Marketing, Growth Strategy, Qualitative & quantitative market research

CONNIE L. LOPEZ

Sagamore Hills, OH *****

440-***-**** · ***************@*****.***

Over 30 years of experience in B-to-B and B-to-C companies. Focused on improving profitability through revenue growth from new and existing products, consumer segmentation, improved pricing, channel & promotion strategies, industry best practices, competitive advantage leveraging, branding, positioning and tactical messaging. Career highlights include:

• Experience with organizations and companies ranging in size from $5 million to $6+ billion across a diverse range of B2C and B2B industries. Considerable expertise in consumer packaged goods (CPG) for retail, foodservice and fundraising; and consumer financial services (insurance, banking).

• Representative consulting clients include: Bellring Brands (Premier Protein), Ventura Foods, McCain, Ruiz Foods, ARYZTA, State Farm, Lincoln Financial Group, Everett Smith Group (Eagle Ottawa), Armstrong World Industries, Caterpillar.

• MBA, Case Western Reserve University. BA, Harvard College. WORK EXPERIENCE

Management Consultant, Connie Lopez LLC 1996-present Worked with consulting firms of Booz Allen & Hamilton, The Cambridge Group, Orrington Strategies, and Insight to Action. Economics-based, results-oriented approach defined by market clearing price, global competition, defensible scale position, relative cost position, price and substitute product-based demand, and government policy implications.

• Growth strategy and assessment

o Assessed large customer/dominant product risk, private label impact, growth opportunities and competitive advantages for CPG company supplying branded and unbranded cooking oil for retail. o Researched market size, growth expectations, customer needs to identify foodservice segment growth opportunities for CPG companies for muffins, appetizers and culinary bases. o Analyzed consumer acceptance and potential size for auto insurance based on telematics, which led to the company's decision to pursue a new insurance pricing methodology. o Prevented $2M loss from proposed marketing initiative for ladies’ undergarments manufacturer. o Defined strategy to grow AUM an expected 6% annually for defined contribution business in healthcare market. Based on needs, motivations and market size of target hospitals and DC consultants. o Recommended growth strategy with young adults for auto, personal property, and life insurance, including branding, positioning, tactical messaging, and media preferences.

• New product evaluation

o Built business case for new product’s target market and market size for auto leather manufacturer which led to decision to bring product to the marketplace. Case included customer/prospect needs, motivations, influences of competing decision makers, competitor comparisons, market sizing and price expectations. o Evaluated consumer responses to proposed auto and property insurance leading to decision to market new product bundling.

o Designed sales strategies for current higher income/net worth customers to increase product penetration and share of wallet.

• Segmentation

o Surveyed target consumers of nutritional beverages to create a weight wellness segmentation to drive growth strategy with more targeted marketing and messaging. o Assessed the expected growth opportunity for nutritional beverages driven by the growth of GLP-1 medications for weight loss.

o Used consumer attitudes and behavior data to define segments and their needs, demographics, channel and media preferences, and usage rates for clients in banking, life insurance, long term care insurance and investment management.

• Pricing

o Surveyed target consumers of online fundraising company to estimate price sensitivity to proposed price increases. Insights allowed company to raise prices by 14%-22% while remaining competitive. o Evaluated impact of different price discounts on volume and profits in the retail channel for orange juice manufacturer and frozen dinner manufacturer.

Chief Operating Officer, Comprehensive Family Medicine, Independence, OH 2001-2006 Implemented and was responsible for all three-provider family practice medical office business operations. Oversaw billing, clerical staff hiring and training, accounting, marketing, OSHA and HIPPA compliance, A/R policies and procedures, cost control measures, and profitability analysis. Changed patient and insurance billing practices to increase practice profitability by 50% in the first 6 months. Booz Allen & Hamilton, Cleveland, OH 1991-1996

• Group Director of Operations – Engineering and Manufacturing Group (1995-1996)

• Senior Associate (1993 – 1996)

• Associate (1991 – 1993)

SKILLS

Market Research

• Qualitative Research

o Prepared for and led ideation sessions, interviews, and focus groups. o Responsible for vendor and city selection, target criteria, interview guide, debriefs, and analysis.

• Quantitative Research

o Responsible for survey and sample design, RFP, vendor selection and management, tab and banner plans, and data analysis.

o Experienced with syndicated retailer data from Circana, Nielsen, U.S. Census Bureau, Federal Reserve, trade associations and primary/proprietary research. Data Analysis

• Mathematical modeling: Market size and share estimation, supply and demand equilibrium pricing, global competitive cost positioning.

• Statistical analysis: Cluster (segmentation), Discrete Choice (pricing), Regression, Data mining

(Identifying key customers, products and segments; bundled products; seasonality; volume and pricing growth opportunities, product gaps).

Software: Excel (pivot tables, regression, forecast modeling), Word (advanced), PowerPoint (advanced), Tableau (proficient).

EDUCATION

Case Western Reserve University – Weatherhead School of Management Cleveland, OH M.B.A with a major in Finance and Information Systems, 1991 Harvard University Cambridge, MA

B.A. in Economics, 1988. Managed the Dunster House Grille from sophomore to senior year with responsibilities for product selection and pricing, vendor selection and handling, staffing, training, new equipment purchase and marketing.

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