- Business administration and business unit management
- Strategic planning and P&L management
- Business plans, cash flows, FYF forecasts
- Business model and presentations
- Business reviews
- Budget management and line item cost controls
- Operations and process
- Hiring and talent management
- Systemic problem resolution
- Corporate communications
COMPETENCY - BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
COMPETENCY - MARKETING
Strategic and Integrated Marketer
- Development of Marketing Plans; Marketing Calendars; S.W.O.T. Analysis
- Management of the Advertising Agency & Maximization of Relationship (Bravo Group / Y&R / McCann Erickson)
- Execution of Media Planning & Buying (Multi-Million US$ Advertisement Buys)
- Media Production: TV; Radio, Print, Digital, OOH, Non Traditional
- Direction of State-of-the-Art In-house Creative Services - Full Service Agency
- Brand Management: Brand Centralization; Brand Identity/Essence; Brand Energy; Awareness & Top of Mind; Brand Asset Valuator / Perceptual Maps
- Brand Development: Service Vision; Value Proposition; Standards & Norms; Company Alignment; Customer Engagement; Corporate Training & Communications
- Integrated Marketing: Message and Imagery consistency across all touch points, vehicles, and collateral
- Market Research & Analytics: Customer Satisfaction; JD Powers Engagement Survey; Focus Groups; Online Panels; Town Hall Meetings; Personal Interviews, Mall Intercepts
- Database Marketing (Trained by Arthur Hughes & Peter Wang): RFM Strategies; LTV - Life Time Value; Loyalty Programs; Predictive Modeling; SPSS / ACCESS Analytical & Codification Tools; Acquisition / Cross-Sell / Retention Programs; On-boarding
- Portfolio Management: Pricing; Enhanced Services; Activation Programs; Product Utilization Incentives
- Sales & Consumer Promotional Campaigns; VAR Programs; Co-branded Initiatives
- Guerrilla Marketing and Non-Traditional Initiatives: 3rd party Sales Force & Ambassador Teams; Referral Programs
- Sports Partnership Management and Property Activation Initiatives: Chicago Cubs; Chicago Bears Radio Florida Marlins; California Angels; Houston Astros; Houston Dynamo; NY Mets; L.A. Marathon; Chicago Half-Marathon
- Multicultural Marketing: US Hispanics; African American; and various ethnicities including - Polish, Portuguese, Korean
- Direct Marketing: Multi-Million US$ Mail Campaigns; Direct Response TV; ADVO
- E-Marketing/Digital: Co-branded Pages; Content Development; Web Sites; Micro Sites; Landing Pages; Banner Advertisement; SEO/SEM; PURL Platforms; Email, Interactive Initiatives and Social Networking
- Product Development and Product Launches
- Fixtures & Merchandising: Multi-Million US$ facilities programs and ATM Surround projects
SUMMARY
BUSINESS MANAGER / SALES & MARKETING EXECUTIVE
KELLOGG – MBA / Bilingual – Spanish 100% / Integrated & Multicultural Marketing / “Top Performer”
A successful strategic marketer, sales manager and business manager with an impressive track record as a “Driver of Growth” consistently meeting or exceeding goals and revenue expectations. Delivered increased market share, enhanced brand awareness, and developed revenue improvements through strategic marketing initiatives and effective brand management. As a “Visionary and Executor”, challenged paradigms and created innovative value added solutions. Developed very successful traditional media, direct, guerrilla and viral marketing initiatives. A consistent “Top Performer” recognized as a passionate and courageous, “Brave Heart” leader who develops highly productive, winning teams.
COMPETENCY - SALES & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
Business Development Leader
- Business Development: Prepared market strategy for Colombia & Latin America developing strategic alliances and creative programs, executing sales presentations; conferences; and establishing commercial relationships with B2B and B2C prospects in various sectors
- Recruiting, hiring, or training and leadership of sales force / commercial areas in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and the U.S. Recently consulted on the establishment of a global sales force for Rico Developers
- Trained Sales Force on various initiatives and launches including the "Connecting with Customers & Colleagues" initiative for enhanced commercial relationships
- Created programs for Branch Network and specialty B2B Sales force of up to 1,050 members. Managed Specialty Sales Force Units. Created "Hunter" proactive sales programs for Citibank
- Structure of Sales Process, development and establishment of objectives, incentives, measures, "Pipeline" Reports, "Sales Tools" and Materials, Telemarketing scripts, and objection handling
- Participated and led re-engineering teams for Latin America, evaluating the sales process, identifying disconnects and implementing solutions.
- Implementation and execution of various successful sales initiatives or tools including: Contact Management; CRM; Marketing Data Mart; Customized and personalized "Sales Templates"; Materials; Fulfillment Platforms; and PURL initiatives to enhance the effectiveness of the B2B Sales Force
- Support of Tradeshow initiatives and Trade publications - design, materials, support, set-up, and execution
- Development of successful Internal Sales Campaigns generating incremental lift and increased productivity
- Development of B2B Micro Sites to enhance sales & distribution
CONSULTING PROJECTS
This is some of the feedback that I received and an example of one of the several Letters of Intent or Commitment Letters received by Mr. Rico.
Consulted G3 Imaging on a B2B commercial strategy and developed direct mail.
Nicole Claude - Director: "I reviewed the Business plan, Thank you for taking the time to contribute this phenomenal review to Tele Star. Frantz is very pleased with your analytical input and review. Frantz is currently in Haiti and gathering the necessary equipments to launch Tele Star. I am glad that the launching of Tele Star is happening.. Merci beaucoup"
Henry Rico - CEO: "I contracted Mr. Romero as a consultant to develop our business plan, develop a global commercial strategy, prepare an RFP process to hire a reputable Sales & Marketing Company, and to prepare our Risk Assessment and Risk Management plan. I commend the quality of his work and find myself thanking God for contracting his services after every meeting. These strategic documents have been praised by ten different private equity investment institutions.
SALES & POSITIVE GROWTH
Situation: Retail Checking is at the core of a customer relationship. However, there has been stagnant or negative growth in recent years. Action: Launched the "Escape to Mexico" campaign from Jan. - Apr. Result: Sold 15,000 accounts & overcame attrition losses to show positive growth. Justified a US$8MM ongoing initiative.
"Escape to Mexico" evolved into "CAP" - Totally Free Checking ... an ongoing $8MM p/y program. We developed POP, direct mail pieces, free gifts, and trained the sales force. The program yielded over 80,000 new accounts, and 10% growth on a yearly basis generating over US$50MM in revenues.
Managed over 8MM direct mail pieces on a yearly basis to support our sales efforts. Optimized the initiative for response and to drive higher average balances by tweaking mail carrier routes and targeting high networth households with special offers. Average balances were increased by 10% in test cells.
THE BUSINESS CHECKING CHALLENGE

