Executive Resume

Ian Hays13141 Leyden Street, Thornton, CO 80602

Phone: (314) 412-3908 Email: ianhays.cl@gmail.com

ExpertiseCorporate Reorganization and Restructuring, Market Turnaround Strategy and Oversight, Corporate Communications, Operating Procedure Design and Analysis, KPI Tracking, Competitive Market Analysis, Operations Leadership, Sales Management, Talent Recruiting, Employee Training and Incentives, Liquidation and Market Exit

Leadership Profile Corporate sales and marketing executive at the top of his game and with an impressive collection of successes already in hand. Longsighted, diligent and genuinely good with people, able to motivate and mobilize to great effect. Quick study of market and industry trends, with an ability to extrapolate forward and plan for trend-necessary moves while those moves are most profitable to make. Unique ability to focus on the microclimate surrounding individual divisions or markets, and to prescribe powerful turnaround remedies for them that might be useless outside the given microclimate. Sensitive to problems in their early stages of development, and able to rapidly design and execute plans to uproot them before they worsen. His ability to quickly implement organizational reorganization is exemplified in this infographic:

Professional ExperienceAppliance Factory & Mattress Kingdom

Denver, CO

Senior Vice President Organizational Development2014 to 2014 Strategically reorganized, and standardized the company’s processes and operating procedures to align efforts, improve efficiencies, and realize sales and profit potential. Directed staffing efforts and succession planning to reduce employee turnover, strengthen the talent bench, and position the organization for out of state expansion. Developed and directed company training programs, including new hire on-boarding, management and leadership development and continued skills development.

Added a functional HR department during first quarter with the company. Hiring increased 100% and 6 long sought-after senior management team members were acquired

Designed and implemented a new hire training and on-boarding program. Training costs plummeted $60k annually, and new hire turnover was reduced by 20%.

Re-structured a non-functional consumer advocacy department. Added a new Senior Customer Advocacy Manager position, merged on-line sales division and opened a telemarketing branch, adding $275k to the bottom line in the first quarter.

American TVMadison, WI

Vice President Director of Sales & Retail Operations2012 to 2014 Responsible for full P&L ($250 million in annual sales), sales, margin and market share execution. Directed the cost management programs. Designed and implemented company bonus incentives. Directed sales and management training programs. Identified and remedied operational redundancies and inefficiencies. Commanded full oversight and management of the company staffing levels and succession planning. Designed and implemented employment policies and managed all performance appraisals.

Standardized the corporate to store communication process, resulting in dramatically improved work environment, improved cross communications between product divisions, helped turn around 4 failing locations and improved overall company profitability by 10%.

Designed and implemented a structured 13week New Hire on-boarding program for sales associates that eliminated off-site training. Costs dropped by $380K a year and new hire turnover was reduced 80% a year (saving an additional $400k annually).

Designed and implemented a program to strengthen the management talent bench. As a result, the talent bench increased by 300% , Payroll costs dropped by 20% , the compensation structure for management trainees went from 100% salary to 70% commission /30% salary, management coverage for the work week increased an average of 15%, and the company saved $15k in relocation costs.

Organized and managed the company’s liquidation of 10 locations in 45 days – 25% ahead of schedule. Over $60 million in inventory was liquidated while retaining 70% of the sales and support staff.

American TVMadison, WI

Week 2 Week 4 Week 6 Week 8 Week 10 Week 120%

130%

260%

390%American TV Accelerated Ramp-Up

Vice President Director of Electronics Sales and Marketing2011 to 2012 Managed all marketing, merchandising and sales execution for the consumer electronics division ($95million in annual revenue). Identified a divisional KPI strategy to maximize sales and profit. Structured and leveraged product line-ups that offer competitive options and sheltered product alternatives. Helped generate a best in industry consumer experience. Reduced “at-risk” merchandise by 50% (from $1.6 million to $800K) in the first 6 months while improving overall

profitability and reducing the rate of returns and exchanges from 12% to 8%. Built sales strategy around peripheral product lines to increase sales and profit margins. Average ticket size grew

15%. Led the remerchandising of the electronics division, resulting in a 5% increase in furniture sales at 37% margin as

well as increases in electronics sales of 9% and margin increase of 300bp. Merged Home Theater and Home Office divisions, with each division growing in margin by 100bp and 200bp respectively. Reduced payroll by $550K annually with no reduction in sales.

