Ana Dawson
Chicago, IL,IL
Summary
Results-driven with forward-thinking, entrepreneurial approach centered on company success and competitive growth. Demonstrated record of success in building successful teams and managing profitable operations.
Overview
31
31
years of professional experience
Work History
Founder and Managing Director
ViVi Global Advisors
Chicago, IL
03.2021 - Current
- Founder of "Micro-Consultancy" Advisory Service with mission to support mid-scale organizations in need of expertise and to put displaced colleagues to work
- Deep consultation and implementation of strategies that drive efficiency, reduce cost, create sustainable practices, increase employee and client loyalty
- Source and scope projects from ViVi Member Organizations and match to ViVi SME
- Areas of Focus include: RFP Design, Supplier Evaluation, Technology Assessment, Return to Work/Travel Design, Work from Anywhere, Employee Engagement Strategies, T&E Policy, Meeting & Events Strategy, Site Recommendations, Incentive Travel Design, Gifting Strategy, Health & Wellness Awareness , Change Management Leadership, Sustainable Green Practices, Safety Protocols and Real Estate Re-allocation
- Created over 500 hours of projects in 2021 for displaced ViVi SMEs from travel, meetings, real estate and HR focused companies
Vice President, Partnerships and Customer Success
AmTrav
Chicago, IL
03.2019 - 03.2021
- Lead cross-functional, client facing team (35 FTE) for proprietary, $375m SaaS T&E company
- Engage, delight and continuously re-ignite customers and partners across multi-channel platform, SaaS stack, and strategic client support service
- Created new team foundation for dynamic workflow and complete re-organization of Strategic Client Engagement Team, Growth & Retention teams.
- Implemented multiple tools to create cross-functional alignment, attain clearer goal/metric measurement, increase client engagement, mitigate financial risk, and create more transparency to profitable revenue, improve internal and external communication, and streamline customer response
- Formalized Preferred Partners program which generated new clients for partners, savings for clients and generated incremental $4.7m revenue in first year
- Hired and nurtured employees with skillsets purposeful to contrast and enhance existing team while increasing business maturity of organization
- Engineered cross-functional initiatives to align business goals and product development to client need
- Active engagement of clients in every stage of lifecycle to establish credibility and accountability of successful partnership
- Created Client Round Table to capture voice of clients, provide peer networking, and opportunity to create fans from clients that will evangelize AmTrav's brand
- Worked closely with Marketing to create new capture campaigns that promote brand and increased lead conversion by 15+ new clients per day
Vice President, Business Development and Loyalty
ShipperBee By Danby
Chicago, IL
10.2018 - 03.2019
- Served as key, developmental Senior Leadership role to logistics company, ShipperBee
- Developed from incubation stages to launch performing company with transitory partner network
- Hired and lead Sales (10 FTE) and Customer Success (3 FTE) Corporate-focused team in developing pipeline, goal setting, and strategy for US and Canada
- Strategic Partner Development of high consumer traffic companies to expand ShipperBee First Mile, Last Mile and transitory network
- Spearheaded cross-functional initiatives across departments to achieve business goals for bottom-line profits.
- Identified new partners to seek Investment into product and alignment for North American expansion
- Partnered with IT to develop ShipperBee's Driver, Partner and Customer Loyalty project goals, business strategy and milestones.
Director, Loyalty Engagement
Travelink, American Express
Nashville, TN
02.2016 - 10.2018
- Developed partnerships with American Express serviced companies to fulfill highly personalized, out of the box Loyalty and Reward programs through Meetings, Events, Brand Activations, Gift Card programs, Gifting Suites and Individual Awards
- Individual Contributor focused on new logos, growth within existing accounts, and client management. Increased portfolio revenue by 37%. Increased portfolio profitability by 43%. Increased number of logos by 17%
- Created trust and lasting relationships with C-suite, HR, Meetings & Event teams, and Executive Admin professionals who influence reward systems and create or organize Meetings & Events
- Built client base inside and outside of the Blue Box network with a focus on high performing organizations
- Actively engaged in new associations SHRM, MPI, SITE, IRF to network with new potential partners, soak in education opportunities and network among new buyers
- Developed pointed marketing strategies that aligned with client initiatives and increased exposure
Director, Sales & Customer Success North America
KDS An American Express Company
Paris, France
08.2015 - 01.2016
- Customer Success North American Lead and Sales for US based corporate and Partners for European based SaaS Travel and Expense platform
- Managed 12 KDS Key Partner relationships for largest US investors and partners
- Solved for partner and end user challenges by identifying issues, collaborating with Product Development and owning accountability of progress advisory
- Initiated North American Customer Round table for purposes of client feedback and direct interaction with KDS Development and Product owners
- Engaged with customers to effectively build rapport, trust and lasting relationships.
