He was a
Vice President (Sales, Marketing, and Brand & Product Development) for the
Voxx International, a global leader in consumer electronics with $700M in
annual revenue. Ray's leadership was evident at Voxx, where in less than
three years he led his team from $20 million to $70 million in sales. The
leadership potential that Ray possesses is a unique blend of vision and
broad based experience, coupled with the ability to deliver exceptional
sales and results. Under Ray's leadership, he and his team captured and
held the number one market share in a key consumer product category in the
mobile electronics field for four consecutive years.
Previously, Ray's leadership potential was recognized by Circuit City
Stores, Inc., who recruited him as a District Manager in training to
oversee what would eventually be 21 store locations and 200 employees.
After just three years, he was promoted to the corporate offices as a
Corporate Operations Marketing/Merchandising manager. In that position, Ray
exercised his invaluable field of knowledge to manage multiple projects, to
promote new ideas and best practices, to write weekly sales and operating
guides, and to remodel existing guides (including grand opening guides and
"operational playbooks") for his division. Ray was then promoted to the
position of Buyer where he helped the company realize increased year to
year sales and exceed industry sales growth by 10% in 2002. In 2004, Ray
was promoted to Sr. Buyer overseeing $500 million in annual sales.
Ray's creative and results oriented leadership, coupled with his vigorous
and passionate commitment to success in business have consistently enabled
him and his teams to exceed industry standards. His visionary leadership
has established a record of success in creating sales growth, in delivering
positive bottom-line impact, in generating process improvement, and in
building strong teams that deliver world-class performance and customer
service. In his career, Ray has demonstrated the ability to develop and
coordinate diverse businesses. He has also realized success in marketing,
brand and sales management, retail operations, orchestrating successful
turnarounds, product development, and managing products from design
conception through mass production and delivery. Ray has the ability to
identify and address organizational gaps and shortfalls in a manner that
will deliver process improvement and sustainable growth, high
profitability, a competitive market position, and ensure top-level
performance. A few of Ray's accomplishments are reflected below:
> Championed a sales, marketing and product team to an unprecedented
increase in revenues that began at just under $20M in year one to over
$70M in year three.
> Successfully coached a sales, marketing, and product development team
to a level of unparalleled success of #1 market share for three
consecutive years in a market of very experienced competitors.
> Multi-National expertise which included traveling extensively to Asia
to work with managed contract manufacturers as well as coordinating
projects and production through the company international offices.
> Negotiated/Managed multi-million dollar contracts involving
production, sales, warranty repair, and product marketing.
> Development of yearly strategic sales forecasts, marketing plans,
budgets, and operational plans.
Ray has completed 121/125 credit hours in Business Administration from East
Carolina University and is working toward degree completion, with plans to
start in the Executive MBA program. He has attended Six Sigma Champion
training, and various personal development programs throughout his career
to enhance his abilities in team and situational leadership, negotiating,
creative and critical thinking, meeting objectives and deadlines, and
multiple project management. Ray has most recently been working as a
business and product development consultant. Ray lives in greater Orlando,
Florida, with his family. His wife of 26 years, Carla, is Dental Hygienist,
and they are raising two daughters. Ray leads an active lifestyle,
participating in golf, running, collecting wine, and cooking. In the
community, Ray serves as Ministry Leader of Youth Programs Faith Community
Church.
Ray I Leake
515 Soft Shadow Lane, Debary, Florida 32713
386-***-**** - *********@*****.***
http://www.linkedin.com/in/rayleake
Sr. Sales Operations & Business Development Professional
Visionary operations and business development leader with extensive added
experience in creating budgets and overseeing P&L's, sales, product
development, contract negations, brand development, communications,
retail operations and customer support. Creative, with the ability to
leverage market trends into strategic directions and processes for sales
improvements.
> 20 years of expertise in developing and leading winning sales and
operations teams that consistently achieve budgets
> 10 years of expertise in brand management focusing on brand strategies
and new product development
> Excellent managerial, organizational and communication skills.
> Excellent negotiating skills in selecting and dealing with Asian
manufacturers.
> Experience in managing design departments in both the mechanical and
electrical fields.
> Accomplished in reducing product cost through design and manufacturing
> Conceptual product mapping to include initial design through mass
production to delivery
> Well-versed in overseeing product marketing, management, product road
mapping, and product life cycles
> Conceptual product road mapping to include initial design through mass
production to product launch
> Skilled in contract management, vendor negotiations and relationship
management.
