PROFESSIONAL OBJECTIVE
To utilize my extensive business experience in both wholesale and retail, executive management, sales and marketing to affect business growth as part of a senior management team.

QUALIFICATIONS
Able to build and provide leadership to teams. Strong strategic planning and implementation. Skilled at designing solutions. Strength in conceptualizing and designing new business opportunities. Ready to take initiative.

Industry knowledge in food, nonfood, and agriculture. Business experience in retail packaged goods and wholesale. International procurement, category management, and merchandising experience. Management and sales aptitude.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

D.H.Smith and Associates

March 2001-Current
San Antonio, Texas

Owner. D.H. Smith and Associates provides brokerage services to the Texas, Lousiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma and New Mexico markets to food and non food companies serving the grocery, drug and mass channels. The firm also offers consulting services to start up food companies and is the contract representative in the market area for the Affilitated Marketing Group. Current representation and project include.

  • Hansen Natural Foods products division, Tashio Phramaceutical, Kay’s Naturals
  • New start up Mila Foods
  • J.V. development with the Gruppo Chappa of Monterrey, Mexico

H.E. Butt Grocery Company

August 1996 – March 2001
San Antonio, Texas

DIRECTOR, NEW BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT. Director in charge of new corporate ventures. Includes the conceptualizing, discovery, research, and business modeling on internal ideas and the screening and evaluation of third-party proposals resulting in presentation of recommendations to Senior Managing Board. Includes the direct management of in-store banking network and store-in-a-store telecom partnership. Special emphasis on e-commerce business unit to complement core food activity.

  • Enhanced existing working model for in-store banking and developed rollout plan to expand banking chain-wide.
  • Renegotiated store-in-a-store telecom agreement, resulting in tripling of revenue while securing participation in ongoing revenue stream.
  • Conceptualized and designed a program for leveraging corporate brands into new lines of products and services featuring both online and in-store components.
  • Designed a hierarchy for the selection, evaluation, and development of new ventures based on brand, leveraging of core assets, and corporate competencies.

TEAM LEADER, CORPORATE PROCUREMENT DEPT. Led team of 4 other category managers in Health and Personal Care. Provided day-to-day management of support staff (3 re-buyers and 4 administrative staff). Included analysis of market trends, promotional programs, supply chain supervision, merchandising, store brand selection and all vendor negotiations.

  • Established category and team planning process to strategically focus internal (marketing) and external (vendor) resources to achieve corporate goals.
  • Designed category-specific incremental program, including POS material, media, Web, and in-store components resulting in a Nielsen share gain of 5 percent.
  • Negotiated a cost reduction of over 25 percent ($1.5 million) in key category while enhancing product selection and vendor performance.

MBS Incorporated

September 1981 – March 1996
Ames, Iowa, Corne, France

PRESIDENT AND CEO. Directed all operational areas of the corporation with executives of finance/administration, sales/marketing, research, international, and production reporting to me. Full P/L and balance sheet accountability.

  • Developed and directed strategic plan resulting in corporate growth of $6,000,000 to $30,000,000+ over 9-year period.
  • Initiated, implemented, and managed plan to leverage existing product base in international markets, resulting in 20 percent increase in company revenues from Europe, Mexico, Japan, and Argentina.
  • Led the reinvention of the company twice over the 15-year period from a small family operation to a key industry supplier. Efforts included building a management team, leveraging corporate competencies, acquiring new business ventures, and conducting extensive international and specialty market development.

Wholly owned subsidiaries of MBS Inc. included, MBS Europe, Biogenetics Services, Technical Services Inc., and One World Foods.

EDUCATION/TRAINING
Stephen F. Austin University Bachelor of Science
Nacogdoches, Texas Double major in biology and agriculture

Completed over 200 hours of continuing education within the HEB training system including facilitator training, advanced category management, and Leadership. Extensive additional training in management, finance, and sales/marketing from Drake, Purdue, and Iowa State universities.

Deming Quality System, including statistical process control from Center for Continuous Improvement.

INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
Developed marketing systems in France, Japan, and Argentina and performed on-ground market research in 20+ other countries.