- Signed, implemented and managed 2 new Key Licensed re-seller Partners and 65 Indirect customers resulting in $5m in Revenue
Senior Management, Business Development
American Express
Chicago, IL
02.2007 - 06.2015
- Individual Sales Contributor developing F1000 companies with multi-national footprint headquartered in Midwest US
- Consistent performer who exceeded Sales and Transaction targets. Reached President's Club honors in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
- Senior Sales Member responsible to provide mentorship to new employees and peer-peer coach to provide critical scale in industry knowledge, business development and gain quicker credibility with clients and crucial sales partners
- Global sales development for SME companies
- Created network of trusted partners throughout industry that fueled success
- Applied strategic negotiation and sales closing skills to bring in 35+ new accounts annually
Vice President of Sales
CorpTrav
Chicago, IL
04.2004 - 01.2006
- Sales contributor/leader to $275m travel company
- Effectively managed account managers, sales analyst and business development representative team (12FTEs)
- Created team-based sales strategies to increase leads, meetings and RFP engagement with larger accounts which resulted in closing larger accounts with greater volume and revenue
- Performed monthly sales forecasting and competitive analysis.
- Provided feedback on Sales team performance levels to Executive Staff
- Fostered performance development of staff through ongoing coaching and mentoring on best practices and "everybody sells" mentality
Director, Business Development North America
AirPlus
Frankfurt, Germany
04.2002 - 03.2004
- Sales and Account Management Contributor for AIrPlus Payment, Reporting and Analytics Software
- Expanded book of new business to 200 clients via expansion of existing European HDQ accounts for US/Canada and Mexico.
- Trained and managed team agency partners who utilized AirPlus Payment tools
- Developed partnership with banking institution as critical partner in evolution of AirPlus NA product
Director, Business Development
I:FAO
Frankfort, Germany
06.2000 - 04.2002
- Individual Sales contributor of top European based i:FAO and QuixData Software Reporting tool
- Year 1 Focus: introduction of tool to US expanding tools into re-seller and corporate community European headquartered companies
- Year 2 Focus: successfully signed and implemented 30 new enterprise logos
- Lead Sales Enablement team on implementation of Salesforce.com CRM
Account Executive
United Airlines
Chicago, IL
02.1990 - 06.2000
- Built and strengthened relationships with new and existing accounts to drive territory revenue growth by 23%
- Prospected new clientele through networking, cold calling, canvassing and referrals
- Drove new business development through qualifying leads, building relationships and executing strategic sales
- Strengthened customer relationships with proactive and collaborative approach to managing needs
- Negotiated sales deals between customers and agency, resulting in mutually beneficial agreements and cultivated relationships
- Traveled with clients frequently internationally for global business development
Skills
- Agile leader of high performing, cross-functional, multi-cultural teams
- High EQ, integrity and respectful candor
- Executive presence, influential communicator, perpetual networker
- Passion for solution innovation
- Goal oriented, strategic planner with tactical execution
- Transforms clients to fanatical brand evangelists
- Client, partner and employee loyalty strategist
- Curious intellectual who enjoys learning
- Embraces Challenger mindset and consultative sales methodologies
- Cross-functional collaborator who builds to scale and manage high growth SaaS/PaaS organizations
Affiliations
- Global Business Travel Association
- Incentive Research Foundation
- Meeting Planners International
- Society of Incentive Travel Experts
- Chicago Compensation Association
- Society of Human Resource Management
Timeline
Founder and Managing Director
ViVi Global Advisors
03.2021 - Current
Vice President, Partnerships and Customer Success
AmTrav
03.2019 - 03.2021
Vice President, Business Development and Loyalty
ShipperBee By Danby
10.2018 - 03.2019
Director, Loyalty Engagement
Travelink, American Express
02.2016 - 10.2018
Director, Sales & Customer Success North America
KDS An American Express Company
08.2015 - 01.2016
Senior Management, Business Development
American Express
02.2007 - 06.2015
Vice President of Sales
CorpTrav
04.2004 - 01.2006
Director, Business Development North America
AirPlus
04.2002 - 03.2004
Director, Business Development
I:FAO
06.2000 - 04.2002
Account Executive
United Airlines
02.1990 - 06.2000