James F. Kennedy
Mount Laurel,NJ
Summary
Accomplished Regional General Manager with a solid history at ImageFIRST Healthcare Specialists, driving market revenue growth from $11.9M to $26M. Expertise in profit and loss management and leadership development complemented by successful strategic expansions and recognition for top safety metrics. Proficient in client retention and process improvement, consistently cultivating high-performing teams and delivering substantial EBITDA growth.
Overview
31
31
years of professional experience
Work History
Regional General Manager
ImageFIRST Healthcare Specialists
Clifton, NJ
07.2009 - 11.2024
- Oversaw operations across various business functions including production, sales and support and human resources
- Coordinated operations across 120 associates, two shifts, and three facilities in Northern New Jersey and 2 Depots in SNJ and ENY
- Increased annual revenue in the Metro NY/NJ market from $11.9M to $26M throughout tenure.
- EBITDA improvement from 4% to 24%
- Worked with the Director of Engineering to add a 20,000 SF expansion, including a new overhead soil sort system and CBW to our Clifton plant in 2024
- #1 production team in Corporation for October of 2024
- Locations current safety CIR rate of 2.6 vs goal of 7.5 is top 3 out of 40 in safety metric and 65% better than plan
- Successfully renewed 41% of current customer base in FY24
- Drove Net Promoter Score from 58% to 74% over past 5 years
- Consistently among Top 3 locations out of 40 in lowest turnover in Corporation
- Hired, trained & fostered career growth for direct reports, resulting in advancements to titles such as Group VP, Director of Fleet, Director of Procurement, General Manager, Director of Sales, Assistant GM, and Regional Service Director
- Spearheaded entire SJ depot location startup - researched land cost, obtained space, built out office & warehouse, created shuttle logistics, ensured successful IT conversion and handled all staffing needs
- Headed Pittsburgh franchise acquisition and conversion to corporate owned
- Additional responsibilities have included temporarily overseeing a Lancaster plant and Pittsburgh & Maryland depots
General Manager
Cintas Corporation
Piscataway, NJ
08.2005 - 06.2009
- Managed multi operational shifts driving $27 million in sales and producing an annual profit of $5.8 million.
- General Manager of one of the largest facilities in the industrial laundry business at 3 shifts, 55 routes and 220 employees
- Collaborated with production, service, administrative and outside sales.
- Implemented a safety-first approach resulting in continuous accolades.
- Governor’s Safety Awards from FY06-FY09
- Increased Customer Satisfaction Index 10.5% to 68.7% over FY06
- Reduced 2nd largest expenditure (existing material cost) over a 4-year period by 3.31% to 10.67% (13.98, 12.50, 11.97, 10.67) resulting in annual savings of $550K
- Improved overall turnover by 12.62% since FY06 to location low of 11.08% and #1 in Region
- Promoted two direct reports from managers to General Manager positions within corporation and one to Plant Manager.
- Reduced expired service contracts from 4.0 to .90 per route
- Successfully eliminated production 3rd shift in July of 2005 consisting of 21 partners due to volume transfer of 125K in weekly volume to sister plant in Union, N.J
- Acquired $200k+ West Chester branch processing in November of 06
- Successfully hired & trained a 21-partner shift to handle the branch within a 30-day period
- #1 production team in Corporation in 1st Qtr of FY07
- Skillfully negotiated contracts with customers including Fortune 500 companies to achieve 94% customer retention rate
Regional Service Director - NE Market
Cintas Corporation
Fort Washington, PA
06.2003 - 08.2005
- First Northeast Regional Service Director in Corporations history.
- Responsible for the direct development of 56 individual service management teams consisting of 600+ service partners and over 56,000 customers.
- Developed best practices for Staffing, Hiring, Training & Development, Service Performance and Policy & Procedure adherence.
