Steve Thomas: President in Cheshire

Re-established brand strategy consulting firm specializing in creating effective, differentiated marketing programs for consumer brands from small businesses to national leaders. ? Client- Green Home Solutions, Plainville, CT: 150 unit home services company. Interim CMO, 8 month assignment. Drove 3 fold increase in brand awareness with creation of new marketing campaign promoting all natural and non toxic insect and mold control products in regulated environment. Launched e-commerce business to increase sales by 13%, new units by 15%. ? Client- Lenses Only Optical, Bloomfield, CT: Brand identity and launch for bricks & clicks optical retailer. Positioning, advertising, web and e-commerce launch, including using cutting edge technology like virtual mirror and pupilary distance measurer. 1 unit start up, now 6 units, e-commerce, with YOY sales +20%. ? Client- American History Media, LLC, Hamden, CT: Brand positioning, interim CEO for digital educational tourism company and its "Where History Lives Today" brand. Created differentiated consumer marketing using strategic insights and problem/solution format, led investor effort for $53M VC funding raise.

Management company with six franchised brands and 1,500 franchised and company owned units. Responsible for brand marketing, corporate and franchise store operations and development for two brands: Pretzelmaker (200 units) and Hot Dog on a Stick (75 units). ? Hot Dog on a Stick: o Reversed comp sales trend of -6% to +8%, surpassing EBITDA budgets for my final 6 months running the brand, the first positive performance in 12 months from Menu Optimization (including FTC menu labeling and caloric counts) which delivered +10% in beverage sales, +8% in average ticket and turned negative customer traffic positive. o Identified and tested growth drivers for 2020 and beyond: off mall development, new product innovation and operational efficiencies, licensed merchandise to further impact EBITDA. ? Pretzelmaker: o Led innovation to differentiate brand in commoditized category, with partners Hershey, Coke, Frito-Lay, to ideate and fund research, build strategy on "Fresh Baked" from the oven products. o Developed menu optimization, beverage and serving size modification program to improve unit level metrics (negative for 4 years) forecasted to add +3 sales points; and off mall expansion, including new campus concept "Fresh Twist".

Recruited back to lead brand transformation at 1300 unit, $500M+ franchise company, from gift brand to treat & gift brand. Strategy complements gift menu with QSR-style fruit based treats to funnel traffic to bricks & mortar channel. ? Conducted research, on boarded agency partners, produced new marketing strategy in 3 months; brand's first in 24 months. Grew sales from -12% trend to flat with e-commerce sales positive in 90 days. ? Developed new retail prototype, oversaw build in Hamden, CT; delivering 13x increase in weekly walk-in traffic. This is now the brand's new prototype for the system. Identified path to broaden the brand's offering and address structural business issue around repeat customer erosion. Modeled media mix configurations, installed practices for optimization, based on attribution. ? Led the organization of a technology transformation with various agencies. Project scope included new CMS, CRM, Email and Social Integration, multi website brand platform, corporate/franchise development/HR and B to B gifts.

Recruited to develop differentiated brand positioning and utilize to drive new business for $30 million in store merchandising company, specializing in bringing marketing solutions for major retail clients nationwide. ? Re-launched primary website and 3 brand extension websites, each with specific target audience. Successfully launched new products, now standard part of WMG portfolio. Generated significant unearned media impressions winning 2017 Green Circle Award for environmental practices. ? Launched first business development effort in 5 years. Added 5 new clients, and $1M in revenue.

Marketing leader for multi-channel gift retailer. Positioning, strategy, direction, tactics; managed $30M marketing fund. ? Cohesive, differentiated strategy drove shift in business model from growing units to growing same store sales, delivered 61% compound same store sales increases over 5 years, incremental $334 million in total system revenue, compound increase of 175% (from $191M in 2007 to $525M in 2013). Grew average unit volume from under $200k to $450k. Grew Brand Awareness 5x and Ad Awareness 3x over 5 years. ? Managed trade and franchise sales marketing, added 700 new units. Managed innovation including FDA required caloric disclosures across system. ? Directed digital strategy including PPC, SEO, Paid Social and Email to exceed digital KPIs in conversion rate, CPC targets, open/bounce rates, cart abandonment, ROI and UX performance.

P&L owner, client contact for $20M promotion agency specializing in licensed kid’s programs in QSR and CPG. ? Licensing Deals: Hershey, Post Cereals, Mattel, Disney, Nickelodeon, Hasbro, Cartoon, Warner Bros. ? Exceeded P&L targets annually. Delivered 50% of corporate revenue selling in new Subway kids campaign, “Play Hard, Eat Fresh” which fit overall Subway positioning. Added digital business to scope of work navigating FDA, FTC and COPPA regulations as well as sweepstakes law. Site won 2004 National PMA REGGIE Honorable Mention for nutrition/exercise game.

Drove marketing strategies and new business for $1.3 billion QSR, Grocery/Drug/Home Furnishings categories, increasing sales by 11.1%.

#2 marketing role on marketing team that conceived and executed the nutritional positioning for Subway, that the brand still employs today. Reversed negative sales trend and grew awareness exponentially.