American TVSt Louis, MO

Vice President Regional Director of Sales & Retail Operations2011 to 2011 Managed the company’s southern region (4 stores and $65 million in annual sales) as it pulled out of a failing market over the course of 6 months.

Liquidated four retail store locations and a distribution center. Maximized sales in the early months, reversing a three-year negative sales trend and reducing inventory levels prior to third party acquisition. Company saw a 17% increase in sales and profit during this period.

Wrote and formalized all company policies and procedures associated with market exits.

Liquidated over $25 million in remaining inventory during the later months and negotiated final inventory values with the 3rd party Liquidators, saving the company an additional $150k in expenses.

American TVDavenport, IA

General Manager2007 to 2010Oversaw all aspects of retail operation, including managing a sales and support team of over 120 managers, staff and contractors. Responsibilities included all recruiting, hiring, training, and performance evaluation; sales and marketing execution, and community relations.

Turned around a mid-tier, failing market, making it the second most profitable market in the company within 1 year. Drove a cultural shift that led to happier employees and improved teamwork. Turnover plunged from 110% to 80% in year one and 60% in year two (where it stabilized).

Restructured managers’ responsibilities, shifting away from numbers management and towards performance management. In the first year, sales increased sales 18% and market share in key divisions rose from 20% to 33% where it was maintained moving forward.

700bp increase in margin the first year, which equated to a 50% increase in profit. Designed an ongoing employee development program that increased earnings 20% in its first year and saw the

promotion of 11 sales managers in its first 3 years.

American TVSt. Louis, MO

Regional Sales and Marketing Manager Furniture & Appliances2004 to 2007Directed and managed all divisional recruiting, hiring, and training efforts during the company’s expansion into the St. Louis Market. Drove the divisional sales and marketing strategy. Performed competitive analysis to inform promotional decisions and product lineups.

Generated $104 million in sales and an 18% market share in first fiscal year. Grew average furniture sales transactions size in this new market to $1,100 -- 28% greater than the company average ($860).

Established the number one and two highest grossing furniture locations in the company. Drove premium brand appliance sales from $1.1 million to just over $4 million in one year, taking this sales

category from 15% of the company’s total premium business to 40%.

American TVWaukesha, WI

Appliance Sales Manager Retail and Contract Channels1999 to 2004 Managed the inside retail and outside contract sales force for the appliance division, managing 15 to 18 sales people and annual sales of approximately $20 million.

Number one grossing division in the company for 5 years.

Lead the organization in the liquidation of at-risk inventory while maintaining the highest margin in the organization.

Grew contract builder sales by more than 400%.

Education

Edgewood College, Madison WI: Organizational Behavior and Leadership: GPA 4.0: 2013-2014 Madison Area Technical College, Madison WI: General Studies and Economics: GPA 3.875: 1997-1999

Honors, Awards, or Special Recognition Four-time winner of American TV’s GM of the Quarter Award President Elite Sales Person Award 1991 - 1999

Community Organizations/Activities Company-appointed fundraiser for The United Way Volunteer coach for Special Olympics, Waukesha, WI

Key Accomplishments

An Overhaul of Personnel Costs Boosted Productivity and Retention

Situation: The financial downturn in the post 2008 market place forced our company to take a closer look at the systemic issues that were preventing our growth. At the time, the sales team was working longer hours than ever before, yet commissions were declining, and 7i draw and payroll (as a percent of sales) were spinning out of control. Moral was down and turnover was rising. This hindered the company’s ability to execute the complex, pro-growth marketing strategies needed to break out of a vicious cycle.

Action Plan: Analyzed the rate of turnover -- and contributing factors to employee turnover -- for all locations over the prior 4-

year period to identify trends.

Reviewed historical staffing compliance to identify patterns of over and under staffing. Analyzed payroll trends, such as overtime and 7i draw, by both sales division and location.

Compared traffic pattern data from all locations against the distribution of sales throughout the workweek. Analyzed sales schedules —cross-referencing hours scheduled with sales budgets and the hourly productivity of the sales staff—and compared this to the traffic and sales trends.

Developed a daily hours budget program based upon sales cycle and budget, average hourly production of the sales staff, staffing level vs actual staff number, and the distribution of traffic and sales patterns throughout the work week.

Results: The program launched in August 2012, and by the following year the company-subsidized payroll was down 9%, or $1.5 million. Meanwhile, average sales and earnings spiked upwards by 3-9% (depending on product division) and turnover among the sales staff plummeted by 20%. All of this took place while the average workweek was cut back 21% from 47hrs to 37hrs. Moral improved, sales and earnings rose, and expenses were lowered.

