Helen Mackey
Senior Vice President Marketing
Orlando,FL
Summary
Fortune 500 public company executive marketing leader with a successful track record of creating growth. Respected expert in luxury and lifestyle industries with extensive experience developing high performing teams.
Overview
25
25
years of professional experience
10
10
years of post-secondary education
Work History
Consultant
Darco Spirits - Privately Held Beverage Company
03.2024 - Current
- Recruited by the CEO to create the new brand positioning and annual marketing plan for American Harvest Vodka.
SVP Marketing & Portfolio General Management
Darden - 11B Global Full Service Restaurant Group
8 2020 - 3 2024
- At request of President, build portfolio structure and lead a 2B, six brand holding company inside Darden including P&L responsibility, as part of a four person executive team, reporting to the President.
- In addition to portfolio general management, lead all aspects of brand marketing including Yard House, The Capital Grille, The Capital Burger, Eddie V's, Bahama Breeze, and Seasons 52 operating across 41 states serving 42MM guests annually.
- Lead and develop seventeen person marketing function which includes seven direct reports; one director, three brand managers, one head of menu, one head of creative, one head of sales and ten indirect reports overseeing an 11MM budget.
- Position six businesses for long term growth by leading the strategic planning process for the portfolio including the establishment of KPIs.
- Collaboratively coach each business working team on business strategy and performance, brand positioning, culinary strategy, guest experience satisfaction measures, guest journey work, new product development and commercialization, promotional programming and insight analysis.
- Examples: Yard House turnaround saw double digit sales growth and +5 value score on brand health tracker, Capital Grille guest journey work was key to 103% traffic retention and 88 score on guest satisfaction survey, Eddie V's bar revitalization increased sales by 6%, Seasons 52 digital marketing overhaul increased guest traffic by 1.2% and Bahama Breeze optimization saw profit margin expansion of 2%
- Create system of people and processes to regain over 100MM in annual private event sales.
- Launched first online sales platforms and four mobile apps resulting in sustained off-premise sales of ~40MM annually
- F23 resulted in increased sales of 7% YOY across portfolio with increased operating profit, while managing guest satisfaction and sustained inflation.
VP Enterprise Beverage Strategy and Innovation
Darden - 11B Global Full Service Restaurant Group
1 2016 - 8 2020
- Recruited by Chief Supply Chain Officer to build a Darden enterprise beverage center of excellence for topline sales growth, strategic thought partnership and the opportunity to leverage scale for enhanced margin for eight brands including Olive Garden, Longhorn Steakhouse, Cheddars Scratch Kitchen, The Capital Grille, Eddie Vs, Yard House, Seasons 52 and Bahama Breeze.
- Increased casual dining brand alcohol beverage percent of sales by 1% on 6B of business through innovative programs and menu optimization. Increased fine dining and polished casual beverage alcohol sales by 2% on 900MM of business.
- Led all alcohol and non-alcohol purchasing decisions on 1.3B in beverage enterprise sales reporting to the Chief Supply Chain officer with a team of seven.
- Created and developed high performing team, coached deep category expertise and beverage business strategy.
- Led significant quality improvement and margin enhancement by leveraging scale on all non-alcoholic beverages.
- Structured new vendor support model - increasing fund from 7MM to 10MM sustained annually.
- Created new business line of alcohol beverage to-go during pandemic which created value of ~10-15MM annually.
VP Marketing, Guest Experience and Innovation
Ruth's Chris - 550MM Fine Dining Restaurant Group
01.2011 - 01.2016
- Developed the vision for and led the rollout of the new four walls guest experience that drove traffic and increased market share for the company's 150 restaurants operating across 30 states with system wide sales of $550MM reporting to the Chief Branding Officer.
- Led with influence to create a culture of trust with franchisees and successfully launched Ruth's 2.0 - a multi-year initiative to modernize and premiumize the brand through technology enhancements, guest journey work, culinary and beverage strategy and new service standards.
- Built a catering business from the ground up that grew sales by 1MM in first two years.
- Optimized private dining business growing it from 10% to 12% of total sales.
