I "connect the dots" to bring new concepts to market, solve complex issues and seize opportunities that move businesses forward.
A Little About Me
My gift is the ability to envision concepts and translate them into strategies that strengthen business results. Throughout my career as a marketer, business leader and entrepreneur, I have connected the dots to solve complex issues and identify opportunities that create a positive business impact. I see possibilities in what may be veiled as challenges and create the connections - from idea to implementation – required to make it happen.
As a marketer by profession, I thrive on using analysis and insights to inform the development of new products and create powerful communications that connect with a target audience. As a business leader, I skillfully communicate and collaborate across organizational levels and forge key external relationships. I know how to build high performance teams and connect every stakeholder – direct reports, cross-functional colleagues, vendors – to the mission at hand. I provide clear expectations, not all the answers and exercise judgment in knowing when to let my team lead the way.
I am entrepreneurial by nature and, whether employed by an organization or running a business, I own my results. I like to win and my track record shows I have repeatedly taken calculated risks and raised my hand to participate in or lead initiatives that challenge the status quo and expand core revenue models. My goal is to achieve a balance of leadership that connects the business realities of today with the business opportunities of tomorrow.
Core Competencies
Professional Experience
Brand & Marketing Strategy. Developing, positioning and leveraging brand assets to capture new markets and pursue growth opportunities through analytical and research-driven marketing strategy
Business Acumen. Pragmatic leader with strong knowledge of core business functions and financial management experience, including large-scale budget management
Entrepreneurial. Confident and collaborative leader who rolls up my sleeves to help drive project-related work as appropriate; challenges teams to examine existing paradigms and remain flexible in changing directions to meet business objectives
Building & Leading Teams. Hands-on ability to build and mentor talent to support a high performing culture where people are appreciated, engaged and accountable
Cross Functional Leadership. Leading cross-functional teams in solving complex issues, proactively identifying opportunities and implementing enterprise wide initiatives
Communicator & Consensus Builder. Exceptional communicator and collaborator able to influence and build consensus across organizational levels and build key external relationships
R.J. REYNOLDS TOBACCO COMPANY • Winston-Salem, NC
Sept. 2014 – Present
Rejoined company as it leads transformation in a highly regulated, controversial category. Rehired to leverage my skills and experience in a continued focus on brand leadership, innovation and world class marketing.
Current position:
Vice President, Consumer Marketing
CERTUSBANK, N.A. • Greenville, SC
Oct. 2013 – Aug. 2014
Recruited to advance the marketing efforts of an early stage financial institution with aggressive growth plans. Responsibilities included developing a more proactive, insight driven marketing function; defining a compelling brand point of difference; and building a collaborative, non-traditional bank marketing culture.
Position held:
Senior Vice President, Head of Marketing
Select contributions include:
Organizational Efficiency. Realigned the marketing team and implemented processes to better serve the needs of the organization across business functions and markets.
Strategy & Planning. Developed a marketing and messaging strategy to support customer retention and address business PR crisis which threatened the brand.
Business Collaboration. Established reputation as a results-oriented leader with business unit partners, redefining the role of marketing as a key collaborator and strategic resource.
SAVVEO, INC. (formerly OverstockAds) • Charlotte, NC
Jan. 2011 – Present
Launched tech company focused on revolutionizing the traditional media sales process with a disruptive online platform. Member of executive team that set the overall direction for the company. Contributed leadership, business acumen, marketing expertise and execution skills required to take company from concept to commercialization.
Positions held:
Co-Founder, Vice President of Marketing, Advisor (Jan. 2011 – Oct. 2013)
Select contributions include:
Executive Leadership. Versatile, multi-disciplinary leader engaged in decision-making on financial models, platform development, product roadmap, market expansion, recruiting, business development, vendor selection and more; instrumental in strategic decision to pivot business model to focus on $45B market opportunity.
Capital Raise. Led investor pitch communications resulting in securing $2.0M in Series A funding to support scale; company’s valuation has increased 12x since inception.
Infrastructure Build. Established infrastructure from the ground up to support high-growth tech model, including hiring team of 12 employees across engineering, operations and sales in San Francisco and Charlotte.
