Leslie Jane Arnold

• Senior Designer for the local franchise of a North American company manufacturing custom glide-out shelving and storage accessories primarily to retrofit kitchen cabinets and closets in the home. As an independent sales contractor, I design and sell storage solutions to increase space, accessibility and organization in the home, providing both Sketchup and Closet Pro 3D designs and schematics. The franchisee promotes the product through consistent advertising, and the appointment center schedules most design consultations. I create self-generated appointments through referrals, vendor shows and networking.

• Furniture Consultant for office furniture and systems. Clientele included both home and business sectors. While selling mainly in the showroom, I built my customer base by networking with outside organizations to prepare for transitioning to contract sales. Competency in Giza, Jesper Furnishpro and 20-20 CAD design systems. Attended Jesper University in Branchburg, New Jersey.

• Design/Sales Consultant for furniture chain of six stores. I juggled my design expertise between “Dwelling”, a more exclusively design-oriented store, and “Somnia”, which offered greater value to a mid-range of consumers.
• Cultivated customer relationships to enhance satisfaction and loyalty.
• Delivered personalized product recommendations based on client needs and preferences.

• Owner and Director of a private English language tutoring business in France. Clients included both children and adults.
• Implemented innovative teaching methodologies to enhance student engagement and retention, as well as tailoring the curriculum to the student's individual needs.

• Vice-President of Marketing & Sales for regional food service distributor and egg producer. Sales base included Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
• Developed and executed strategic marketing plans to enhance brand visibility and drive customer engagement.
• Trained and fostered newly hired sales representatives.

Editor of the company magazine for a subsidiary of National Semiconductor that marketed Hitachi mainframe computers.

Stories focused on marketing and sales achievements as well as upcoming company events.

Oversaw the graphics design created by the graphics department in San Diego.

• Editor of the monthly company magazine and weekly newsletter for a Fortune 500 electronics company with 22 divisions worldwide. As both an editor and head writer, I contributed technical stories about newly launched products and feature stories about employees, their workstyles and their successes. Worked as part of a team to produce the annual report. Headed communications for Varian’s participation in the United Way Fund Drive.