- Led strategy to change footprint of physical bar layouts which became standard for all new openings after 2013 increasing bar sales double digits.
- Created signature Sizzle, Swizzle and Swirl Happy Hour and other experiential programs resulting in over $7MM in additional sales annually in corporate owned locations.
- Board Presenter.
National Account Sales and Distributor Manager
Diageo - 21B Global Beverage Alcohol Company
02.2009 - 01.2011
- Business development lead for customer base of eight national on-premise account customers including casual, polished casual and fine dining reporting to the vice president of national accounts.
- Grew revenue by 10% through gains in market and menu share through creative cross-marketing programs with national chains.
- Led a seven state distributor region, gaining NSV via channel optimization, pricing, and distributor sales growth plans.
Brand Marketing and Innovation Manager
Diageo - 21B Global Beverage Alcohol Company
7 2003 - 02.2009
- Led marketing for emerging and reserve brand portfolios.
- Developed brands for channel specific innovation pipeline resulting in over 20k additional annual cases.
- Created wine culture by bringing WSET wine education to Diageo Chateau &Estate brand team, resulting in more targeted consumer centric flavor profiles through partnership with winemaking.
- Established strategic partnership with Universal Music Group/Geffen Records to drive awareness and trial with the millennial consumer.
- Business and creative lead on new line of business, private label wine brand development.
Entrepreneur, Founder
Wine & Spirit School
7 2005 - 01.2012
- Founder of three US Wine and Spirit Education Trust schools.
- Lead lecturer on wine, spirits, and alcohol beverage business.
- Sold company in 2012.
Entrepreneur, Founder
California Reds Direct To Consumer Wine Club
10.2001 - 12.2006
- Built national online wine club and retail company.
- Sold company in 2006.
Producer
Fox News Corp. America's Health Network Television
05.1999 - 08.2001
- Pioneered live webcast/simulcast live surgeries on cable television.
Education
Executive MBA -
Rollins College
Winter Park, FL 05.2014 - 05.2024
B.A. - undefined
Columbia College, Columbia University
Skills
Public Company Executive Leadership
People Development
Entrepreneur
Accomplished Public Speaker
Innovative Thinker
New Product Development and Commercialization
Luxury Lifestyle and Experience Marketing
Brand Turnarounds
Brand Positioning
Business Strategy
Public Company Executive Leadership
Industry certifications
- Diploma Wine and Spirits, Wine and Spirit Education Trust
- Level 1 Cicerone
- Bar Smarts
Professional Highlights
- US Wine Director of the Year 2015, Wine Enthusiast Magazine
- 37th Annual Shanken IMPACT Seminar speaker - Building Brands in a Changing Environment
- 46th Annual Shanken IMPACT Seminar speaker - The Future of Restaurants
- Vinexpo Bordeaux - Understanding the US wine marketwith Wine Spectator editor, Thomas Matthews
- Vinexpo New York - Trends and predictions for the US wine market with Wine Spectator editor, Thomas Matthews
Timeline
Consultant
Darco Spirits - Privately Held Beverage Company
03.2024 - Current
Executive MBA -
Rollins College
05.2014 - 05.2024
VP Marketing, Guest Experience and Innovation
Ruth's Chris - 550MM Fine Dining Restaurant Group
01.2011 - 01.2016
National Account Sales and Distributor Manager
Diageo - 21B Global Beverage Alcohol Company
02.2009 - 01.2011
Entrepreneur, Founder
California Reds Direct To Consumer Wine Club
10.2001 - 12.2006
Producer
Fox News Corp. America's Health Network Television
05.1999 - 08.2001
SVP Marketing & Portfolio General Management
Darden - 11B Global Full Service Restaurant Group
8 2020 - 3 2024
VP Enterprise Beverage Strategy and Innovation
Darden - 11B Global Full Service Restaurant Group
1 2016 - 8 2020
Brand Marketing and Innovation Manager
Diageo - 21B Global Beverage Alcohol Company
7 2003 - 02.2009
Entrepreneur, Founder
Wine & Spirit School
7 2005 - 01.2012
B.A. - undefined
Columbia College, Columbia University
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