Regional Director

• Oct 2021 - Present

District Manager

• Oct 2020 - Oct 2021

VP, Director of Operations, COO | National or Regional Retailer

• 2020 - Oct 2020

Transformative operations leader and strategist with strong business acumen and a distinguished and consistent history of delivering outstanding ROI for national retail brands. Drives growth, long-term stakeholder value, and profitability through operations excellence, continuous process innovation, and mentoring and developing leaders and teams. KEY CAREER ACCOMPLISHMENTS • Architected and championed 360° national retail brand transformation and growth into an industry leader in outdoor consumer products. • Rapidly rebuilt beloved retail brand Gander Outdoors into a national leader with 65 locations and $300M run rate. • Facilitated multi-channel multi-brand transformation converting Overton from a catalog-first retailer to omnichannel concept within Ganders. Extended RV concept and products across chains. • Developed next generation of leaders and created enterprise-wide talent management and development programs, accelerating professional growth and performance while proactively filling internal needs. Show less

Vice President of Operations – Camping World, Gander Outdoors, Gander RV & Overton's

• 2017 - 2020

Camping World Holdings, headquartered in Lincolnshire, Illinois, is the leading outdoor and camping retailer. The company's portfolio of brands includes Camping World, Gander Outdoors, Gander RV, Overton's, and Good Sam Club. Following Gander Mountain’s acquisition by Camping World, I was recruited to direct the relaunch of the chain as Gander Outdoors. The role was quickly elevated and expanded to direct the strategic retail vision as the P&L owner for the full family of retail brands with a peak of 200 stores and more than 10,000 employees. In this capacity, I headed the full spectrum of financial performance, retail standards, visual merchandising, supply chain, operations, customer service, loss prevention, talent management, and leadership development. Key achievements: ►Architecting the 360º multi-brand transformation, an integrated customer-centric retail strategy and culture driving performance via “People, Product, and Process” mindset. ►Rapidly rebuilding Gander Outdoors into a national brand with 65 locations. I hired the leadership team and store staff, defined the overall store and category experience, added new outdoor sports categories. ►Project managing the construction of new the Gander retail concept stores, integrating the new “box within a box concept” and updating the look and feel within accelerated timelines. ►Boosting overall sales and profitability through the analysis liquidation of old inventory, greatly improving cash flow and decreasing out-of-stocks. ►Improving brand synergies and efficiencies by facilitating the transition of Overton’s from a catalog-first retailer to an omnichannel concept within physical Gander locations, and the extension of the RV concepts and products across chains. ►Successfully integrating the Merchant organizations from Gander and Camping World into a unified team that improved margins through lower fixed cost and increased buying power. Show less

Senior Director of Operations – Gander Mountain

• 2009 - 2017

Gander Mountain, Inc. was an independent a retail network of stores for hunting, fishing, camping, and other outdoor recreation products and services, with 165 locations across the United States.In 2009, I was promoted to shape and lead the business strategy and operating vision as head of retail operations and P&L owner for the entire Gander Mountain chain of stores. I was responsible for the full scope of strategic planning, in-store merchandising, capital planning and investments, fulfillment, loss prevention, store construction and renovations, and leadership development, as well as the performance of a leadership team of eight District Managers, 162 Store Managers, functional heads, and a total workforce of 6,500 employees. Key achievements:►Building a strategic roadmap that maintained revenue performance during a period of rapid industry transformation, evolving the in-store and merchandise experience to maintain and grow market relevance.►Hiring and developing a high-performing organization with a deep bench of leadership talent. ►Increasing the average customer ticket by $12 through labor optimization. We implemented a Kronos-based labor tracking model, sharpening the alignment between peak shopping periods and employee schedules.►Overseeing the construction of more than 20 new stores per year in periods of rapid growth.►Generating a 209% increase ($32 to $99) in add-on revenue per firearm unit sale via the deployment of a structured selling model focused on consultative skills.►Decreasing inventory shrink from 1.5% to .5% through process discipline, electronic and behavioral controls, product lockups, and inventory SOPs to minimize losses.►Improving workforce accountability and collaboration via the implementation of Reflexis task management software.►Strengthening buying, planning, and replenishment via partnership with Merchants to spot trends and to localize and optimize assortment impact. Show less

District Manager – Minneapolis Region

• 2005 - 2009

As District Manager, I headed the retail strategy and day-to-day operations in the company's flagship home market and largest with 14 stores and $123M in sales. In this capacity, I implemented the corporate standards, ensured operational efficiency, built brand equity, and coached and developed 14 store managers and additional line staff. Key achievements:►Consistently leading the company in sales revenues and other corporate KPIs.►Innovating enhancements to local logistics and freight handling processes, resulting in reduced cost, improved efficiency, and better employee safety. Several of these practices were deployed across the company.►Recruiting, developing, and promoting 13 Store Managers into roles of elevated responsibility. ►Collaborating on the definition of the long-term chain strategy as a member of the extended leadership team. Show less

District Manager

• 2001 - 2004

Kohl’s is a major, Fortune 200 operator of department stores. I initially joined Kohl's managing operations for a $32M store in Minneapolis. In 2002, I was promoted to oversee a large, multi-state territory in the greater Tulsa region comprised of eleven stores in three states with $182M in annual sales and 44 Store Managers and Assistant Store Managers. Kohl’s is a major, Fortune 200 operator of department stores. I initially joined Kohl's managing operations for a $32M store in Minneapolis. In 2002, I was promoted to oversee a large, multi-state territory in the greater Tulsa region comprised of eleven stores in three states with $182M in annual sales and 44 Store Managers and Assistant Store Managers.

District Manager

• 1995 - 2000

Kmart is a major retailer and a member of the Sears Holdings family. Kmart is a major retailer and a member of the Sears Holdings family.