- Northeast Group (Responsible for 16 operations spanning the Northeast geographic area)
- Growth mindset led to creation of two separate month-long regional growth promotions (Fall Football Classic & March Madness)
- Two promotions generated $87,740 in weekly revenue or $4.5 million annualized in FY04
- Both promotions are still used today both regionally and copied company wide
- Region achieved 3rd best improvement in CSI, the quarterly benchmark award for overall best KPI’s in the corporation and highest price increase %
- Led weekly regional meeting to source and apply best practices for customer retention resulting in the NE Group reducing delinquent renewals by 38%, improved lost business by 32% and improved SSR turnover by 12 percent
- Implemented stack-rank metric for key performance indicators across region which became the benchmark report for all future promotions for service management
- East Central Group (Responsible for 12 operations spanning the Northeast geographic area)
- Continued FFC & MM month long promotions for smaller EC Group
- Two promotions generated $58,668 in weekly revenue or $3.05 million annualized in FY05
- Region achieved most improved CSI, the quarterly benchmark award for overall best KPI’s in the corporation and top 4 finish in virtually all KPI’s corporate wide
- Championed 2 major acquisitions (Schapiro & ImageFIRST) in six-month span in FY05 resulting in $9.9 million in additional annual revenue ($190,000 in weekly revenue)
Service Director – Greater Philadelphia Market
Cintas Corporation
Philadelphia, PA
06.2002 - 06.2003
- Responsible for a 70-partner service department team consisted of 6000+ customers generating $29M in annual revenue
- Developed local best practices for Staffing, Hiring, Training & Development, Service Performance and Policy & Procedure adherence
- Inherited overall customer satisfaction score of 58% for operation
- In 10 months raised overall customer satisfaction score to 71.3% or a 22.93% improvement
- Operation received 'Outstanding Achievement Award' for excellence
- Individual service team finished FY02 #1 in region in overall performance of service KPI’s out of 50+ service teams
Facility Services Market Manager
Cintas Corporation
Philadelphia, PA
06.1999 - 06.2002
- Accountable for the formation of a new branch designed to target high-growth in facility services and integrate emerging businesses into new infrastructure
- Responsible for sales growth, service support, production, and profit of a Facility Services Branch
- Provided facility services (Floor Mats, Dust/Wet Mop, and Hygiene Products) to customers throughout the Philadelphia / Southern N.J markets
- Generated approximately $4M in new business revenue through hiring, training and leadership of a new eight-person sales organization
- Grew operational revenue over 300% in 3-year period from $1.56M to $6.24M
- Finished both FY00 and FY01 with a combined profit & growth % of over 60%
- Received the 2000 and 2001 'Winners Circle Award' for excellence
Service Manager / Sales Representative
Cintas Corporation
Philadelphia, PA
09.1993 - 06.1999
- Hired, trained and developed all service personnel; renewed customer contracts, negotiated price increases and maintained service and goodwill to a $4M portfolio of 1200 customers
- Led service team to top overall local KPI scores in FY97 & FY98
- Promoted to senior service manager overseeing all budget functions for one of the top 3 largest service departments in the entire corporation
- Qualified for quarterly $2,000 and $3,000 sales club as sales representative
Education
Bachelor of Sciences - Political Science
Rutgers University
New Brunswick, NJ01.1989
Skills
- Profit & Loss Management
- Leadership Development
- Change Management
- Sales & Business Development
- Major Capital Expenditure Planning & Management
- Corporate Vision & Strategic Planning
- Acquisition, Due Diligence, and Integration Strategies
- Contract & Price Negotiation Strategies
- Key Client Retention and Customer Relations Management
- Process improvement
Professional Development
- Power of Full Engagement
- Six Sigma Green Belt Certified
- Managing within the Law
- Realizing a Diversity Vision
- Requirements-Based Selling
- OSHA 10 Hour Course
Timeline
Regional General Manager
ImageFIRST Healthcare Specialists
07.2009 - 11.2024
General Manager
Cintas Corporation
08.2005 - 06.2009
Regional Service Director - NE Market
Cintas Corporation
06.2003 - 08.2005
Service Director – Greater Philadelphia Market
Cintas Corporation
06.2002 - 06.2003
Facility Services Market Manager
Cintas Corporation
06.1999 - 06.2002
Service Manager / Sales Representative
Cintas Corporation
09.1993 - 06.1999
Bachelor of Sciences - Political Science
Rutgers University
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