Matthew James Email Address

Business Associate

Hickory Farms, Inc. (r) is a leading provider of specialty foods and holiday food gifts. Since 1951, North American families have chosen Hickory Farms' savory sausages, cheeses and other gourmet foods for their loved ones each holiday season. The company's award-winning signature products and eco-friendly gift boxes can be found online, in catalogs, at leading supermarkets year round and in shopping malls throughout the Christmas holiday season.

Results-oriented thought leader and team leader experienced in driving growth and improving operations. Excited by leading teams to solve complex issues through a rigorous, fact-based process. Demonstrated success building collaborative relationships and developing talent. Track record of driving success in organic and acquisitive growth strategy, mergers and acquisitions and performance improvement in a range of industries including retail, consumer products, chemicals, industrial goods, aerospace/defense, airlines, and healthcare. Extensive global experience includes work in Europe (UK, Switzerland, Germany), Asia (China: Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong; Thailand; Singapore; The Philippines), and South America (Brazil). Specialties: Data and analytics, corporate portfolio strategy, business unit strategy, customer insights/voice of the customer, customer segmentation, adjacent market analysis, organic growth, merger and acquisition analysis and due diligence, sales force design and effectiveness, financial and strategic planning processes, organization design and decision-making effectiveness, and talent development. Accomplished speaker including presentations, such as - Tableau Customer Conference 2012 'Redbox Uses Big Data Analytics to Reach 2 Billion Rentals' - Northwestern University Master of Science in Analytics Symposium 'Data Visualization at Redbox' - Tableau Customer Conference 2013 'Optimizing the Largest Retail Network in North America' - Retail Online Integration, 2014 Webinar 'Location Based Marketing and Data' - Predictive Analytics World Chicago 2014 'Applying Analytics to Weekly Performance Analysis' - CSCMP AGC 2014, Sustainability: The Final Channel: Industry Nuisance or Savior?