> Ability to identify key product and marketing opportunities while
developing long-term strategic plans
> Experienced Senior Category Manager Oversaw a $400M category at
Circuit City Stores Inc
> Corporate retail operations expertise oversaw group communications
merchandising and operations for 600 store chain
> 10+ years of proficiency in retail marketing, merchandising, product
planning and brand management
> Expertise in problem solving, strategic and tactical planning, sales
development, vendor and relationship management.
> Proficiency in sales forecasting and inventory management, space
planning and business process management.
> Team Leadership, competent in recruiting, hiring, building,
motivating, training, developing and retaining winning teams.
> Utilized information and reports to identify opportunity, needs or
potential issues that may impact current or midterm goals.
> Embraces new technology and the connected world. Understands how to
educate, communicate, market and sell technology.
> Skilled at product sourcing and expert at international travel and
research
> Heavy and solid experience in Merchandising and Supply Chain
Management
> Expertise in staff development, succession and manpower planning
> 10+ years experience in vendor negotiations, relationship and contract
management.
> Negotiated vendor agreements with Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy,
AutoZone, and many other retailers and distributors
> 10 years experience in contract manufacturing and product development
management in Asia
> Willing to travel up to 50% and maintains active passport
> Collaborates with "C" level professionals and all key decision makers
Key Competencies & Expertise Encompasses
Operations Brand Management Category Development & Staff
Management Development
Vendor Relations Consumer Strategic Thinking & Procurement
Insights Tactical Planning
Creative "Problem P&L Management Forecasting & Inventory Project
Solver" Management Management
Relationship Product Life Domestic and International Sales &
Management Cycle Sourcing Budgets
Corporate Negotiations Product Development & Team
Communications Marketing Leadership
Cost Containment Merchandising Building & Implementing Pricing
Growth Strategies Strategies
Professional Experience
Business Development Consultant
Jan 2010 - Present
LX4 INC - Debary, Florida
Working under contract with smaller companies on Operations, Business and
Product Development projects
Business Coach & Co-Owner
Jan 2014 - Present
Equipping Solutions - Debary, Florida
Working with organizations and companies to develop organizational health.
Certified Everything DiSC partner.
Business & Product Development Consultant (Contract Employment)
Feb 2013 - Present
Executive Vice President (Contract Employment)
Protective Enclosures Company - Altamonte Springs Florida
. Consulting with PEC, in a contract position managing operations, brand
and product development, sales and marketing
. Overseeing US vendor management, product manufacturing, business
operations, inventory planning and forecasting
. Development and management of the P&L, budgets, sales planning,
product pricing, distribution and account management
. Responsible for implementation of a new Websites, ERP and CRM software
systems
. Since joining PEC sales have improved over 200% in the past 24 months
. Developed of all HR programs, employee job descriptions and
development of employee handbook
Group Director (Contract Employment)
Jan 2010 - Oct 2012
Metra Electronics - Holly Hill, Florida
. Hired for new product and business development
. Consulted on consumer product research, product development and
manufacturing, business development, brand management, product
marketing campaigns and sales management
. Oversaw sales forecast and market data for product forecasting and
production and price elasticity
. Created and presented product and brand marketing presentations to
owners, customers and financial analyst
. Developed the Audio Solutions product which we were awarded a patent
for as well as developed the brand marketing
. Developed and presented presentations for Venture Capitalist and
investors
. Developed and managed oversees manufacturing for new product lines
Director of Merchandising / Sr. Buyer
2010
Sodexo - Gaithersburg, Maryland
. Member of the new retail concept team to develop a new specialty
retail concept and brand
. Developed the brand attributes, store concept and operational plans
for a new healthcare retail brand
. Created and implemented strategic and tactical retail merchandising,
marketing, sales planning
. Management of research and evaluations of industry trends,
manufacturers and product selection
. Position was hired as a virtual office. However after we defined the
retail concept and responsibilities, it was determined that position
needed to be located in the corporate offices in Gaithersburg and I
could not relocate at that time
Vice President
2004 - 2009
Voxx International - Lake Mary, Florida
. Brand Ambassador for groups brands of products as well as spokesperson
to the industry
. Created and delivered brands product roadmap, marketing and sales
presentations
. Presented monthly, quarterly and yearly sales budgets and inventory
forecasting plans
. Developed strategic and tactical product marketing, sales and business
