Results oriented omni-channel executive with a history of leading teams, achieving KPIs, driving sales, profit, and consumer engagement.  A precise, strategic, and analytical leader with a proven record of success in category management, data analysis, product buying, global sourcing, merchandising, inventory management, negotiation, vendor relations, branding, associate development, marketing, financial planning, consumer insights and operational excellence.

• Fiscal planning, profit, and loss accountability for multi-billion-dollar business; achieved revenue and exceeded margin plan in 2019
• Grew market share of Printing Solutions 10bps while maintaining unit share in 2019 via trend analysis and development of a strategic pricing strategy
• Data driven management of 10,000 unique products across 1,300 retail locations, two independent websites, a B2B organization, and 200,000+ contracts
• Management of 5 associate merchants with responsibilities to coach, motivate, train, and evaluate
• Coordination of B2B selling solutions across 400 inside associates and 1.400 field representatives
• Responsible for assortment planning, pricing, promotional cadence, and product merchandising within brick/mortar and ecommerce platforms
• Influential management across multiple departments: Ecommerce, Marketing, Finance, Inventory, Legal, Sales, Training, Private Label, and Operations
• Planning and utilization of paid search and onsite advertising to enhance ROAS by 5% over the prior year
• Ownership, negotiation, and implementation of multiple strategic business plans, $100M contracts, and vendor performance programs across several national vendors and private brand
• Led strategic development of 3-5 year business plan and integration into corporate mission and goals

Senior Category Manager, Technology

• Planned promotional strategies representing over $2B in annual volume across 50 merchants within key product areas including Tools, Sporting Goods, Outdoor Living, and Lawn & Garden
• Directed $40M annual marketing budget in a cross-functional role utilizing integrated assets and omni-channel messaging including strategic marketing, merchandising, inventory management, and customer engagement
• Digital marketing experience includes messaging across mobile, SMS text, SEO, social, retargeting, programmatic video, email, and dot com.  Print marketing experience includes direct mail, roto, catalogs, and localized fliers
• Relaunched the Craftsman Exclusives Club and key promotional events, generating email open rates 20% greater than corporate average and conversion rates 100% higher than previous campaigns
• Created monthly emails to 4.5M members supporting Craftsman Club; member engagement in the club increased by 5% with 225,000 members reactivating during drive period
• Increased exposure and click rate by 25% in the weekly digital / ecommerce ad for Tools and Lawn & Garden

Director, Marketing Planning and Execution

• Led a high-performance team of 5 to develop strategy, implementation, project management, and execution of personalized marketing
• Combined big data with real time contextual information; this initiative provided targeted customers with a unique and compelling deal on relevant items utilizing millions of data points and automated trend analysis
• Coordinated integration with analytics, marketing, store operations, legal, IT and lead change management across the merchant community
• Created weekly targeted personalized email program to 1.1M members; drove frequency and sales in Grocery and Drugstore CPG (consumer packaged goods) through RFM (recency, frequency, monetary) and personalized deals
• Increased annual visits by an average of 2 trips/member targeted resulting in $800M revenue
• Coordinated personalized point of sale coupon program to drive return trips and increase cross shopping; experienced 11% redemption rate vs 1% previous department average

Director, Loyalty Rewards, Targeted Marketing and Personalization

• Spearheaded enterprise-wide expansion of the proprietary loyalty program and marketing allowing 150M members to earn and redeem hundreds of millions of dollars in points annually while spending over $100B since inception
• Strategy development, ideation, implementation, execution, marketing, and internal change management for multiple pricing initiatives within the Shop Your Way loyalty program: two tier, three tier and spend/get
• Developed financial pro-forma models to validate concepts, conducted A/B testing to measure impact, and created optimization reports
• Leveraged agile based program management to ensure milestone achievement and on time delivery
• Led a team of 12 Community Ambassadors across the nation.  Developed localized events and promotions
• Conducted weekly update sessions with CEO and key Senior Leaders reviewing execution milestones and KPIs

Director, Loyalty Rewards, Pricing, and Strategic Initiatives

• Managed purchasing and P&L (sales, margin, turn and GMROII) for a business representing $100M in annual revenue and $26M in gross margin in roughly 2,000 stores across both Kmart and Sears
• Accountable for weekly financial forecasting, annual budgeting, and strategic 3-year planning; utilizing internal data, trend analysis, and third-party reporting
• Mentored, coached, developed, and promoted four Associate Buyers to Buyers during tenure
• Developed strategic direction, product selection, merchandising, SKU optimization, sourcing, price optimization, vendor relationships, negotiation of brands, cost, promotional cadence, subsidy, co-op funding and payment terms
• Managed 12 vendor partners to drive performance improvement, set performance standards and held accountable for results
• Led routine price analysis, competitive review, and promotional effectiveness to maximize ROI across multiple vendors utilizing third party data and internal reporting
• Product launch of on trend bicycles and accessory assortment into the Sears full line stores.  $12M annual revenue and $3.5 GM first year.
• Simplified the process for scheduling bicycle assembly, negotiated fees, and master service agreement / contract saving $500,000 annually

David Ekey: in Boynton Beach, FL

David Ekey

Michigan State University