Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
Certification
Accomplishments
Timeline
Generic
Kirwin Christopher Hawkins

Kirwin Christopher Hawkins

Grand Rapids,USA

Summary

Skilled research and insights professional known for productive and efficient task completion. Skilled in data analysis, consumer behavior understanding, and strategic planning. Excels in communication, teamwork, and adaptability to drive projects to successful outcomes.

Overview

30
30
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification

Work History

Market Research Manager/Lead

Gale - A Cengage Company
Farmington Hills - Remote, USA
01.2018 - 05.2025
  • Scope and implement 40+ primary research projects annually and provide implications and recommendations based on findings (4.75/5 satisfaction, 100% on time)
  • Conducted surveys and focus groups to collect data from customers and evaluate their satisfaction with products and services
  • Designed and installed Win/Loss program to identify areas of statistical advantage and improvement areas
  • Lead annual brand health studies, identifying material trends and statistically significant changes/gaps
  • Saved over $60,000 annually by bringing supplier-led projects in-house
  • Attained LSS Black Belt certification; led/served on innovation and process improvement projects, including value stream mapping that improved collateral lead times by 40% and contributed to an 8% increase in subscription renewal rates
  • Marketing Leadership Team member; FY24 Ethos Award runner-up (company-wide)
  • Interpreted statistical analysis results into meaningful business insights for decision-making purposes

Market Research and Insights Manager / Sr. Researcher

Steelcase
Grand Rapids, USA
01.2010 - 01.2018
  • Co-led the evaluation and establishment of the company's Customer Experience Measurement (CEM) program; led dealership steering committees in developing customer evaluation criteria
  • Established and administered Global Dealer Tracking Survey to gain insights into dealer attitudes and business conditions worldwide (80+ countries, 6 languages); presented findings to executive team; integrated insights and recommendations into Channel strategic plans
  • Led the annual win-loss program to evaluate marketplace performance and increase win rates through analysis of stated and implied factors
  • Partnered with data scientists to optimize data quality and analytics
  • Saved $125k annually by bringing lead management and scoring program in-house
  • Assisted product teams with forecasts for new and existing products

Insights & Intelligence Manager / Business Partner

Whirlpool
Benton Harbor, USA
01.2007 - 01.2009
  • Proactively developed consumer insights using internal and external data sources (POS, Nielsen, primary research, Brand Health Tracker) to influence Refrigeration senior leadership decisions
  • Provided analysis of market share, quality, pricing, loyalty, and resulting business implications
  • Lead category research projects, facilitate dissemination of findings, and manage North American Refrigeration consumer research budget
  • Created strategic planning framework to analyze industry demand against available plant capacity; tool used as a primary input for annual strategic planning
  • Collaborated with category and merchandising managers to generate forecasts and sales strategies
  • Led quarterly market performance metrics reviews for Refrigeration division

Associate Consultant

Proactive Worldwide
Chicago, USA
01.2004 - 01.2007
  • Partnered with Fortune 200 companies to assess business intelligence and market research needs
  • Designed competitive intelligence-focused project plans and managed daily execution of related activities, including client interaction, to ensure overall project profitability and client satisfaction; practice consistently exceeded repeat client revenue goals
  • Projects led and researched include strategy assessments, product launch viability and consumer insights analysis that clients incorporated into decision support processes
  • Synthesized research findings into value-added tactical and strategic recommendations
  • Created and delivered training modules on information analysis and perspective writing

Category Manager

Newell Rubbermaid - Lowe's Division
Charlotte, USA
01.2002 - 01.2004
  • Partnered with Lowe's Logistics teams to achieve desired turn rates and optimal store level allocation
  • Performed detailed sales and inventory analysis, providing geographic product and assortment recommendations to Channel, Product and Strategic Account Managers
  • Created store prioritization forecast tool that more accurately forecasted critical product success throughout the Lowe's network, contributing to gross margin and operating income improvement
  • Identified internal and external causes of shipping inefficiencies, resulting in a 20% improvement in service levels and over $800,000 in shipping-related savings
  • Led efforts with supply chain management to ensure acceptable product distribution
  • Defined service frequency strategy for territory representatives to increase overall account profitability

Manager, Competitive Intelligence

Wells Fargo Home Mortgage
Des Moines, USA
01.1997 - 01.2001
  • Developed the competitive intelligence function of the Affordable Housing Division
  • Recruited, hired, trained, and developed intern and team of analysts
  • Created and disseminated the monthly CI Alert, providing analysis of competitor product and housing activity in target markets, along with recommended countermeasures
  • Partnered with market research teams on consumer-focused research engagements
  • Managed cross-functional development of Tactical Market Analysis, which contributed to an 8% increase in market share through economic, demographic, competitor, and housing analysis
  • Managed the business relationship, including negotiating product/licensing costs, with the provider of highly specialized software (SPSS, CRA Wiz) and data critical to the functioning of the business unit

Banker Trainee

Wells Fargo Bank
Des Moines, USA
01.1995 - 01.1997
  • Managed several projects for major operational divisions and subsidiaries of the bank, including Finance, Credit, Marketing, Commercial Real Estate, Operations and Mortgage
  • Participated on Human Resources Alternative Delivery Task Force and helped identify alternative delivery methods for Human Resource products

Education

Master of Business Administration - Marketing - Consumer Behavior

University of Notre Dame
South Bend, IN
05.2002

Bachelor of Business Administration - Finance - Corporate

Drake University
Des Moines, IA
05.1995

Skills

  • Tableau / Power BI
  • Qualtrics / SPSS / R / SQL
  • Survey design
  • Statistical analysis
  • Customer insights
  • Competitive analysis
  • Data visualization
  • Cross-functional collaboration
  • Qualitative research

Certification

  • Certified Lean Six Sigma (LSS) Black Belt, 2024, AIGPE
  • Tableau
  • Power BI
  • Qualtrics
  • SPSS
  • R
  • SQL

Accomplishments

  • Company-wide Ethos Award runner-up
  • Lean Six Sigma Black Belt (AIGPE) (2024)

Timeline

Market Research Manager/Lead

Gale - A Cengage Company
01.2018 - 05.2025

Market Research and Insights Manager / Sr. Researcher

Steelcase
01.2010 - 01.2018

Insights & Intelligence Manager / Business Partner

Whirlpool
01.2007 - 01.2009

Associate Consultant

Proactive Worldwide
01.2004 - 01.2007

Category Manager

Newell Rubbermaid - Lowe's Division
01.2002 - 01.2004

Manager, Competitive Intelligence

Wells Fargo Home Mortgage
01.1997 - 01.2001

Banker Trainee

Wells Fargo Bank
01.1995 - 01.1997

Master of Business Administration - Marketing - Consumer Behavior

University of Notre Dame

Bachelor of Business Administration - Finance - Corporate

Drake University

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