Totally Free Business Checking program consisted of 1 million mailers per year, branch POP materials, sales templates, some radio and some print.
Situation: Business checking accounts are critical to the bank but there is no growth. Action: Created a promotion for the product offering $50 + Travel & Hotel vouchers for small business accounts. Afterwards, we launched an ongoing program. Result: Doubled account productivity. With the launch of Free Business Checking (BCAP)doubled productivity again. When results slowed ... adjusted and improved incentives to make them more relevant to business owners. Productivity increased significantly again.
SALES & LOAN GROWTH CHALLENGE
Little things go a long way ... I call it creating magic & injecting fun into a process. By providing the sales force with yellow construction hats, providing them fun tools, and fun incentives ... we were able to aggressively move the sales productivity needle in the right direction.
Situation: Need to build on the success of "Bob The Builder" and continue to train & raise product consciousness with the Sales Force. Action: Developed the Hot Red Bull campaign with a collectible component that would inspire competition within our sales force. Results: Doubled the productivity of "BTB" by producing 2618 Home Equity applications and US$174MM in applications embedding the product permanently into the priorities of the sales force.
Generated 1041 Home Equity applications and US$91MM in applications surpassing goals by 290% in three months producing more than all of the previous year. Produced 1255 Mortgage applications and US$210MM in applications - 44% more than same period previous year and breaking records with best performing months in history.
Situation: At Metris, we were not receiving enough productivity from our partner's branches in terms of credit card sales. Action: Developed the Jungle Book campaign with fun & accessible collectibles to inspire competition with the sales force. Results: Stimulated so much excitement that the Banco Popular's CEO sent for a set of collectibles ... the campaign doubled branch productivity producing 13,000 applications in 10 weeks. Consequently, Banco Popular recruited me and offered me a position to inject energy into its sales efforts.
Situation: Home loans are ignored by the sales force, and portfolio balances are minor. We need to make this a critical product in our service offering. Action: Created a fun campaign that provided product training and accessible incentives to the sales force. Results: Stimulated excitement and energy with an engaged sales force and grew home loans surpassing objectives.

