After 20 years of progressively senior roles, my core competency is in the general field of marketing, but more specifically Brand Management, and within that, retail category management. I acquired formal training, working first at Procter & Gamble, a global leading Consumer Packaged Goods firm and founder of the concept of Brand Management, and then Canadian Tire, a leading retailer and Category Management expert. I extended my retail experience by working at another retail icon Shoppers Drug Mart, and then applying my experience to small to mid-sized firms in a variety of industries. I progressed from Brand Manager to President, and held various VP and SVP marketing and merchandising roles within that, acquiring an ability to work with all levels of an organization. I also have a specialty in brand defense plans, having faced intense competitive entry a number of times in different industries. In every way, I have 360° Experience - manufacturing sector through to retail, Brand Management through to General Management, large through to small firms, and always with full P&L accountability.
What is my passion? I have learned that marketing can be a science, through Brand Management and within that, retail category management, disciplines driven through core principles. I want to share the knowledge I have of what drives brand success, from having applied these principles over twenty years, in diverse situations. I also have a passion for helping organizations not only develop superior strategies and plans, but ensuring they execute successfully, helping them embody their brand positioning through marketing and the entire organization. The name Lumena, based on Lumen, the unit of light power, was chosen for the idea of light and lighting up a brand as a signal that it has momentum. In addition, its basis being one of measurement mirrors my focus on measurement and results.
I love learning, and have a passion for science and math, the latter of which I took in University, with a focus on Statistics and Actuarial Science. I worked in the latter field for several years, followed by an M.B.A. from the Schulich School of Business, where I earned a GPA Silver Medal. Today, I have many passions starting with dogs (mine in particular), and sports, specifically tennis, golf and figure skating. I play classical piano, and am a lover of science and practice amateur astronomy. I am a life-long learner, taking courses in astronomy, and most recently python programming, blogging, and customer analytics.
