Mark Wentura

Email acto48@r.postjobfree.com Office 209-***-**** Mobile: 858-***-**** Fax 760-***-****

INTRODUCTION -

In early 2015, Mark Wentura was recruited as General Manager of Operations to deploy a 2X5 growth strategy for the ailing company, reporting into the co-founders of the company and overseeing day to day operations for the wholesale business as well as the retail store operations both domestically and internationally, prior to this deployment, in 2011, Mark was named the GM for the Iron Horse Jean Company™, in 2009, before joining The Iron Horse Clothing Company, Mark was employed with Lawman Sportswear Company, as the General Manager where he was brought on as a turnaround specialist to revitalize the ailing brand. Prior to these roles he was an accomplished, growth-focused executive with a history for demonstrating professional excellence. Mark has a leadership track record in driving aggressive sales growth for companies ranging from entrepreneurial ventures to Fortune 50 giants with such companies as AMF®- Head Sports, Spalding Sports®, Penn® Sports Worldwide®, Buck Knives™ Outdoor, Isotoner®, Sara Lee, Playtex & Champion/Hanes® apparel labels, as well as Jog Bra®, & Acorn™. With solid domestic & international past & experience in business, sales & marketing development, business startups, customer service, product development, off-shoring, & manufacturer sourcing. Mark sales expertise to retail includes an array of retailers in a wide range of trade channels. Mark’s professional background shows a history of producing multi-million dollar revenue increases through effective team leadership, powerful customer presentations, devising creative marketing consumer & trade advertising & merchandising strategies. Mark has a unique ability & skill for building strategic business plans that are focused on growth opportunity, brand development, consumer awareness, competitive analysis, distribution demands, in-store needs, & consumer/trade customer services, while managing margin & demonstrating effective financial P/L management.

Mark has developed, managed & trained various sales teams & sourced distributors, in a variety of formats & sizes, for both domestic & international companies. Mark has created private label lines for a wide range of licensing customers.

CAREER PROFICIENCIES -

Sales Leadership ~ Business Development ~ Marketing ~ International Business ~ Product/Distribution Development ~ Branding ~ P&L ~ Bottom Line Optimization ~ Finance ~ Strategic Planning ~Project Management ~ Team Leadership ~ Coaching & Mentoring ~ Merchandising ~ Account Mgmt. ~ Operations Analysis ~ Private Label Programs ~ Consumer Products ~ Global Sourcing & Logistics ~ Startups ~ Manufacturing ~ Drove worldwide sales of numerous consumer products - wholesale to retail, private label, Ecommerce, OEM, B2B & B2C.

OPERATIONAL / CONSULTING -

Plan, develop, organize, implement, direct & evaluate the organization's fiscal function & performance.

Participate in the development of the corporation's plans & programs as a strategic partner.

Evaluate & advise on the impact of long range planning, introduction of new programs/strategies.

Enhance & develop, implement & enforce policies /procedures of the organization by way of systems that improve the overall operation & effectiveness of the company.

Establish credibility throughout the organization, as an effective developer of solutions to business challenges.

Consulted clients on all aspects of product launch, from business plan & financials to packaging & design to negotiating celebrity endorsements for national print, digital marketing, social mediums, in-store merchandising, & broadcast DRTV infomercials.

Improved pre-tax profits 118% through revised trade programming, price increase initiatives & terms of sale refinements.

Initiated & led the turnaround of 2 companies 1 in apparel the other in footwear. Grew companies from unprofitable levels through profitability & 1 company to IPO, all within 3 years.

Directed an exhaustive search for new office & warehouse space, negotiated lease agreements & secured sub-tenants in 1 location, resulting in significant savings.

Successfully raised/secured over $2.5 million in investment capital to initiate startup & trade launch for a newly formed company.

Prepared & oversaw the process /action ingenuities to take a company public and ready for over the counter pink sheet trading.

Successfully situated & installed a fashion apparel software, training, & support PLM, CRM, ERP, manufacturing, accounting & cloud solution system which was affordable and surpassed budgetary expectations.

FINANCIAL / BUDGET MANAGEMENT -

Evaluate the finance division structure & team plan for continual improvement of the efficiency & effectiveness of the group as well as providing individuals with professional & personal growth with emphasis on opportunities of individuals.