Led Metris Commercial (Sales & Marketing) initiatives. Managed direct response, internet, telemarketing, and execution of 12-15MM mail pieces per year. Sales initiatives increased portfolio from US$200MM to US$350MM. Sold 174,000 cards in 2 years.
INTEGRATED MKTG & GUERILLA WAR
We developed an interactive Internet site to activate the community and to help generate "buzz" ... inviting comments/postings, as well as participation in our campaigns and promotional activities.
Major events included: * NY Puerto Rican Day Parade * Latino Film Festival * Dances & Art exhibits
All components of the campaign were integrated and delivered a consistent message. Media used included: Print, Radio, OOH, Direct Mail, Internet, and POP.
Worked with Ad Agency to develop a community based, grass roots initiative. Street teams were leveraged to activate the community by engaging with prospects passing out scratch & win cards to drive traffic to the branches. Street teams were also participating in community beautification activities. The result: Increased branch sales in the NY Region by 34%.
BRAND ASSOCIATION & GUERILLA WAR

My objective was to put our B2B Middle Market business unit on the map in the Chicago market with a strong brand association between Popular Bear and the Chicago Bears. The sponsorship of the WBBM Chicago Bears Radio broadcast reaches a high profile audience of over one million people in the area. For less than US $200K, I was able to negotiate this sponsorship and in guerilla mode swipe away the prevalence of Chase's official sponsorship worth several million dollars. The campaign was a huge success ... and very Popular! It put our own "Monsters of the Middle Market" on the map.

Our brand would benefit greatly from free media coverage on ESPN Sport's Center nationwide and in each of the local markets during TV game broadcasts.

Popular Bear and Mr. Met became very good friends resulting from our sponsorship of the NY Mets. This relationship allowed for us to leverage Mr. Met in our advertising. My objective was to tap into the passion of fans and create strong & endearing brand associations. I chose not to pay player talent fees and avoided the risk of player departure from the team.
Baseball sponsorships definitely helped to create greater awareness and affinity for our institution. We sponsored the Anaheim Angels, Houston Astros, Florida Marlins, Chicago Cubs, NY Mets ... and the Houston Dynamo soccer team as well. The activation of these sports properties is powerful allowing us to engage customers in local markets while appealing to their passion.
Managed all stadium branding, ATM (baseball relevant) branding, signage, concourse displays, game programs, and supervised in-stadium event activation.
Sponsorship of the Chicago Half Marathon & the L.A. Marathon. These two initiatives have been very important providing us with great visibility in the market.
MEDIA VEHICLES
Print Ads have been a critical component of our Deposit Strategy. This ad promotes product and rate in a consistent manner with our branding - Make Dreams Happen.
BRAND AWARENESS
Our Brand Awareness is strong and superior to that of Chase, Citibank, Wachovia, and Wells Fargo as an aggregate in our regional markets. This is a tremendous accomplishment considering the share of voice used by these giants.
In IL, perhaps the most saturated & competitive market in the banking sector, we achieved a 10% lift in awareness to become the No. 1 brand in the Hispanic segment. In addition, our brand climbed 17% in the general market segment overcoming gaps with Chase & Citibank in spite of their deep pockets. This is largely due to our guerrilla tactics & sponsorship of Chicago Bears Radio - WBBM (stealing greatly from Chase's Bear's sponsorship)... we also benefitted from special concert sponsorships. Finally, there was an important contribution from our sponsorships of the Chicago Half Marathon & Chicago Cubs.
Growing Brand Awareness in our CA Region has been a remarkable success story. From 2005 through 2007, our team grew awareness by 54%. This is greatly due to our sponsorship of the L.A. Marathon and Anaheim Angels. In addition, our integrated marketing campaign through TV, Radio, Print and Digital media vehicles has been very successful.
SERVICE VISION & ENGAGEMENT

I played a key role in our brand development participating as a leader on the Service Vision (SVIP) Team and was named a "Leadership" Champion for the roll-out. * As an ambassador, I trained the sales force on our customer engagement model: "Connecting with Customers & Colleagues" * Developed the SV Heroes social networking communications platform to create a tipping point for our brand. This included an avatar program with over 3 Trillion variations. Created engaging communications and challenges to ensure comprehension and adaptation of standards & norms. The SV Heroes platform was praised by the renowned Chip Bell Group
Supervised the JD Power Engagement Study and distributed reports and communications to the field. With our President and senior team leading the charge and everyone contributing to the cause, we quickly saw marked improvement in key metrics. By the end of 2007, the engagement score jumped 4 points and reached a very respectable 29%. The platforms, communications, and training programs were very successful
Communicating our new corporate and brand values to our Dream Makers and future super heroes. Building team spirit through a major facilities art project and corporate communications platform
MAJOR CAPITAL BRAND INITIATIVES
Co-leader of the US$3MM ATM Surround project partnering with the Head of Debit Cards and the Head of Facilities. I managed the branding and design of the ATM Surround bringing an amazing blue glow and beautiful appearance to our branches. Developed translucent POP materials for cross-selling opportunities and developed digital screens for the ATM machine
Managed a very successful US $2MM merchandising fixture and signage capital project to enhance our branch environment and sales efforts

