Ronald Vawter
Lake Villa,IL
Summary
Sales and marketing executive with extensive experience in CPG business development and brand management. Demonstrated success in driving significant revenue growth and optimizing trade spend, while leading cross-functional teams to execute effective go-to-market strategies across multiple retail channels.
Overview
25
25
years of professional experience
Work History
Senior Director – Customer Sales & Marketing
Reynolds Consumer Products
Lake Forest, IL
10.2018 - Current
- Achieved over $400 million in incremental revenue growth and $80 million EBITDA increase since 2018.
- Led management of $2.0 billion annual retail sales across Walmart, Dollar Channel, and eCommerce customers.
- Allocated $50 million annual trade and marketing budgets to optimize merchandising and eCommerce initiatives.
- Directed pricing strategies to mitigate commodity fluctuations and address external cost pressures, enhancing profitability.
- Developed channel-specific innovations for branded and private label products, generating over $300 million in retail sales since 2018.
- Negotiated multi-year contracts for private label expansion with strategic customers, incorporating commodity index pricing to ensure competitiveness.
- Collaborated with supply chain to build monthly production forecasts and pre-build plans.
Director – Customer Sales & Marketing
Reynolds Consumer Products
Lake Forest, IL
04.2015 - 10.2018
- Managed $600 million in retail sales across grocery, dollar, drug, and mass channels.
- Achieved 12% growth over plan and 9% year-over-year through strategic base and promotional initiatives.
- Launched hefty cups in dollar channel, achieving $12 million in annual sales.
- Developed promotional trade spend ROI tool for pre- and post-analysis, increasing profitability by 20% in tableware business unit.
- Managed $13 million annual trade spend for merchandising and displays, optimizing resource allocation.
- Developed comprehensive Amazon assortment strategy to enhance e-commerce presence in disposable cups and tableware.
Senior Trade Marketing Manager
Reynolds Consumer Products
Lake Forest, IL
06.2012 - 04.2015
- Developed annual trade promotion plans leveraging market/channel insights to optimize promotional effectiveness.
- Managed $56M in trade and pricing promotional proposals across Mass, Dollar, Drug, and Club channels.
- Conducted ROI analysis to inform strategic decisions on consumption, volume, and contribution margin.
- Provided consumer insights and marketplace expectations to guide successful new item launches and line extensions.
National Account Executive – Dollar General
Reynolds Consumer Products
Lake Forest, IL
06.2010 - 06.2012
- Managed $120M+ retail sales for Dollar General and Fred’s Inc.
- Delivered +15% dollar growth two consecutive years.
- Collaborated with RCP business unit to develop and execute promotional strategies that enhanced product visibility and sales.
- Developed private label items across three categories for DG Home and Smart & Simple, increasing brand portfolio and customer options.
- Strengthened senior-level retailer relationships, enhancing pricing, distribution, and merchandising effectiveness.
Regional Retail Manager
Pactiv Corporation
Grand Rapids, MI
04.2003 - 06.2010
- Increased Spartan Store sales during first year of management by implementing focused marketing strategies.
- Managed Wal-Mart retail accounts in MI/OH/IN, delivering incremental volume growth.
- Managed sales initiatives for Spartan and Marsh, aligning strategies with headquarters to maximize market reach.
- Presented targeted sales opportunities to Wal-Mart Regional VPs, fostering strategic partnerships.
- Directed regional sales team across Central U.S. markets.
Category Manager – Spartan Stores Inc.
Acosta Sales & Marketing
Grand Rapids, MI
01.2001 - 04.2003
- Analyzed AC Nielsen and Spartan POS data to assess category performance and inform space allocation strategies.
- Developed schematics with Spaceman 6.0 and Pro-Space programs to optimize product placement.
- Collaborated on grocery dairy and frozen categories, contributing to Meijer review processes.
Education
Business Studies -
Saginaw Valley State University
High School Diploma -
Watervliet High School
Skills
- New Business Development
- Promotions & Marketing Strategy
- Digital marketing strategy
- Trade spend optimization
- Pipeline Growth & Innovation
- Profit Target Achievement
- P&L Responsibility
- Strategic forecasting
- Customer Needs Assessment
- Performance Improvement
- Negotiation techniques
- Team management
- Retailer Supply Chain certifications
Leadership Highlights
- Revenue Growth Leadership: Delivered $400M+ incremental revenue and $80M EBITDA increase since 2018 by spearheading strategic sales initiatives across National customers including Wal Mart, Costco, Sam’s Club and Dollar General.
- Strategic Innovation: Launched Club Channel PL Foil and Rotational programs in 2025, surpassing all cycle forecasts and strengthening category leadership.
- Channel Expansion: Successfully introduced Hefty Cups into the Dollar Channel, generating $12M in annual sales and expanding brand presence.
- Digital & Ecommerce Development: Built new Amazon assortment strategies, driving incremental growth in disposable cups and tableware categories.
- Operational Excellence: Directed $44M+ trade and marketing budgets, optimizing promotional spend effectiveness and ROI through innovative tools and analysis.
- Retailer Partnerships: Established transparent expectations with key retailers, enabling seamless price execution, effective promotional spending, and long-term trust.
- Sustained Growth: Consistently delivered double-digit growth across multiple channels, leveraging data insights and cross-functional collaboration to outperform market trends.
- Surpassed all cycle forecasts in 2H 2025, direct customer innovation, Private Label expansion and strategic Club Channel rotational promotional execution.
- Built transparent retailer partnerships enabling seamless price execution and effective promotional spend.
- Developed ROI tools and frameworks that improved profitability by 20%+.
- Launched new product assortments across Amazon and Dollar channels, generating multi-million-dollar incremental sales.
Timeline
Senior Director – Customer Sales & Marketing
Reynolds Consumer Products
10.2018 - Current
Director – Customer Sales & Marketing
Reynolds Consumer Products
04.2015 - 10.2018
Senior Trade Marketing Manager
Reynolds Consumer Products
06.2012 - 04.2015
National Account Executive – Dollar General
Reynolds Consumer Products
06.2010 - 06.2012
Regional Retail Manager
Pactiv Corporation
04.2003 - 06.2010
Category Manager – Spartan Stores Inc.
Acosta Sales & Marketing
01.2001 - 04.2003
Business Studies -
Saginaw Valley State University
High School Diploma -
Watervliet High School