SDA Bocconi

China Europe International Business School (CEIBS)

Miami University

CEO at Shameless Pets

Greater Chicago Area

Shameless Pets

Co-Founder

INFARM

Head of Business Development, North America

Functioned as COO in a new start-up established in partnership with Target, IDEO and MIT Media Lab to solve major food system challenges through partnerships and new technology development.

- Led F+F Boston office as operating partner overseeing 15 staff and $15M budget including recruitment, new partner engagement, investment, innovation and financial modeling
- Staffed and mentored venture teams focused on hydroponic growing, nutritional analysis, insect protein and education; leading business modeling and investment structuring in pre-revenue stage funding

Target

Principal, Innovation Food + Future at Target

Owned $550M+ category P&L and operated business as general manager with responsibilities encompassing business strategy, pricing architecture, promotional strategy and product selection.

- Drove 5%+ category sales comps and margin growth YoY in a historically double-digit declining business
- Increased market share by 200bp for 2014 & 2015 Black Friday events; results were the two largest TV sales weeks in Target’s history
- Led 10+person cross functional team improving inventory YoY turn and margin by 5% via reduction in excess inventory and a $5M+ savings in product markdowns

Sr Buyer Merchandising, TV

Identified enterprise-level, long-term growth opportunities for company’s C-level executives.  Led 25+ member cross-functional teams including direct oversight of Analysts during project engagements.

- Created the long-term sustainability strategy for CMO to help differentiate Target’s brand and build greater loyalty;  project resulted in new organization model, partnership engagement and marketing efforts
- Developed growth strategy for Target’s $3B+ Frequency Owned Brand business with a focus on sustained growth, differentiation, operational model and vendor partnerships
- Crafted strategic positioning and integration roadmap for company-wide Hispanic strategy

Enterprise Strategy, Manager

Developed mass market channel strategy for MENAP including new market entry; developed key customer relationships and contact strategies.

- Developed and executed first of its kind baby store-in-store concept with the largest retailer in Saudi Arabia, Panda, growing the total baby category by 20%
- Created new market entry strategy for Morocco, resulting in a new JV with a local distributor and $10M sales upside
- Developed best practice negotiation strategy for MENAP region and led key negotiations in Egypt, resulting in a decrease of trade spend from 20% to 15%

Johnson & Johnson

Business Development Manager, Middle East/North Africa/Pakistan

Developed innovation process for consumer business in EMEA region with specific focus on brand strategy

Business Innovation Manager- MBA Intern

Led and advised Negotiation Experts, Corporate Strategic Partners, and merchants through dynamic and complex negotiation process.

- Managed relationship and three-year joint business plan of key grocery strategic partners, including Unilever, Nestle, Kraft and General Mills, resulting in 10%+ sales growth YoY
- Managed Starbucks re-negotiation contract valued at $400 million, resulting in 5% store growth and improved profitability

Target Corporation

Business Partnerships & Negotiations Leader- Grocery

Responsible for saving $75M while negotiating more than $1.5B of total cost purchases across multiple categories.

- Developed negotiation strategy with Merchandise Buyers to negotiate and create strategic partnerships with external vendors including Samsung, Sony, Philips, Universal, Proctor and Gamble, and Coleman
- Successfully implemented new negotiation technique within the Negotiations Team to leverage game theory, resulting in increased financial savings of more than $10 million

Negotiation Expert- Consumer Electronics, Entertainment, Sporting Goods

Managed program execution, vendor production, and transportation of merchandise sourced from factory to Target stores. Led monthly financial forecast in department.

James Bello

James Bello