Prepared pro forma and provided leadership on a US $2MM digital branch merchandising project. Developed digital content and managed the networked distribution system.
Led the design and development of our US $1MM marketing collateral rebranding initiative. Achieved a lot of excitement and significant impact as we moved away from a very hard and stoic dark blue and red to a highly energetic family of product colors injecting a lot of life into our branch environment.
CITIBANK - COMMERCIAL EFFORTS
Launched one of the most creative, successful and highly recognized direct mail pieces for Citibank. Honored in several magazines including Cromos and Publicidad & Mercadeo.

Developed the first financial portal in Latin America for Citibank. Negotiated exclusive channel with StarMedia. Launched Elton John concert promotion.

Development and execution of one of the most successful sales campaigns at Citibank surpassing goals by 80%. Co-branding alliances & prizes negotiated with American Airlines, Renault & Acer.
Trained in the art of database marketing by the famous Art Hughes and Paul Wang. Implemented a datawarehouse and developed a contact management tool. Reduced customer acquisition costs. Launched customer acquisition, cross-selling and retention initiatives. Improved LTV and Customer Net Revenue.
Work experience
Apr 2008 - Present
Consultant
Rico Developers
Strategic Planning and Consulting for Rico Developers (Chicago / Punta Cana, D.R.):Developed the strategy for a $1B luxury property / Hilton hotel project in Punta Cana. Supported a $250MM investment solicitation by guiding and developing the project business and marketing plans. Developed a media and digital strategy, including: SEO/SEM tactics; Social Networking; PURL; and experiential marketing events.
Additional Consulting Projects: Telestar-Exel TV; Café Magazine; G3 Imaging; Proexport; National Louis University; and Anixter
Jan 2003 - Mar 2008
Head of Marketing
Banco Popular North America (NASDAQ - BPOP)
Directed the strategy, tactics and marketing execution for Banco Popular, a $14B entity with 145 stores. Effectively administered a budget of $18MM and lead a team of 17. Led creative services, campaigns, merchandising, database marketing, research and credit card marketing initiatives. Managed the agency and the production of all vehicles, including: publications, radio, TV, digital, out-of-home, and non-traditional elements. Provided strategic support to all business units and regional presidents.
- Played pivotal role in driving net income growth from $19MM to $103MM
- Enhanced brand awareness by 13% and up to 57% in key markets
- Successfully launched Banco’s credit card product and achieved 100% of goals
- Delivered over 900 creative projects and saved over $1MM in production costs
- Managed sponsorships with professional sports properties, including: Angels, Cubs, Mets, Astros, and Marlins
- Doubled CD balances producing over $750MM - $1B in yearly deposits
- Produced 80,000+ checking accounts annually. Generated growth of 10% per year producing over $50MM in revenues and exceeding sales / profitability goals
- Created the “Escape to Mexico” checking acquisition campaign doubling daily banker sales from .8 to 1.8 and reducing costs by 35%. Justified expansion of an $8MM program
- Led all Multicultural efforts developing customer communications in English, Spanish, Korean, Polish, and Portuguese
- Implemented a State-of-the-Art creative shop and developed sophisticated marketing tools: fulfillment store; and an online brand store
- Developed Internet web sites, micro-sites and PURL. Key cross-functional team member for the development and launch of the Internet Direct Bank
- Developed and executed exciting Integrated Marketing campaigns, such as “Banco Loves Dreams” using a guerrilla street team, promotions, digital / social web site which drove a lift of 35% in sales
- Managed research efforts, including focus groups, panels, and the JD Powers Customer Engagement initiative which helped increase the Bank’s engagement scores by 4 points
- Developed the “Service Vision Super Heroes” Social Networking site to enhance corporate communications, and create a Tipping Point for our brand, value proposition and standards
- Centralized branding efforts and drove uniformity through the implementation of standards and guidelines including web based tools to enforce consistency.
- Implemented templates and customized / personalized sales tools to enforce branding standards
- Established a strategic/creative “Think Tank” to support all business units and implemented innovation strategies and workshops to drive ideation applying various schools of thought including “Lateral Thinking” and “Systemic Thinking”
Jan 2001 - Dec 2002
Sr. Director
Metris Companies (Purchased by HSBC)
Directed the marketing program for all Hispanic initiatives for a $10B - "Top 10" credit card issuing entity with $200MM in Net Income and 4000 employees. Led a team of four people and a budget of $8MM. Responsible for P&L of $350MM card portfolio. Led all efforts for credit card sales, customer retention and cross-sell / utilization efforts. Managed direct mail, direct response, event, telemarketing and Internet channels. Generated forecasts, established an acquisition plan, prepared marketing calendars and led product development. Recognized for building the most successful and lasting strategic partnership in the history of Metris while managing the Agent-Bank relationship with Banco Popular.
- Grew credit card portfolio from $200MM to $350MM
- Awarded the Presidential Excellence Award by the CEO
- Delivered ROA of nearly 4.0%
- Doubled portfolio in two years and surpassed account goals by over 56%
- Launched four new products successfully
- Achieved successful direct mail test results with lifts in NRR ranging from 10% to 64%
- Improved process significantly and reduced defects to nil
- Drove cost reductions of over 20%
Nov 1999 - Dec 2000
CEO / General Manager / Founder
Infodestinos
Developed a leading tourism Internet portal in Latin America. Led sales, marketing, and product development efforts. Prepared business model and plan. Opened offices in Bogota, Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, and Miami.
- Structured over 300 strategic partnerships with revenue sharing agreements
- Negotiated major distribution agreements with Carlson Wagonlit, Yupi.com, and El Sitio
- Built a unique and differentiated product with strong content laurelled by competitors
Mar 1999 - Oct 1999
LATAM Regional Manager / Country Manager Colombia
ZonaFinanciera.com (Acquired by Citibank)
Led sales / business development efforts for “ZF”, the 2nd largest financial portal in Latin America. Established alliances and commercial relationships. Promoted to manage L.A. Region. Recognized by the CEO in Business Week magazine. Established sales process, trained staff and secured a beach head in Argentina, Chile, Brazil, and other countries.
Aug 1994 - Mar 1999
Vice President (A)
Citibank
Promoted to Director of Database Marketing responsible for new customer acquisition, cross-selling, & retention programs. Managed portfolio of US$240 million dollars in footings. Managed sales channels, member get member programs. As Marketing Manager managed branding and directed media with the advertising agency. Developed strategic alliances and launched co-branded campaigns and promotions.
- Improved customer net revenue for target segments by 25%
- Implemented a very successful guerrilla, referral program. Surpassed objectives by 80%
- Acknowledged in Publicidad & Mercadeo Magazine for successful Direct Mail program
- Recognized by Latin America Region for leading successful sales re-engineering efforts
- Developed an unprecedented “Win-Win-Win” alliance and guerrilla campaign with “Celumovil Cellular” generating “Buzz” and consumption of $1MM
May 1988 - Jul 1994
Education
Jun 1997 - Dec 1997
Aug 1991 - Jun 1994
1983 - 1987
EDUCATION +
“Differentiation and the Evolution of Advertising Strategy in Russia” Kellogg Graduate School of Management - Northwestern University