Develop a reliable cash flow projection process & reporting mechanism, which includes minimum cash threshold to meet operating needs.

Optimize the handling of bank & deposit relationships & initiate appropriate strategies to enhance cash position.

Provide practical financial advice & knowledge to others.

Improve the budgeting process on a continual basis, through hands on assistance to managers on financial issues impacting respective budgets.

Provide strategic financial input & leadership on decision making issues affecting the organization.

Develop credibility for the finance team by providing timely & accurate analysis of budgets, financial reports & trends.

Recovered over $500,000 in charge-backs and receivables from Wal-Mart by working directly with the company’s controller and providing key back up data rationale from over 6 years.

Provided attention and focus to companies’ methodology & other financial measurements in order to make improvements in revenues, profits, ROI, EBITDA.

MARKETING / PRODUCT MANAGEMENT –

Achieved 30% business growth through private label expansion of complex fragrance designs.

Determined project scope & collaborated with team to develop project plan, schedules & budgets of up to $3M.

Introduced a diversity of products nationwide from concept to launch, from hard goods to soft goods, which categories include: an array of apparel, home décor, footwear, candle, outdoor gear, sports equipment, & bath wash/lotion accoutrements.

Leveraged effective merchandising display concept to grow sales 125%.

Developed customized materials for in store -floor coordinators, including seasonal product & merchandising briefs, point-of-sale & product placement plans for three brands reaching all consumer segments.

Recruited a range of celebrity & sport athlete endorsements & involved in an array of national sponsorships

Synthesized sales information; collaborated with merchandise planning and sales account executives to provide ROI analysis to key internal partners to determine viability of marketing, advertising & visual programs.

Designed & coordinated special onsite events & incentive programs to promote brand awareness and increase sales. Consistently developed successful programs within strict deadlines & budgets.

Negotiated & collaborated with brand marketing and customer partners to create & customize programs that improve sell-through for target markets.

Successfully launched a marketing communication plan which stole 5 share points from a competitive brand increasing a company’s sales volume from $68 million to over $76 million within an 18 month period.

Effectively implemented SMART mnemonic in support of long-term goals, for companies’ web site, ecommerce, social media & digital marketing plans.

SALES / CUSTOMER SERVICE -

Successfully drove overall growth of a business from $45 million to over $62 million in less than three years; increased profits 13%.

Provided training tools & direction to selling specialists in partnership with account & brand management team.

Penetrated top five retailers in 3 years. Built relationships & negotiated contracts with key clients - Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club, Walgreens, Costco, Totes/Isotoner Corporation, Bushnell Optics, Bolle Sports, Serengeti Fashion Eyewear, Mio Modern, & Compass Auto-Finder.

Led growth of company from scratch to up to o $10 million in revenues.

Demonstrated strong customer quality/value orientation as a result of which business grew 7% - 15% annually, over multiple year period.

Secured $1.5 million per year sales increases, three years in a row for international customer by creating specific private labels & introducing them in club warehouse segment. Directed sales group national sales manager, director of special sales, new business manager, customer service manager, & sales development coordinator.

Headed 17 rep principle agencies & directed team of 100+ independent sales reps.

Drove line performance by utilizing SKU/margin contribution and hurdle rate comparative studies

Reorganized customer service center/staff duties to improve sell enhancements, rep capabilities, & reduce departmental costs.

Grew sales volume 115% to 138% for 3 consecutive seasons for 1 particular company.

Drove $3.5+ million incremental increase in revenues by targeting warehouse club distribution.

Responsible for increased customer & product distribution in Canada, Mexico, Germany, England & Japan

Established 6,000-store distribution network (Walgreens) within first 6 months of presenting account with innovative product & merchandising alternatives.

Established & Calculated reliable sales forecasts for current & newly launched products in order to define cash requirements and to monitor sales performance against company objectives.

MANUFACTURING / PROCUREMENT / IT -

Created lead generation methodology & ten-step criteria for selecting manufacturing & factory alliances.

Achieved 96% to 97% replenishment rate by optimizing end-to-end logistical efficiency and setting-up all aspects of logistics, customer service, and fulfillment.

Managed &/or established off shore office locations in Beijing, Hong Kong & Macau, China.