Strategic Partnerships. Developed key relationships with media partners and small business customers to deliver proof of concept and develop plan for scale.
Brand Development. Created brand strategy including identity, positioning and stakeholder communications for new proposition; acquired nearly 1,000 business customers and 500 media partners within 8 months of launch.
Position Summary
R.J. Reynolds, Inc.
Winston-Salem, NC • 10+ years
Vice President
Sr. Business Unit Head
Sr. Marketing Director
Brand Marketing Manager
Assistant Brand Marketing Manager
Marketing Assistant
CertusBank, N.A.
Greenville, SC • 10 Months
Senior Vice President, Head of Marketing
SAVVEO, INC.
Charlotte, NC • 3+ years
Co-Founder, Advisor
Co-Founder, Vice President of Marketing
VISA, INC.
Charlotte, NC • 4 years
Sr. Director, Consulting Team Leader Sr. Business Leader, Signature Client Lead
National Commerce Bank Corporation (SunTrust)
Memphis, TN • 5 years
Consultant & Sr. Training Manager
Australia & New Zealand Training Lead
Assistant Vice President, Branch Manager
Branch Manager, Loan Officer
Management Trainee
Functional Expertise
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Brand & Marketing Strategy Consumer Packaged Goods Marketing, Payments and Financial Industry Marketing, Online Marketing
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Identifying and Developing Talent
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Product Development and Launch
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Integrated Campaign Development
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Customer Acquisition and Loyalty
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Customer Experience Delivery
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Product/Channel Innovation
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Product Design and Packaging
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Strategic Partnerships
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Major Initiatives Leadership
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P&L Management
Patent
An Online Marketplace For Advertising. US Patent Application 61/512,630 filed July, 28, 2011. Patent Pending.
2010 - present
2010 - present
VISA, INC. • Charlotte, NC
May 2007 – March 2011
Recruited to bring consumer package goods brand marketing expertise into a B2B role and subsequently promoted to lead consulting teams for key client accounts. Established a track record as a marketing thought leader and proven business partner with ability to navigate matrix organizations, engage key stakeholders and gain executive buy-in.
Positions held:
Senior Director, Consulting Team Leader (Bank of America and PNC Bank Clients, May 2010 – Mar. 2011)
Senior Business Leader, Signature Client Lead (Wachovia and Bank of America Clients, May 2007 – Apr. 2010)
Select contributions include:
Incremental Revenue Opportunity. Led cross-functional initiative to evaluate the PNC payments portfolio and identified strategic and execution opportunities estimated to deliver $30M in annual incremental revenue.
Product Positioning. Led multi-faceted project to redefine the value proposition for all Wachovia payment card products and create an umbrella positioning for the Card & Payments business.
Portfolio Optimization. Led teams in delivering market insights, segmentation strategies and volume building marketing programs leveraging Visa’s sponsorship properties including the Olympics, NFL and FIFA.
Voice of the Market. Developed and a comprehensive audience insight model designed to strengthen client’s product and process innovation; created scalable customer insights capability that could be implemented as a partnership differentiator across Visa clients.
Business Development. Core member of the contract renewal team for Visa’s largest client, Bank of America.
R.J. REYNOLDS TOBACCO COMPANY • Winston-Salem, NC
May 1998 – May 2007
Led direct reports, cross-functional teams and agency partners in strategy, planning and execution of integrated, cross-channel marketing initiatives for $6 billion flagship brand. Developed leading consumer and field marketing programs that strengthened consumer engagement and resulted in share gains from largest competitor.
Promoted to lead newly formed business unit and expand distribution of higher margin product lines. Led development of U.S. operating strategy and collaborated with global counterparts to achieve synergies.
