Thought Leadership
I immensely enjoy organizing and sharing my ideas. There have been multiple times in my career that my views, based on data, have become the entire organization’s perspective. In the late 1990s, at the start of my career at Roper Starch (of the Roper Reports), a client struggled motivating its (young) Gen X employees. By comparing data of that time to data from 1972, when Boomers were Gen X’s age, I developed a presentation that not only addressed the client’s challenge but also was presented as a Roper Starch thought piece at an Institute for International Research conference in New York City.
Four years later, while at Ketchum Public Relations, I proactively wrote a monthly newsletter that was posted on the intranet. Topics included:
- It’s a Small World, After All: A Look at Global Trends in 2023 and Beyond
- Can We Be Good: A Look at Today’s Vices
- Lowest, Highest, Most: America Setting New Records
During my years at Mintel, I drew on deep marketplace and consumer learning to help shape the company’s point of view on emerging business and category shifts. I also served as a liaison to the media, providing context and credibility for reporters seeking perspective on food and consumer trends. Outlets such as Barron’s, The Wall Street Journal, Packaging Digest, and others frequently reached out to discuss categories, validate signals, and include my commentary in their coverage.
At Bimbo Bakeries USA, I have been instrumental in advancing a more future-forward, insight-driven culture. I led the launch and scaling of ELEVATION!, the company’s first trends and foresight newsletter, which rapidly grew to a cross-functional audience of 130+ stakeholders and established foresight as a formal capability within the organization. I recognized the need for a trends piece within two months of my starting with BBU and filled that need with ELEVATION! proactively. I decided on topics and authored the piece monthly, using available trend resources, including data-rich reports, searchable platforms and articles from recent trade publications. Over the years, ELEVATION! covered topics like:
For Marketing:
- The power of humor in ads
- Messaging in times of stress
- Ads and age of consumers
For Positioning:
- The definition of quality
- Affordable approximations of premium and luxury
- Comfort food and nostalgia
- Smart vending
- To-go
- Green packaging
- Showing personality on pack
- Bowls, buns and beyond
- Stuffed innovations
- Frozen innovations
- Snacking
- Sweet and spicy
- Food love
- Global inspirations
Regarding Health:
- Predicted health trends
- New Year’s resolutions
- The fiber advantage