CATALIN FIRANESCU, MBA, B. Eng.

**, ***** ******, *********** (Quebec), H8Y 1S5, Canada

Cell.: 514-***-****; Home: 514-***-****; E-mail: i8vwsh@r.postjobfree.com

Language fluency: English, French, and Romanian

CAREER HISTORY

Medium-sized software manufacturing firm; Montreal January 2001 - Present

Sales Manager

- Sales and marketing management and international business development responsibilities within a premier manufacturer of a CAD and simulation engineering software for Fluid Power (Hydraulic and Pneumatic) applications, Electrical Engineering, Industrial Automation, Mechatronics, and technical training

- Manage, coach, coordinate, train, motivate, and control a team consisting of several account managers (covering Canada, USA, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, South-America, Turkey, Russia, Middle-East, South-East Asia, India, China, etc.), a graphic designer, a marketing coordinator, and two interns

- Manage the international distribution channel network (more than 50 privileged distributors, VARs, and resellers), including daily communication, technical support and commercial assistance

- Senior position in achieving strategic alliances and partnerships: candidate market prospection, (pre)qualification, product presentation, negotiation, distribution contract closure, distribution business plan implementation, and continuous follow-up

- Major account responsibilities at the top-management level of such multinational OEMs as: Caterpillar (USA), Parker Hannifin (USA), Bosch-Rexroth (Germany), Norgren (UK), SMC Pneumatics (Japan), etc.

- Marketing planning and its implementation, consolidated yearly sales forecasts, market analysis, competitive intelligence, and business strategic recommendations for the President

- Develop product pricing and packaging strategies, as well as after-sale support (annual maintenance) corporate policy, in accordance with the market segments’ particularities (industrial, corporate training or educational profile; purchase power degree; technological level, geographical location, cultural differences, degree of market centralization, etc.)

- Manage the development of marketing content and communication tools: corporate website (including distributors’ and internal representatives’ webpages), promotional material (brochures, posters, etc.), articles, reseller’s kit, downloadable videos, demo version, etc.

- Select and participate in industrial and educational exhibitions (and conferences) across the world: U.S.A., Germany, United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, South Korea, Singapore, Brazil, Mexico, China, India, Thailand, Turkey, Malaysia, Indonesia, Czech Republic, Vietnam, U.A.E., etc.

- Conduct technical & commercial training sessions and seminars worldwide

- Perform professional, high-quality product and corporate (on-line and on-site) demonstrations

- Redact sales guides for distributors and for training internal sales staff

- Deal with governmental institutions (Quebec, Canada) and professional associations worldwide

- Participate in international trade missions to the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Asian Development Bank, and South-American Development Bank offices in Washington D.C. and Mexico City, organized by the World Trade Centre Montreal

- Some main sales achievements:

• Successful introduction of the software in the of Tamil-Nadu state (India) through a global, centralized project including all local university Mechatronics programs. Revenue: 300,000 $CAD.

• Successful introduction of the software in the Santa Catarina state (Brazil) through a centralized project including all local vocational schools (SENAI). Revenue: 235,000 $CAD.

• Bringing the software into a national-scale project in Tunisia to equip all local technical vocational schools. Co-ordinating the efforts with the project Tunisian partner in terms of sales efforts and promotion, of dealing with key-decision makers at the top level, negotiating the contractual terms, and implementing the project as regards the training, the operational follow-up, and the channel communication management. Transaction volume: 500,000 $CAD (ongoing)

J. Savoie Inc., Laval (Quebec), Canada 2000

Marketing and Sales Manager

- Elaborate and implement the company's new marketing & sales strategy

- Evaluate the enterprise’s competitive situation and assessing its environment

- Segment the market, redefine the offer and reposition it on the targeted market segments

- Elaborate and implement the pricing and the marketing communication strategies

- Coordinate the sales resources and efforts

- Build the marketing information system (M.I.S.)

- Conceive and develop the market penetration strategy

- Sales data analysis and sales’ control system management

- Prospect the market and contact significant potential customers

- Perform presentations on the company's products and services

- Plan the budget and the marketing/sales expenses

- Strategic recommendations to company's Top Management

- Redact analysis and reports

DYNAMIC PROJET (France), Romania 1995

Marketing/Sales Manager

- Romanian market’s analysis for the sale of hydraulic and pneumatic seals

- Elaborate and perform the market penetration strategy with Hallite (England) products

- Develop the marketing mix by each segment

- Direct industrial sales management

- Customers' technical assistance in choosing, mounting and using seals

S.C. OMEGA S.A., Romania 1990 - 1995

Design Engineering Project Manager

- Manage the activity of an industrial machinery design engineering team

- Develop technical projects and reports

- Design and draft responsibilities as a mechanical applications engineer specialist

- Cost estimation for technical projects and work baskets

- Supervise tasks concerning repair, assembly and disassembly operations

- Facilitate communication between the Design Department and the Machining Workshop

ACADEMIC BACKGROUND

MBA - Masters in Business Administration 1998 - 1999

Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales (HEC), Montreal, Canada

- Majors: Marketing and International Management

- Particular interest in: marketing strategies; international management; market analysis;

consumer behavior; pricing strategies; managerial economics; macroeconomics; organizational structures

- Highest average in the courses: International Marketing and Human Resources Management

D.E.S.G. – Graduate Diploma in Management 1997 - 1998

Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales (HEC), Montreal, Canada

Mechanical Engineer Diploma, Machine-Tools specialty 1985 - 1990

Polytechnic University of Bucharest, Romania

MAIN ABILITIES SUMMARY

- Strong experience and skills in managing and coaching a team of sales professionals working within a complex (international) and multi-cultural environment

- Excellent intuition, polyvalence, and analytical thinking

- Result-driven leadership; tenacity and determination in achieving goals

- Tactfulness and effective trust-builder for successful business relationships

- Excellent interpersonal, written, and oral communication skills

- Good understanding of foreign mentalities and high adaptability to very different cultures

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

- Professional training courses:

• ’’Complex Sales Relational Techniques’’ (Tremplin Marketing Inc.)

• ’’Staff Management’’

• ’’Major Accounts Management’’

• ’’Cold-call techniques’’

• ’’Sales-closing techniques’’

- Participating in various seminars, such as: ’’Negotiating in China’’, ’’Closing business contracts’’, ’’Protecting intellectual property in China’’, etc.

- Scholarship of excellence granted by Desjardins Foundation 1998-1999

(Best record among 87 candidatures)

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