D'Amore-McKim School of Business at Northeastern University

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Sr. Director, Strategy & Transformation  -  mobilizing teams to engineer growth through insights, innovation, and reinvention.

As the linchpin between strategy and execution within Alcon's US Vision Care business, I collaborate with the executive leadership team to architect and steer the realization of our multi-year strategic vision and annual growth objectives, including:

➤ Leveraging strategic and analytical expertise to bolster US Vision Care's position as the frontrunner in eye care, focusing on commercial and operational excellence.
➤ Orchestrating enterprise-wide transformation and change initiatives, raising the performance bar, and uniting the organization behind a shared vision while dismantling execution barriers.
➤ Fostering a high-performance culture by enhancing leadership team dynamics, fortifying capabilities, mentoring high-potential leaders, and championing an environment of inclusivity and empowerment.

Alcon

Chief of Staff, U.S. Vision Care

Following a fulfilling 9-year journey of driving transformative growth at Kimberly-Clark, I embraced a brief yet intentional pause to diversify my skill set and extend my network:

➤ Advanced the co-authorship of "Big Things F@$t" (https://www.bigthingsfast.com/), an essential field manual for emerging team leaders aspiring for breakthrough performance.
➤ Provided strategic advisory support through ConfluCore (https://conflucore.com/), Red Team Thinking (www.redteamthinking.com/), and Effective Direction (www.effectivedirection.com).
➤ Deepened my marketing expertise by securing the Certified Digital Marketing Professional designation. Moreover, I refined remote leadership abilities through the Collaborative Leadership: Virtual Immersion Program (https://www.terischwartzassociates.com/virtual/), further sharpening collaborative decision-making dynamics.

Career Break

Career transition

As the Senior Director of Global Corporate Strategy & Commercial Transformation at Kimberly-Clark, I played a crucial role in establishing our first-ever enterprise-wide transformation office and program. I led global initiatives aimed at enhancing organizational effectiveness and business agility, and helmed a central transformation team that oversaw work practices and commercial operations across marketing, sales, innovation, and leadership development.

My successful facilitation of cross-functional teams resulted in the redesign of core processes, adoption of innovative tools and technologies, and development of new skills and competencies. This strategic intervention was key to unlocking growth, accelerating impact, and boosting our go-to-market innovation and competitiveness. Additionally, we trained thousands of personnel in Agile, Change Management, and Red Team Thinking® capabilities, fostering a culture of agility and excellence.

Kimberly-Clark

Senior Director, Global Corporate Strategy & Commercial Transformation

As Senior Director of Global Brand Marketing for Kimberly-Clark's Baby & Child Care division, I spearheaded the global marketing strategy for high-profile brands including Huggies, Pull-Ups, GoodNites / DryNites, and Little Swimmers. I utilized a cross-functional leadership approach to influence multinational business teams, driving global market share and category penetration.

This role allowed me to reshape our Strategic Business Plan, introducing and accelerating multiple growth initiatives, and increasing our Commercial Innovation pipeline by +10%. I was instrumental in deploying first-time Growth Playbooks, boosting our first-party database and market share in 6 of 7 priority markets.

I was also a key architect behind our new global agency selection and facilitated the development and deployment of the global "We Got You, Baby" campaign. As a testament to my commitment to innovation, I co-invented a patented dispenser capable of distributing tissue products of more than one variant.

Senior Director, Global Brand Marketing, Baby & Child Care

As Marketing & Brand Director for North America Personal Care at Kimberly-Clark, I held several roles of escalating responsibility. These roles involved comprehensive P&L management and brand strategy execution for a diverse portfolio of brands, including Huggies, U by Kotex, Poise, and Depend.

A significant part of my tenure included serving as the Senior Brand Manager for NA HUGGIES® Value Diapers and NA HUGGIES® Wipes. In these roles, I managed to realign spending effectively, delivering share growth on two out of three brands despite a 40% reduction in year-over-year marketing investment. Furthermore, I successfully led the team through the company's largest PR crisis, stabilizing the business after a 15-point net decline in pre-crisis sales growth rate.

As the Marketing Brand Director for NA HUGGIES® Diapers, I restructured the team and budget to focus on key growth levers. This strategic realignment led to top-line and share growth ahead of targets. I also launched the sector's first-ever Direct to Consumer business model, HUGGIES Made by You™, and the first-ever HUGGIES® Rewards app / mobile CRM program. These initiatives received high acclaim and delivered a +19% incremental dollar lift driven by increased purchase frequency and spend per trip.

In my role as Senior Director, Strategy & Innovation for NA Adult & Feminine Care, I led 17 direct reports in establishing a new Regional Sector Leadership organization. This involved transforming and operationalizing Strategic Planning, Innovation, Insights & Analytics, and Consumer Experience.

Throughout these roles, my innovative approaches and leadership in high-pressure situations led to significant growth and improved performance across all brands I managed. I also co-invented a patented system for documenting product usage by recognizing an acoustic signature of a product.

Marketing & Brand Director, North America Personal Care

As a Senior Associate Brand Manager for NA ORAL-B®, I delivered consistent sales growth and profitability across the entire Oral-B® portfolio, including Electric Toothbrush, Glide® Floss, and Manual Toothbrush. By optimizing annual operating plans, I consistently surpassed targets. I drove commercial innovation, reducing time to market and driving incremental sales at our most significant account. My leadership in a new manual brush product launch doubled the incremental sales potential through strategic refinement of ad spend and sell-in tactics with key customer accounts.

In a landmark achievement, I was instrumental in establishing the first-ever intra-company accelerator, the Oral Care Digital Incubation Lab. This innovative step paved the way for digital transformation across brands, leading to enhanced customer experience, improved ROI, and optimized ad spend.

Procter & Gamble

Senior Associate Brand Manager, North America Oral-B

In my role as Finance Manager at Procter & Gamble, I took on a variety of financial analyst and managerial finance roles across Global Corporate Finance, Global Business Services (GBS), and Manufacturing Operations in the North America Oral Care and Personal Health Care sectors. 

My key achievements included delivering strategies and financial justifications for several production capacity improvement projects, resulting in a 5% increase. I also led the economic analysis and cash flow for a new production line, contributing to a 10% capacity increase. Additionally, I spearheaded a successful change project that boosted productivity by 20% and achieved an unprecedented four consecutive quarters of forecast accuracy.

Finance Manager

As an Acquisitions Officer in the U.S. Air Force, I led and managed cross-functional teams of up to 25 individuals, spanning engineering, planning, operations, purchasing, HR, and finance, in the development, deployment, and support of global Advanced Science & Technology (S&T) innovation programs. I was responsible for managing a $490M contract and a multi-year $6M Global R&D and $25M annual operational budget, delivering on-time and on-cost results each year - a first for this contract. My strategic streamlining of the R&D portfolio accelerated innovation deployment time by 50%.

Additionally, I was selected to serve as Chief of Staff in the establishment of a new division and a $200M system program office. This role was pivotal in the successful launch of a $30M integrated personnel management system, modernizing information and personnel management actions a year ahead of schedule.

Jose Corella