California State University, Fresno

California State University-San Bernardino

Executive Vice President, Head of CX Innovation, Strategy, and Consumer & Business Marketing at Huntington National Bank

Wells Fargo

Chief Marketing Officer, Consumer and Small Business Bank

Huntington National Bank

Executive Vice President, Head of CX Innovation, Strategy, and Consumer & Business Marketing

Scope of position: My role is a unique combination of Strategy, Innovation, and Marketing for the Consumer & Business Bank. My team has end-to-end responsibility for identifying the unmet needs of consumers, innovating to deliver unique value propositions / experiences / tools / products, and then effectively positioning and marketing them to increase customer acquisition, profitability, and brand health.  We have been a driving force behind the bank’s current digital and customer experience transformation, as we respond to rapidly changing consumer preferences and technology disruption in our industry. I lead a direct team of ~30 members, responsible for a $xxMM+ annual operating budget and a ~$xxMM+ annual technology budget.

Key Accomplishments: 
- I’ve spent the last 8 years building new capabilities for the bank, specifically: an Innovation team, process, and culture; a Digital Marketing center of excellence; a Social Media and Content Marketing function; and an internal Creative Agency.
- In 2018, we launched the first set of Innovations developed by my team, which includes a new strategy and value proposition for the bank.  
- We led many “firsts” for the bank in the Innovation space since 2016: created and launched the bank’s first mobile-first strategy; deployed the bank’s first use of machine learning; deployed the bank’s first use of artificial intelligence. 
- For 8-years, I have led our efforts to create the best bank brand in the country. We have market-leading brand metrics – beating big banks and super regionals.
- My team transformed our marketing mix from a very traditional one to a digitally focused marketing mix.

Senior Vice President, Head of CX Innovation, Strategy, and Consumer & Business Marketing

As the head of brand and consumer marketing, my team drove 7-years of best-in-class organic growth and brand preference for the Retail Bank. I led our shift from a more traditional marketing mix to a digitally focused marketing mix (SEM, SEO, targeted display, affiliate, content, online video, and social).  This positioned the bank as an industry-leader in online customer acquisition – surpassing peer average in % of new customers acquired online by over 3X.  Using advanced analytics, our marketing programs delivered over 30% of the bank’s annual growth in customers and deposit balances each year. 

I was also accountable for the marketing strategy to launch new branded products and services, including 24-Hour Grace, Asterisk-Free Checking, and All Day Deposits. During this time, we achieved numerous awards based on brand momentum and growth success, such as TNS Consumer Choice Award, JD Power Customer Satisfaction, Money Magazine Best Banks, and Forrester Customer Experience.

Head of Brand and Consumer Marketing

Scope of Position:  Leading a team of 25+ marketers, analysts, and researchers, we were accountable for brand positioning and value proposition development; market planning; digital marketing and online sales; consumer research; and marketing communications across North America.  

Key Accomplishments: 							       			                  
- Developed and implemented brand positioning strategy for the North American consumer business.  Included identification of target segments, value proposition development, and brand barriers.
- Responsible for rebuilding brand perception in a rapidly declining key market; developed comprehensive plan to re-align business practices (channels, product offers, and communications) with consumer needs.
- Restructured the relationship with our “agency of record”.  Renegotiated contract terms and created new processes to deliver increased accountability, improved productivity, and reduced expenses.
- Improved direct marketing ROI by reducing cost to acquire by 55% and improving SEM response rates by 10%. 
- Created and launched a new market entry strategy – integrating insights, competitive landscape, product development, and sales and marketing channels.  Sales exceeded prior new market entry results by over 200%.
- Developed a consumer research function and launched an online research panel, saving money and reducing the time to evaluate new concepts by 50%.

Direct Energy

Senior Director, Brand and MarComm

Scope of Position:  Led a team of 36+ marketers, researchers, and project managers. Team included five functions: Market Research; Acquisition Strategy; Cross-Sell Strategy; Field Marketing; and Retail Communications. The only function that existed upon my arrival was Market Research. I built the others within a year.      

Key Accomplishments:									            
- Created the Marketing Strategy and Planning department for the Property & Casualty business – the company’s largest business unit; led initiatives to drive revenue and to integrate marketing efforts across thirteen regions.
- Established a segmentation and value proposition strategy for the business unit’s three consumer brands, allowing each brand to differentiate itself in markets where the three brands operate simultaneously.
- Developed a $100MM annual marketing plan; including direct marketing, digital marketing, national and local media, co-op advertising, grand openings, and merchandising / collateral.
- Increased revenue by $200MM from direct marketing programs, while reducing marketing acquisition costs by 50%.

Nationwide

Marketing Strategy & Planning Team Leader

Scope of Position:  Led a team of three marketing strategists and a budget of $50MM+ to acquire new customers and drive growth for the retail bank.  Accountabilities included: overseeing all broadcast media for Retail, direct marketing for checking acquisition, in-branch campaigns, and partnership strategies.  

Key Accomplishments:					            
- Accountable for marketing campaigns, generating over 18% of the annual gross consumer checking account sales. 
- Optimized a $50MM annual mass media budget by creating a market prioritization methodology to establish investment levels by market and media type.
- Built an integrated marketing approach to support new branches. Over an 18-month period this strategy resulted in a 75% increase in profitable new branches; while reducing the marketing cost per incremental account by over 45%.  
- Built relationships and negotiated contractual partnerships with companies such as Best Buy, Starbucks, Target, Sony, and Home Depot to develop co-branded marketing programs and loyalty / rewards programs for customers.
- Served as marketing lead for the design and development of co-branded credit and debit products with Disney.

Holly Hynes