"Talent is a rare and highly sought-for commodity; if you find it - get it. The sooner it starts working
for you, the further you will distance yourself from competition."

Professional Skills & Expertise

• Food & Beverage Category Management:
  Brings over two decades of leadership in foodservice, with a focus on proprietary product development, assortment planning, and full P&L ownership. Demonstrates expertise across fresh food, grab-and-go, bakery, beverage, and hot dispensed programs.
• Strategic Planning & Analytics:
  Applies a highly data-driven approach to category growth, pricing optimization, KPI tracking, and regional targeting. Adept at using tools like Power BI and PDI to shape product mix and drive revenue and margin improvements.
• Program Development & Innovation:
  Built new-to-market foodservice programs from the ground up, including subs, paninis, pizzas, breakfast offerings, and fresh donut lines. Introduced innovative plug-and-play food programs for small-format locations with minimal labor requirements.
• Cross-Functional Leadership:
  Collaborates closely with marketing, operations, supply chain, and finance to ensure successful foodservice execution. Managed teams of foodservice district managers, regional managers, and vendor partners to deliver consistent results across hundreds of locations.
• Retail Operations & Training:
  Background in both corporate category leadership and field-based retail operations. Skilled in training, motivating, and scaling teams—from in-store associates to regional operations teams—and launching large-scale programs across diverse markets.

Career Accomplishments

• Led a made-to-order café initiative from concept through scale, expanding the program to over 130 locations. Developed entire product lines including paninis, pizzas, burgers, and fresh-baked bread programs.
• Generated 30% YoY sales growth and 28% YoY margin growth for the prepared food category in most recent role, including a 40% increase in hot dispensed beverage sales through strategic product and pricing optimization
• Launched a frozen-thaw donut program to expand the fresh offering footprint without extensive commissary buildout
• Delivered a $1M annual revenue boost through the implementation of bean-to-cup coffee equipment.
• Conducted market-based segmentation to roll out regional foodservice programs in Denver, Dallas, and Miami, tailored to local preferences (e.g., burgers, empanadas, breakfast).
• Oversaw all category development for hot food, grab-and-go, donuts, fresh fruit, and coffee across a retail footprint of more than 500 locations with foodservice capabilities and nearly 800 with hot beverage programs
• Successfully negotiated vendor contracts, managed rebate structures, and led cost-of-goods optimization across multiple food and beverage categories.

Management Style & Leadership Qualities

• Analytical & Insight-Driven:
  Known for a strategic mindset grounded in data. Uses analytics not only for performance management but also for guiding innovation and customer experience enhancements.
• Builder & Scaler:
  Proven ability to scale from concept to enterprise—building teams, processes, and programs from inception through maturity. Recognized for launching programs where none previously existed and expanding them across hundreds of sites.
• Collaborative & Cross-Functional:
  Builds strong relationships with stakeholders across disciplines. Acts as both a strategic partner and hands-on leader, bridging merchandising, operations, and vendor relations.
• Adaptable & Visionary:
  Demonstrates foresight in recognizing market trends, consumer behavior, and organizational shifts. Has led through corporate acquisitions, structural reorganizations, and evolving business strategies.
• Growth-Oriented & Entrepreneurial:
  Consistently seeks out new initiatives that balance innovation with operational feasibility. Enjoys the challenge of entering new markets or building incremental revenue through underutilized spaces and categories.

Qualities

• Innovative Thinker – Frequently leads the development of new programs such as fresh-baked bread, proprietary donuts, and plug-in pizza initiatives.
• Mentor & Coach – Successfully hired, trained, and developed foodservice leaders across multi-unit footprints, often growing district teams from the ground up.
• Detail-Oriented & Operationally Grounded – Experienced in equipment selection, store layout constraints, labor modeling, and back-end financial forecasting.
• Articulate & Persuasive – Experienced in presenting executive-level business cases supported by clear KPIs and customer insights.

Location Preferences

• Open to relocation, with strong preference for roles located in the Midwest, South, or Southwest. Expressed interest in markets such as Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and other metro-accessible areas outside of the Northeast or West Coast

Compensation Expectations

• Seeking a base salary of $175K, plus bonus opportunity and relocation assistance.