Positions held:
Senior Business Unit Head – SUPER PREMIUM Brands (May 2006 – May 2007)
Senior Marketing Director – INNOVATIONS (Jan. 2006 – Apr. 2006)
Senior Marketing Director – CAMEL (Apr. 2004 – Dec. 2005)
Brand Marketing Manager – DORAL ( Jan. 2002 – Mar. 2004)
Assistant Brand Marketing Manager - DORAL (Nov. 2000 – Dec. 2001)
Marketing Assistant - SALEM Channel Marketing ( Jun. 1999 – Oct. 2000)
Select contributions include:
Portfolio Strategy. Developed U.S. portfolio strategy for premium brands (e.g. Marshall McGearty, Dunhill, 555) and operational plan to grow operating income from higher margin product lines.
Brand Revitalization. Led development of redefined brand promise, a national advertising campaign, product reformulation, SKU rationalization, and packaging redesign of 20 styles to reinvent brand value proposition. Received Chairman's Award, company's highest honor, for this initiative.
Brand Perceptions and Conversion. Rebuilt national consumer event marketing program that employed 1,000 reps across 50+ markets; program engaged over 3 million adult smokers, improved brand perceptions and achieved 12% competitive conversion.
Conversion and Retention. Developed Relationship Marketing platform with enhanced database behavioral segmentation; platform increased competitive conversion rates and was described by CEO as “breakthrough”.
Online Consumer Experience and Engagement. Evolved website and e-mail programs to deliver consumer centric content; increased total web visitors 35% over goal.
Retail Experience Reinvention. Oversaw new retail store concept recognized as an industry first and a pioneering brand building strategy (Brand Week July 24, 2006).
Bottom-line Improvement. Led cross-functional Continuous Productivity Improvement team recognized for recommendations that delivered a $34M net profitability impact.
Strategic Partnerships. Initiated external partnership strategy and established key lifestyle brand relationships.
Innovation Pipeline. Assisted in testing and go to market planning for reduced risk products.
NATIONAL COMMERCE BANK CORP (NOW SUNTRUST) • Memphis, TN
June 1992 – July 1997
B2B consultant and lead training manager for National Commerce Bank Services, a subsidiary which licensed the bank's grocery/retail branch distribution model to national and international banks. Prior to this role, demonstrated success as a branch manager and loan officer for the parent company. This included being selected as a member of the "new market start-up team" focused on expanding the bank's geographic footprint.
Positions held:
Consultant & Sr. Training Manager, Australia & New Zealand Training Lead (Jan. 1996 – Jul. 1997)
Assistant Vice President, Branch Manager (Jul. 1994 – Dec. 1995, Raleigh, NC)
Branch Manager, Loan Officer (Jun. 1993 – Jun. 1994, Memphis, TN and Roanoke, VA)
Management Trainee (Jun. 1992 – Feb. 1993)
Select contributions include:
New Business Development. Engaged prospective clients on training, human resources, marketing, merchandising, and business development of retail branches; traveled extensively.
Training. Facilitated training courses for international, national and internal clients; designed instructional curriculum and taught American Institute of Banking course.
Team Development. Served as Chair of the North Carolina retail division Incentive Compensation Task Force.
Branch Production. Recognized as a consistent top sales performer for retail branch account growth and loan production; ; winner of the Quarterly Sales and Servicing Award.
Education
THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE Knoxville, TN Master of Business Administration, Marketing
• University of Tennessee MBA Gower Award Recipient, programs highest award
• Chancellor’s Citation for Extraordinary Professional Promise Recipient
RHODES COLLEGE Memphis, TN Bachelor of Arts, Business Administration
• Supportive Housing Communities, Volunteer
• Charlotte Venture Challenge, Volunteer
• Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Member
• INROADS, Alumna
Former Board Roles:
• Susan G. Komen Charlotte Affiliate
• Ronald McDonald House of Winston-Salem
• Allegacy Federal Credit Union
• RJRT United Way Campaign Steering Committee
Recent Speaking Engagements:
• Shape Charlotte Business Competition, Seminar Speaker
• University of North Carolina, Charlotte, Entrepreneurship Event, Speaker
• Johnson C. Smith University, Business & Economics Society Event Keynote
• Women’s Entrepreneurship Initiative, Seminar Leader
To receive a PDF of my résumé, please email me at shay@shaymustafa.com or use the contact form on this website.
Community and Civic Involvement