Vic Carlson
Ridgewood,NJ
Summary
Classically trained marketing executive with over 25 years of leadership in diverse industries, including consumer durables, home decor, CPG, architectural products, and technology. Known for driving business growth through strategic vision, innovation, and operational excellence. Strong believer in developing teams and fostering a high-performance culture to deliver exceptional results.
Overview
37
37
years of professional experience
Work History
Chief Marketing Officer, General Manager Carole Fabrics
Hunter Douglas, Inc.
09.2022 - Current
- Promoted as marketing leader for the company’s $1 billion flagship brand with additional, full P&L responsibility for Carole Fabrics – a $36 million B2B2C fabric and custom drapery fabrication company
- Identified opportunities to realign the Hunter Douglas and Carole product distribution channels – overseeing sales and marketing implementation of the new strategies and resulting in a 14% sales increase
- Reinvented an underperforming motorized drapery rod offering, directing efforts to reimagine the product supply chain, revise the selling strategies and enhance the offering with more premium design options – with the new collection achieving a 40% reduction in product costs and forecasted sales increase of $12 million
- Coached legacy Carole Fabrics management team in adopting new behaviors and best-practices for improved functional effectiveness and efficiency – delivering a 3.7 ppt increase in year 1 EBITDA
Senior Vice President of Marketing
Hunter Douglas, Inc.
10.2013 - 09.2022
- Responsible all consumer and trade marketing programs including branding, advertising, social, web optimization, lead generation, and retail support initiatives for the company’s network of 5000+ dealer resellers
- Directed the efforts of 2 influencer agencies, a full-function internal creative agency, and a team of 50 marketing professionals
- Partnered daily within the company’s executive team, collaborating on all key product innovation, strategy, financial, and overall growth decision – Team effort led to $300 million sales growth over a 10-year period
- Transformed the company’s marketing function to better support business growth goals, crafting the new marketing org design and nurturing the development of a high-performance culture and skillsets – Efforts led to new best-in-industry abilities, reduction in non-working expenses, and 9% CAGR in sales lead growth
- Built the company’s first-ever social media/influencer marketing and content generation function, with the new self-contained team producing double-digit growth in social platform metrics and securing record-high levels for Hunter Douglas brand coverage across all top industry trade publications
- Created a new digital lead ecosystem for the company, featuring a fully insourced digital media team and a pioneering digital lead generation system that provided critical insights into dealer selling performance and became the foundation for the company’s go-forward strategic revenue optimization strategy
- Drove a brand acceleration program that leveraged consumer-insights to produce a sharpened brand positioning and related new ad creatives with statistically significant growth in key brand health metrics
Vice President of Consumer Marketing and Digital Commerce
Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company
03.2013 - 10.2013
- Chosen to lead a new 25-person marketing business unit that integrated traditional marketing functions with the company’s ecommerce and web design operations to create new direct-to-consumer revenue streams
- Overhauled the company’s ailing ecommerce business – Quickly pinpointing ecommerce success drivers and implementing restorative processes and team structures which halted an 18-month sales decline within the first month and delivered quarterly growth rates of 40%
Vice President of Marketing
Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company
12.2009 - 03.2013
- Promoted to lead all consumer and trade marketing activities for a $2 billion portfolio of consumer products (TVs, Imaging, Audio, Personal Care and Appliances)
- Led brand strategy, advertising, media, PR, digital/social, promotions, events, and retail support materials, directing 4 agencies and a staff of 12 marketing professionals
- Championed a brand building effort for the company’s two leading brands – Led ad agency selection and oversaw the creation of ad campaigns that delivered an 8x increase of brand awareness in just 9 months
