Mike Stern

QUALIFICATIONS SUMMARY

Passionate professional with diverse expertise in marketing, management, design, innovation, and leadership. Conceptual thinker who effectively translates strategy and insights into compelling, on-target solutions. Proven abilities of building global brand equity while leading teams, interacting with all customer levels, and maximizing efforts through process improvement.

Areas of expertise include:

ü Brand & Marketing Management ü Focus Group & Market Research ü Problem Solving ü Creative Direction ü Integrated Marketing ü Public & Media Relations ü Competitive Analysis ü Marketing Communications ü Servant Leadership ü Design Management ü New Product Innovation ü Strategic & Tactical Planning PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Consultant

Stern Consulting Appleton WI 2014 – Present

Provide strategic guidance, design, corporate identity programs, branding, print advertising, marketing, communications services, and consulting to small and mid-size organizations. Intuitive ability to understand core needs, and then merge technical skills, strategic marketing, creative communications and distinctive design for effective results-oriented messaging and brand building. B2B Brand Manager

Wisconsin Media – Part of the USA Today Network Appleton WI 2015 – 2016 2015 Lead overall B2B brand, marketing, and business development strategy working closely with the Client Strategy Director and Sales Management team. Develop and execute branding, positioning, messaging and channel management focused on lead generation and customer retention, including social media activities. Oversee development and execution of sales materials, marketing tactic execution, and public relations. Manage marketing budget. Assist in developing annual strategic and operational marketing plans. Research, analyze and compile various Nielsen, Kantar, Borrell, Scarborough, eMarketer and AdMall data to leverage insights in B2B promotion and sales campaigns.

Product Manager

Menasha Packaging - PrePrint Neenah WI 2013 – 2014 Managed and developed preprint sales including, strategy, training, planning, and coaching, to optimize profit to meet marketing, financial, and company growth objectives. Directed marketing efforts, including collection of competitive information, and interaction with suppliers. w Led a cross-functional team to identify and qualify a capable outsourcing partner, thus establishing a critical strategic partnership.

w Leveraged empathy, listening skills and coaching to cross-link knowledge and expertise by creating connections across the diverse capabilities, and national locations resulting in an 11% increase in sales. w Developed consistently branded marketing communications to promote Menasha PrePrint, and its capabilities which sales and customer service used and shared with their customers driving brand awareness, and generating greater customer engagement.

1417 N Drew St

Appleton, WI 54911

Mike Stern

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE – continued

SmartArt Category Manager / Tactical Design Manager Phototype Appleton WI 2010 – 2013

Championed the development and execution of brand initiatives for Kimberly-Clark’s Adult Feminine Care category from concept through print production. Effectively and collaboratively led the account, creative, and production groups with Kimberly-Clark’s brand, and cross-functional teams. Primary liaison to Depend® and Kotex Natural Balance* brands for development and rollout of commercialized packaging programs with budgets that total over $1 million.

w Led the finalization and delivery of super-premium underwear packaging, and displays for one of the largest Depend® new product launches, which drove category growth, and commanded a 9.6% share of underwear, after only being in market for two months.

w Influenced and executed the redesign/rebranding of Kotex® Mainline to Kotex Natural Balance* to drive increased category engagement through improved products that work in harmony with a woman’s body. Packaging Graphics Manager

Kimberly-Clark Corporation Neenah WI 2005 – 2009 Delivered expert strategic marketing communications, planning, organization and management of brands like Viva® and Depend®, which accounted for approximately $580MM in net sales. Drove design projects from inception through finished implementation, ensuring that projects were executed in line with the overall global strategic plan, and were on time and on budget. Worked across all levels of the organization and with global regions. Provided expertise in handling multidimensional aspects of brand building; including strategy, design, and innovation.

w Managed and influenced the creative for the brand redesign of Viva® paper towels resulting in the bold and vibrant branding that’s in market now.

w Successfully launched packaging for Scott® paper towels ‘Long Lasting’ variant of which resulted in the rest of the Scott® billion dollar brand adopting the ‘Long Lasting’ communication idea into its overall brand strategy. w Contributed to a 97% sales increase for Viva® Paper Towels seasonal prints, from 2007 to 2008, by designing and managing the packaging refresh.

w Improved efficiency and increased speed to market by 25% through the development of processes to track, prioritize, and expedite creative, production and pre-press. w Exceeded senior leadership expectations for execution and timing by collaboratively creating a professional, multi-sensory customer innovation summit, which became a standard business practice to showcase Kimberly-Clark Corporation as an indispensable partner. EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE

Professional training

Brand Strategy, Brand Foundational Tools, Integrated Marketing Planning, Project Management, Targeting, and Leadership 2005-Present

University of Wisconsin – Platteville Platteville WI Bachelor of Science – Marketing 1995

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