Staffing Levels

Remained Consistant

$50k reduction in commission

draw

850k reduction in subsidized hourly wages

$600k reduction in

new hire payroll expense

Key AccomplishmentsIncreasing Sales and Lowering Costs Through Improved New-Hire Training

Situation: Concerns were growing over the initial training and on-boarding of new sales employees. The company’s practice of off sight training was expensive and fostered a disconnect between sales manager and new sales employees. The new sales staff performed poorly, causing an increase in training pay and a loss in sales revenue. Worse, their turnover level had dropped below 6 months which cost the company an estimated $924K annually in continued recruiting and hiring costs, and lost productivity.

Action Plan: Identified the factors contributing to new sales associates’ decisions to leave. Interview both general managers and

sales associates to gain perspective on the issue and potential solutions.

Analyzed the costs associated with the existing training program.

Designed a 13 week in-store training and on-boarding process to both lower costs and improve the success rate of new sales associates.

Results:The existing 2 week, off-sight, classroom-based training was replaced by a 13 week in-house program. The first two weeks were spent in the classroom. The remaining 11 weeks provided a transitional ramp-up, offering a mix of self-study bookwork, facilitated development from the sales manager, and on-the-job experience (making sales). The program reduced expenses by $780k annually ($400k in turnover costs and $380k in training costs). Turnover among the new hires was reduced by 80%, and sales and earnings of new sales associates during the first quarter on the job increased 196%.

Industry Insights

A Strategic Approach to Systemic Efficiency and Revenue Growth

Building a Highly Skilled and Tenured WorkforceThe companies best positioned for stability and growth are those that recognize their people as their most valuable resource. It is critical to understand the productivity increase that comes with employee retention and skill development, and to clearly identify the factors that contribute to employee turnover. Only by maximizing returns on personnel investment can companies rise to meet their own potential.

Consistency and PredictabilityIn today’s competitive climate, organizations pour enormous amounts of money and man-hours into developing plans meant to take their business to the next level. However, as they evaluate the success or failure of a growth strategy, companies must consider those confounding variables that could be affecting inconsistencies in the plan’s execution. Only a disciplined approach — using fully disjunctive reasoning to consider all elements impacting the plan’s outcomes — can prevent a company from prematurely abandoning what might otherwise be a worthy plan.

Understanding Motivation To Maximize Employee Engagement and ProductivityTo maximize employee ROI, companies must deeply understand what motivates their workforce. While properly structured compensation programs are a key component to employee engagement, money alone has limited and unsustainable influence. To ensure long-term motivation, companies must address their workers’ basic need for purpose, mastery, and autonomy. This can be done through training programs that develop masterful skill sets, transparent communication processes that emphasize the employee’s importance to the company, and an environment that allows employees the freedom to solve problems.

Solution Based SellingToday’s consumer market place is flooded with self-service, discount and Internet-based business models — competitors that drive companies towards “transactional” sales models to keep their costs down . Many consumers, however, are left wanting more, representing a huge opportunity for companies looking to distinguish themselves. Margin erosion on core products can be offset with a “solutions”-based sales model. By fully understanding the experience a target market is seeking, then practice solution-based selling to build average transaction size, Companies can take advantage of the sheltered margin opportunities in add-ons products and services. Through increased sales and profits, this enhanced customer service more than pays for itself while fostering greater return-customer loyalty.

Fluidity And Adaptability: Critical To Thriving In An Ever-changing MarketplaceThe rapid change and evolving trends of today’s market mandate that companies adapt quickly if they hope to survive and grow. Relying on a reactive approach puts companies behind the trend where they continually lose ground to more adaptive competitors. Fluidity and adaptability must become second nature for companies hoping to maintain the competitive edge.

Capturing Market Share Through Repeat and Referral BusinessBuilding a robust strategy to capitalize on repeat and referral business has become increasing complex in recent years, yet is more critical than ever. Traditional marketing strategies are losing their ability to sway the consumer, while social media have elevated the voice of that same consumer. This is a dynamic to be feared as well as an opportunity to be leveraged, but only if seen as part of an omni-channel approach to marketing: Institutional branding, transactional experiences that exceed customer expectations, follow-up and advocacy campaigns, and loyalty rewards programs. Positive social media will then develop organically, even as repeat and referred business generate larger average transaction size and higher profit margins.