Secured and implemented the design & set up of 2 warehouse pick pack centers and secured third party fulfillment services for other companies.

Implemented JIT formats & “bottoms up” forecasting, resulting in reduced WIP & finished goods inventories.

Sourcing curriculum which includes China, Mexico, Vietnam, Thailand, Pakistan & England

Negotiated $35M in supplier contracts for sales orders & inventory financing during challenging times of supply.

Negotiated freight/shipping & services agreements, providing for meaningful annual savings for companies.

Forecast inventory requirements, assessed risks, and purchased materials for a profit center, significantly reducing transportation costs, carrying costs, capital investment in inventory, and inventory management costs.

Conversant with various information services or management information services & the planning, design & installation of a company’s network to meet traffic and budgetary requirements.

Knowledgeable with IT scheduled maintenance, while managing & anticipating short & long term operational & security requirements for a business network. Straightforward understanding in network/hardware/operating system technical support & customer service helpdesk happenings.

LEADERSHIP / TRAINING -

Trained marketing & sales staff to develop & implement effective strategies/tactics to support company sales & marketing objectives.

Worked with marketing teams to create consistent product development disciplines & balanced product assortments to meet key profit & margin initiatives.

Coached & directly managed department heads to ensure accurate budget management, daily operations & prompt resolution of issues. Provide motivation & evaluation to foster staff development.

Provided leadership of/contributions to various department teams in devising strategic planning, long-term business development and 3-5 year business plans.

INTERESTS -

Influence or persuade people…teach or train people…help people solve their problems…have my day structured…sell things…take on new responsibilities attend concerts, theaters or art exhibits...work in teams...organize things like files, offices or activities...set goals for myself...build things...figure out how things work…be creative...pay attention to details...learn about other cultures...analyze things like problems, situations or trends...cook...think things through before making decisions…have discussions about issues, like politics or current events...keep records of my work...be a leader...help people.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE -

General Manager of Operations 2015 to Present – Casablanca Bridal Inc.,™ Anaheim, CA

GM & Executive CEO - Business Development 2011 – The Iron Horse Clothing Company, San Diego, CA

General Manager 2009 – Lawman Sportswear & Clothing Company, Los Angeles, CA

GM/Strategic Leader, Marketing, Sales, & Operations 2004 - Vical Enterprise Consulting, San Diego, CA

VP of Sales & Business Development 2002 - Home Fragrance Holding Company, Inc., Houston, TX

General Manager 1999 - Acorn Products Company™ Inc., (Division of Isotoner Inc.) Portland, Maine

Vice President, Sales, Customer Relations & Merchandising 1997 - Buck Cutlery™ Company, El Cajon, CA

ADDITIONAL CAREER INVOLVEMENT -

Marketing & Sales Vice President, Gen Corp® - Penn®, Phoenix, AZ

Marketing & Sales Director, Spalding/Evenflo® Corporation, Chicopee, MA

Senior Worldwide Marketing Director, Browning® Incorporated, Ektelon™, San Diego, CA

Sales, Product Development Director, A.M.F. Head® Incorporated, Princeton, NJ

EDUCATION & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT -

Bachelor of Science in Marketing with Concentrated Studies in Economics, University of Maryland

Training Seminars: Sales Management, Team Building, Time Management, Effective Sales Techniques, Increasing Human-Edge Learning & Finance for the Non-Financial Manager, AMA

COMPUTER SKILLS & KNOWLEDGE -

Net Suite, Handshake, Quick Books, Apparel Magic, MS Office, Project Kick Start, Quicken, EDI, Retail Link, Partners On-Line, Sales Contact

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS -

Advisory Board Member, Compass Auto Tracker LLC, Prior Association Member; SGMA, WSA, NSGA, OIA, FFANY, & AMA. Former Committee Member; SGMA, ATIF, TIA & Vice Chairman, RMA.

TRADE SHOW EXPERIENCE –

The Knot, International Bridal New York & Chicago, London Bridal & Harrogate Bridal Shows, SGMA, SEMA, CES, MAGIC, NSGA, Outdoor Retailer, NHS, LGW, Canton Fair, WESA, STAFDA, WSA, NYIGF, CIHS, & EPEHAF

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