plans
. Managed Product Development: products from design conception through
mass production to delivery
. Traveled extensively in Asia visiting factories and oversaw production
contract manufacturing and vendor relations
. Presented all key sales presentations to national and regional
electronics and automotive retailers
. Oversaw satellite office, product development teams and off site
nationwide sales team
. Utilized analytics and reports to identify opportunity, needs or
potential issues that may impact goals
. Developed brand strategies, standards, positioning and management for
all brands of products and private label programs
. Managed pricing parameters and elasticity for all products and brands
. Understanding of key stakeholders needs including external partners
and internal x-functional teams
. Researched consumer, competitor and markets to determine product
development needs
. Budget and P&L responsibility in directing all aspects of brand sales
and product development
. Managed forecasting and purchasing; responsible for inventory
management and product life cycle
. Oversaw the creation of marketing and sales training programs,
packaging and consumer material for all brands
. Negotiated contract and vendor agreements with retailers oversaw all
pricing, and programs
. Identified and connected technology advancements with customer needs
to create new products and solutions
. Managed group worldwide sales and distribution for US, Canada, Mexico,
Russia and Australia
. Brand marketing expertise encompasses brand, product and promotional
retail in traditional and digital formats, web site development,
public relations, tradeshow, product sales and training materials,
presentations, catalogs and packaging.
. Responsible for new company business by focusing and anticipating
market trends
. Successfully managed product categories with revenue of over $70
million
. Maintained budgets, product forecasting, tooling, packaging, and time
markers for on time mass production and launch
. Traveled extensively throughout China and Korea developing programs
with vendors
. Directed all aspects of Groups Mobile Electronic product line,
including strategic and business planning, overseas product sourcing,
vendor management, pricing, channeling, marketing, training, product
support and profit and loss
. Established and managed manufacturing channels in China, Taiwan, Hong
Kong, Singapore and Korea for mass production and cost reduction
resulting in higher profit margins.
. Managed engineering department as well as responsible for selecting
outsourced engineering for specialized new projects
. Accomplished in managing projects from design conception through mass
production to delivery while constantly interfacing closely with the
customer and meeting and exceeding their expectations.
. Successively brought over 100 products to market utilizing 3D design,
rapid prototyping, and lower cost production in Asia.
Circuit City Stores, Inc., Richmond, Virginia 1994 - 2004
Senior Buyer
2001-2004
. Managed a $400M budget Oversaw vendor negotiations, contracts,
agreements and relationships
. Responsible for the launch of Satellite Radio in 2001
. Responsible for marketing and funding: Sold a front cover ad on the CC
weekly circular for $1 million
. Oversaw sales, product planning, purchasing, forecasting, and
marketing plans including all promotional strategies
. Managed category research of industry trends, consumer insights, and
new product launches, launch Satellite Radio
. Negotiated vendor funding and pricing, product plans and sold
advertising and marketing programs to vendors.
. Improved market share, top line sales; products turns, lowered cost,
and improved margins & bottom line profits.
. Hired, trained, coached, and managed a buying team of up to six
personnel
. Worked on team that oversaw private label brand management, product
development and sourcing
Corporate Merchandise Operations / Communication Manager
1997-2001
. Oversaw process improvements projects, developed strategic and
tactical operations plans with cross functional teams
. Developed Staff Development programs as well as manpower and
succession planning initiatives
. Wrote merchandise, sales, marketing, operational guides and training
articles for weekly communication to stores
. Visited stores with Senior Field Management on monthly basis to ensure
operational consistency and to develop efficiencies
. Managed merchandising planograms, category store layout, design and
site plans working with the merchandising team
. Developed and taught monthly Management Advancement Program (MAP)
classes
Prior to 1997:
. District Manager - (Circuit City) "Opened 21 Locations in 2 years"
. Store Manager - (Circuit City)
. Market Manager - (Montgomery Ward)
. Sales Manager, Assistant Store - (Montgomery Ward)
. Probation and Parole Officer - (State Of North Carolina)
Education and Certifications
Bachelor of Science Business Administration (121of 125 hours completed)
Focus in Human Resource Management, East Carolina University, Greenville,
North Carolina
Certified Coach Practitioner from Certified Coaches Federation March 2010
Volunteer Work
Board of Governors Debary Golf and Country Club Jan 2010
to Dec 2014
Ministry Leader of Youth Programs Faith Community Church 2009 to
Present