- Oversaw the development of innovative retail product display solutions using unique digital interactive approaches – Display solutions were praised as 'Best in Industry' by the #1 U.S electronics retailer
Director of Merchandising, Digital Imaging Product Group
Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company
03.2009 - 12.2009
- Chosen for a developmental assignment, leading the U.S division of Panasonic’s $4 billion global camcorder and camera business
- Responsible for merchandising, inventory and sales planning, channel strategy, and marketing
- Drove foundational changes to internal processes, and new business strategies to stabilize the ailing imaging businesses – Eliminating 5 months of excess inventories and restoring profitability within 9 months
Associate Director of Innovation, Snackfood Division
Mars Foods
07.2006 - 06.2007
- Led innovation efforts for a portfolio of confection products with annual sales in excess of $3 billion and coordinated advertising agency, retailer, technical, and research team contributions
- Championed the creation of the division’s first entry into the Better-For-You segment, fast-tracking product development (7 months from creation to launch) and forecasted to deliver $50 million within 3 years
Senior Brand Manager, Petcare and Snackfood Divisions
Mars Foods
12.2001 - 07.2006
- Led new product development efforts and managed the daily operations, full P&L, and marketing programs for several $300 million brands within the company’s confection and petcare portfolios
- Created a unique innovation process that delivered 50 viable concepts, including ideas that scored in the 98th percentile of BASES new product rankings and estimated $80 million sales
Vice-President of Marketing
Jackpot.com
01.2000 - 05.2001
- Co-founded Jackpot.com, helping build it into a 120 employee, 5 million user Internet game company with over $60 million sales and $5 million annual profit within 2 years
Director of Marketing, Consumer Division
Beyond.com
03.1999 - 01.2000
Marketing Manager, Coffee-mate and Carnation Hot Cocoa Franchise
Nestlé USA
04.1996 - 03.1999
- Chosen by division VP to lead the division’s most profitable brand group with over $300 million sales
- Supervised 2 agencies and 3 marketing associates
Associate Product Manager, Nabisco Shredded Wheat Cereal Franchise
Kraft Foods
08.1994 - 04.1996
- Promoted from Assistant Product Manager in a group with $210 million sales and $80 million marketing budget
Officer, Weapon Systems Development Group
United States Air Force
01.1988 - 03.1992
- Led a 27-member project team and $280 million budget for the design and development of military hardware systems, receiving the Air Force Commendation Medal for achievements
Education
MBA - Marketing Management
The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA06.1994
Bachelor of Science - Astronautical Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA06.1987
Skills
- Executive Leadership
- Strategic Vision
- Growth Strategy
- Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Marketing Transformation
- Agile Marketing Management
- Data-Driven Marketing
- Brand Storytelling
- Integrated Digital Marketing
- Content Creation
- Innovation
- Retail Trade Marketing
Languages
English
Native or Bilingual
Portuguese
Professional Working
Spanish
Elementary
Timeline
Chief Marketing Officer, General Manager Carole Fabrics
Hunter Douglas, Inc.
09.2022 - Current
Senior Vice President of Marketing
Hunter Douglas, Inc.
10.2013 - 09.2022
Vice President of Consumer Marketing and Digital Commerce
Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company
03.2013 - 10.2013
Vice President of Marketing
Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company
12.2009 - 03.2013
Director of Merchandising, Digital Imaging Product Group
Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company
03.2009 - 12.2009
Associate Director of Innovation, Snackfood Division
Mars Foods
07.2006 - 06.2007
Senior Brand Manager, Petcare and Snackfood Divisions
Mars Foods
12.2001 - 07.2006
Vice-President of Marketing
Jackpot.com
01.2000 - 05.2001
Director of Marketing, Consumer Division
Beyond.com
03.1999 - 01.2000
Marketing Manager, Coffee-mate and Carnation Hot Cocoa Franchise
Nestlé USA
04.1996 - 03.1999
Associate Product Manager, Nabisco Shredded Wheat Cereal Franchise
Kraft Foods
08.1994 - 04.1996
Officer, Weapon Systems Development Group
United States Air Force
01.1988 - 03.1992
MBA - Marketing Management
The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
Bachelor of Science - Astronautical Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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