Richter Scholarship - “Japanese Foreign Direct Investment in Colombia” North Central College

Illinois State Scholar - 1983 Ranked Top 10 in Class National Honor Society
SEMINARS
HSM - World Business Conference (2005) Rudy Giuliani, Jack Welch, Tom Peters, Madeleine Albright, Philip Kotler, Jeremy Siegel, Larry Bossidy, Clayton Christensen, Gary Hamel, Bill George and Edward J. Zander.
CBS Outdoor Latino - Hispanic Marketing Conference: New Arrivals, Acculturated and Assimilated Hispanics, East Coast vs. West Coast, Land Based vs. Sea Based Hispanics. Symbolism & Imagery.

1. Exceed Customer Expectations 2. Six Sigma Methodology 3. Management & Talent Supervision 4. Citibanking

Edward de Bono - Creativity in the Corporate World

John Sculley - Triumphant Strategies in the Age of the Customer
Marcus Evans - BrandSlam Summit (2007)
RMS Checking Symposium - 2007

Don Peppers - The Power of Marketing

How to Obtain Excellent Results from Reengineering
Marcus Evans - Chief Marketing Officer Summit (2007)

Lousi Stern - Distribution Channels

1. Systemic Thinking 2. Connecting with Customers & Colleagues 3. BSA & Compliance Training 4.Fair Lending 5. Accountability

Seth Godin on Differentiation and the Purple Cow

Al Ries - Positioning and Marketing Warfare

On Influencers, Mavens, and connectors -Blink & Tipping Point

KPMG - Project Management

William Ury - Negotiation ... an approach to Win-Win-Win
Haberfeld Checking Symposium - Totally Free Checking and Remote Deposit

Marcus Evans - Financial Institution Marketing (2007)