Joshua Wakeford
Youngstown
Summary
Professional strategist with a technical background and deep expertise in developing and implementing business strategies that drive growth and efficiency. Proven ability to lead cross-functional teams, adapt to changing market conditions, and deliver measurable results. Strong background in market analysis, financial modeling, and stakeholder management. Known for strategic thinking, effective communication, and collaborative approach to problem-solving.
Overview
9
9
years of professional experience
Work History
Product Merchandising Strategy Manager - Bathing
LIXIL Group
07.2024 - Current
- Conducted in-depth analyses on market data to identify competitor pricing structures
- Heavily utilized data systems like Tableau to analyze internal sales data in order to understand product and category performance in order determine sales and pricing opportunities
- Implemented product pricing strategies and promotions to grow volume and take market share from competitors and increase profitability
- Created and analyzed Profit & Loss reports on existing and future products to determine their profitability
- Responsible for determining pricing on all future NPD products based on manufacturing costs and competitive data
- Worked with cross functional teams to determine which manufacturing locations or 3rd party suppliers would yield the most optimal costing for product profitability
- Was a key contributor in multiple large trade and retail customer facing events where I presented new products to customers
- Successfully pitched new products to retail customers which resulted in incremental store placement being awarded
- Responsible for analyzing current market conditions and implementing pricing movements based on both external and internal factors such as; tariffs, economic events, natural disasters, supply chain events, and manufacturing constraints
Product Marketing Manager - Bathing
LIXIL Group
02.2021 - 07.2024
- Managed a product portfolio consisting of hundreds of SKUs across multiple channels generating hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue
- Successfully launched and activated multiple new product collections across many different product categories
- Developed and executed short and long term go-to-market product roadmap strategies
- Presented multiple product strategies to senior leadership and successfully received approval
- Enhanced brand positioning through comprehensive market research and competitor analysis.
- Conducted product market research to identify product gaps and market opportunities
- Identified internal manufacturing capabilities that could utilized to create new products to fill portfolio gaps
- Successfully identified and implemented SKU rationalization based on profitability, sales, and manufacturing complexity
- Conducted in-depth analysis of consumer reviews to understand consumer pain points and successfully lead cross-functional teams to addressing and solving these issues
- Created and conducted training of new products for sales and customer service team members
- Worked with various team members to complete technical driven documents for new products such as installation instructions and specification sheets
- Responsible for maintaining brand website product pages including all specification sheets, installation instructions, digital assets, and consumer facing information ensuring accuracy
Manufacturing Optimization Engineer
LIXIL Group
01.2016 - 01.2021
- Lead Project Manager on multiple process improvement projects throughout the facility
- Conducted cost accounting analysis for the facility to determine cost and profitability
- Managed project teams consisting of members from multiple departments including Finance, Operations, Engineering and Quality
- Worked closely with Finance and Engineering to create cost estimates for new products
- Used SAP to compare product costs between facilities and highlight discrepancies
- Analyze scrap and rework data in order to create and execute cost savings projects
- Managed over $1,000,000 in Capital Expenditure Projects ranging from equipment installations to facility upgrades
- Implemented multiple measurable cost savings projects that lead to hundreds of thousands of dollars in savings
- Created process documentation for employee training to ensure manufacturing stability on new products
- Created Microsoft Access Databases for the facility in order to easily and quickly obtain production data
Education
Masters in Business Administration -
Youngstown State University
Bachelors of Science in Engineering - Industrial And Systems Engineering
Youngstown State University
Skills
- Product Management
- Advanced Data Analysis
- Product Roadmap Creation and Implementation
- Pricing Strategy Creation and Implementation
- Product Launch and Activation
- Product Costing
- Competitive Market Analysis
- P&L Analysis
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- SAP
- Tableau
- Project Management
- Leadership and Communication Skills
Timeline
Product Merchandising Strategy Manager - Bathing
LIXIL Group
07.2024 - Current
Product Marketing Manager - Bathing
LIXIL Group
02.2021 - 07.2024
Manufacturing Optimization Engineer
LIXIL Group
01.2016 - 01.2021
Masters in Business Administration -
Youngstown State University
Bachelors of Science in Engineering - Industrial And Systems Engineering
Youngstown State University
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