Companies need the ability to periodically reimagine and reinvent themselves to accelerate growth and ensure long-term success.
Nontraditional methods can help you reach transformational insights – breakthroughs that will take your strategic, product development and marketing decisions in the most profitable directions.
Whether you are an established market leader or fighting for your place in the market, the ability to reimagine and reinvent your business will enable you to move faster than competitors to seize new territory and identify new opportunities to strengthen your bond with your customers.
Nontraditional methods can help you reach transformational insights – breakthroughs that will take your strategic, product development and marketing decisions in the most profitable directions.
Whether you are an established market leader or fighting for your place in the market, the ability to reimagine and reinvent your business will enable you to move faster than competitors to seize new territory and identify new opportunities to strengthen your bond with your customers.
Meet the
Expert
About Lisa
- 25 years as a strategist, global marketing executive, and consumer insights professional
- Founder, Fernow Consulting, specializing in new products, brand strategies for sustained growth, global marketing, reinventing customer experiences, startups
- Clients include Celebrity Cruises, General Mills, King County Library System, Nordstrom, Sara Lee, Starbucks, Sylvan Learning Centers, T-Mobile
- At PepsiCo, co-created Pepsi-Cola International's first total refreshment beverage strategy; developed and launched several $100MM brands; repositioned Fritos for long-term success
- Advisory Council, Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University
Experience
President
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Fernow Consulting
2000
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Present
- Based in Seattle, works with U.S. and global organizations and entrepreneurs across a variety of industries.
- Approach centers on asking provocative questions and bringing an innovator's mindset to help clients uncover a wider range of possibilities for growth.
- Brings background as a mystery writer and theater practitioner to creative process for innovation practice.
Senior Advisor, Consumer Insights
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Nordstrom
Sep, 2007
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Feb, 2009
Went in-house to help client Nordstrom create new Consumer Insights department. Collaborated with Nordstrom Division heads, support functions and specialized peer contributors to:
- Identify opportunities to drive long-term sustainable growth in areas of customer acquisition and retention, service excellence, predicting the impact of historical cycles and generational cohorts on future trends and competitive strategy.
- Lay the consumer foundation for Nordstrom Rack's expansion and comp store growth strategy. Sized potential revenues, segmented the market and conducted research to inform the customer experience, which resulted in an accelerated expansion plan, sharpened merchandise focus, reduced shrinkage, and significantly improved sales and profit results.
- Provide the Women's Specialized and At Home Divisions with a deep understanding of their core customers and articulated how Nordstrom could best serve their needs, which facilitated decisions related to targeting, merchandising, product, marketing, store design and service.
- Conduct research to support the design, launch and optimization of Nordstrom's Fashion Rewards program, which resulted in significant incremental volume and improved customer loyalty.
SVP, Global Marketing & Strategy, Cartoon Network Brand Group
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Time Warner
Jun, 1996
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Jun, 1999
Led global marketing and strategy for Cartoon Network’s "off channel" business, working with Warner Bros. and Turner Broadcasting divisions to bring its 2000 character properties to consumer products, the internet, home videos, comics, music, and theme parks in 150 markets.
- Led development of the first global positioning statement for Cartoon Network, which guided network and "off channel" strategies, and developed the umbrella branding/logo strategy for the brand and its characters.
- Created and led a 50+ person task force with key Cartoon Network and Warner Bros. divisions to develop and consistently execute against an integrated marketing plan – a first for Time Warner.
- Scooby Doo, the first character to receive focus, became one of Warner Bros. top character properties.
- Developed global positioning and marketing strategies for new original character properties: Powerpuff Girls, Dexter's Laboratory, Johnny Bravo and Cow & Chicken.
- Developed Cartoon Network's e-commerce strategy, integrating it with retail and network objectives.
- Brand Group became profitable four years ahead of schedule.
Director, Marketing & Business Development
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Pepsi-Cola International
Jun, 1990
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Jun, 1996
Developed global consumer and business propositions for five new beverage categories in 150+ markets.
- Co-developed PCI’s first three-year strategic plan for water, juices and juice drinks, tea, coffee, and sports drinks, and integrated annual operating plans of the top 25 markets into a coherent global vision.
- Developed Atlantis bottled water, the first PCI new beverage brand, launched into test market one year faster than any previous launch, gaining 11 percent of the bottled water category its first year.
- Worked with regional and local market teams to optimize positionings and products; developed business plans to expand Radical Fruit Company “new age” juice drinks and ready-to-drink teas, Fruit Magix kids’ juice drinks. Atlantis bottled water, and All Sport sports drinks.
- Evaluated and overhauled PCI’s product development process to reduce bureaucracy and improve product concept-to-market timeline by 30-50 percent while increasing the number of new brands launched annually.
- Developed PCI’s first international diet beverage segmentation strategy, which laid the foundation for Pepsi Max, the most successful new product in PCI’s history.
- Developed and gained field commitment for global advertising and product development strategies for Diet Pepsi, 7UP and Diet 7UP.
- Recommended packaging, sizing and pricing strategies based on analysis of 65 markets to improve product marketability and business volume growth in Eastern Europe, Argentina, Holland and other markets.
- Relocated to Hungary to help local management develop their annual operating plan in anticipation of a bottler acquisition. Trained marketing manager in Western business skills.
Senior Product Manager
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Frito-Lay
Aug, 1984
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Jun, 1990
Senior product manager, Fritos Corn Chips:
- Revitalized the company's $475MM flagship brand by redirecting the product's positioning, pricing, packaging, and long-term line extension strategies.
- New direction provided basis for sustained growth of 7 percent.
- Created and directed local marketing plans for a $425MM, 10+ product portfolio of Frito-Lay brands.
- Implemented initiatives that drove sales +11 percent vs. previous year and +3 percent vs. forecast
- Created and launched Crunch Tators potato chips. Test market year-one sales exceeded forecast by 50 percent.
- Executed national rollout of Delta Gold potato chips. Year-one sales of $150MM exceeded forecast by 25 percent.
- Assisted in national rollout of Chili Cheese Fritos corn chips. Year-one sales surpassed forecast by 40 percent.
- Assisted in national rollout of “more nacho cheese” Doritos tortilla chips.
Education
Johnson School, Cornell University
MBA, Marketing, Finance, 1984
Cornell University
BA, English, Theater, 1979
Boards
- Advisory Board, Johnson Graduate School of Management, Cornell University
- Executive Education Advisory Board, University of Washington Business School (2005 to 2007)
Committees
- Advisor, Oxfam's "Behind the Brands" campaign
- Advisor, Credit Express, Medina Foundation's low-income credit union (2007-2008)
- Lead Organizer, Cornell Entrepreneur Network, Pacific Northwest Chapter (2002-2007)
Academia
- Guest lecturer on innovation, University of Washington
- Business Plan Competition Judge, EMBA and Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship programs, University of Washington
Publications
- Author, Dead on Her Feet, published by Booktrope in 2014
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