Louis Fernandez

RIVIANA FOODS INC., Houston, TX 2015 – Present

Sr. Director of Marketing

Direct marketing, strategic, and branding initiatives at the leading rice company in America and the nation’s second largest provider of pasta products. Requested to manage top rice brands (when company purchased former employer RiceTec, Inc. Accountable for 60% of $500M product portfolio, including packaging functions (artwork, packing material, cost analysis) and management of agencies (contracts, guidance, budgets, digital media plans). Hold full budget and P&L responsibility for $300M+ portfolio.

? Responsible and accountable for the achievement of revenue, profitability, market share & other objectives by:
o Developing and executing annual and long-term strategic plans for assigned product group(s) consistent with corporate priorities
o Enabling and leveraging cross-functional teams, including Sales, Trade, Operations, Finance, Consumer Insights & Analytics and R&D, to meet Brand Plans and drive execution excellence
o Ensure development of trade, retail, and category strategies to meet consumer and customer objectives
o Being accountable for all marketing activities including but not limited to advertising, media buying, social media management, promotions, packaging and pricing
o Analyzing brand and program performance utilizing internal and external data sources to understand both short term volume outlook as well as necessary adjustments to drive performance
o Developing and maintaining strategic relationships with external partners and agencies
o Marketing automation and sales enablement techniques incorporating demand generation

? Define and manage end-to-end product launches with cross-functional teams
? Recommend, develop, implement and analyze qualitative and quantitative research
? Develop and consistently build brand equity as a means of attaining volume goals and long-term profit growth


RICETEC, INC./dba RiceSelect, Houston TX 2007 – 2015

Head of Marketing

Selected as head of marketing (#2 executive) for the RiceSelect brand at a company developing and producing premium high-end traditional and organic rice and pasta items for American and international markets. In charge of short- and long-term sales and marketing strategies, branding and marketing campaigns, packaging, and new product development and launch. Managed $30M sales budget, $3M marketing budget, 4 direct reports, and 4 indirect reports. Hired and oversaw activities of agencies.

? Built marketing department from ground up for RiceSelect brand a premium and organic line of rice & pasta and drove consistent year-over-year top/bottom line growth of 5% annually.
? Recruited and hired candidates to fill key marketing positions and searched, vetted, and hired branding agency.

? Created marketing plan, including trade, branding, packaging, and shopper-marketing initiatives and budgets. Wrote 5-year plan for all 100+ items in RiceSelect portfolio, from cost-of-goods to final pricing and margins.
? Built strategies and oversaw optimization and measurement of consumer acquisition, cross-sell initiatives, and remarketing in order to deliver incremental sales, and enable consumer loyalty.
? Created Digital & Social Media program, growing sales and net income 7-8% YoY for five-years straight.
? Redesigned Packaging and Labels for entire product line; leveraged new look to gain placement with specialty distributors such as UNFI and KeHE as well as traditional retailers like Kroger, Publix, HEB and Whole Foods.
? Played major role in the successful sale of RiceSelect. to Riviana Foods, Inc. Identified potential companies to acquire RiceSelect line and contributed to structuring, negotiating, and closing transaction.


KELLOGG’S COMPANY NORTH AMERICA, Battle Creek, MI / Denver, CO 2002 – 2007

Associate Director of Marketing / Senior Marketing Manager / Marketing Manager, Western Region

Promoted to direct marketing initiatives for Morning Foods Cereal, Snacks, and Frozen Divisions and to serve on a 5-person team tasked with launching a Multicultural Department to regain and grow top-line sales in the multicultural space. Provided strategic marketing expertise for all general & multicultural segments and functions for assigned categories. Managed $30M budget, 5 direct reports, and 4 indirect reports. Held P&L accountability for $500M.

? Directed branding, positioning, marketing, and media initiatives that generated $100M in top-line growth. Hired and guided national & multicultural agency in executing branding and positioning programs for multiple mega brands, led shopper marketing activities, and developed targeted general & Hispanic media plans and strategic messaging at POP.

? Led sponsorship activities that drove continued top-line growth of approximately 20% for first two years. Negotiated and used assets of sponsorship programs w/ MLS, Disney, NASCAR and Mexican National Team (Soccer) and in media, packaging, and POP programs to drive purchase intent and sales at the retail level.

? Generated $1M in sales per “meet and greet” events. Negotiated contracts with artists, musicians and athletes for purpose of meet-and-greet and drive sales at POP.

? Brought in $1M+ in sales per talent show events. Worked with team to create national talent show and partnered with The Walt Disney Company to identify young musical talent (9-12 years) across the U.S. Contestants entered through applications on cereal, cracker, or Eggo boxes found at POP materials.

? Developed promotional strategies to support channels of distribution in the Western region, including Albertsons, Stater Bros., Safeway, Bashas, , Kroger, HEB, and Grocers Supply.

HEWLETT PACKARD, Houston, TX 2000 – 2002

Brand Manager, Latin America – Consumer PC & Printer Division

Provided tailored marketing and branding solutions to increase revenue, market share, and profitability of $40B company’s Latin America Division. Tracked, analyzed, and forecasted sales, established strategic pricing, and allocated budgets based on product mix.

? Increased brand awareness across all distribution channels in Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, and Colombia through targeted marketing programs, product launches, trade show content, and sales training initiatives.

? Played key role in managing a $600M territory that generated over 58% of revenue and 80% of regional profits.

? Delivered 9% revenue and 4% gross profit increase in a declining year.

? Sourced and managed OEM partnership that yielded 600K units immediately and 15% subsequent growth.

SONY ELECTRONICS INC., Park Ridge, NJ / Miami, FL / Dallas and Houston, TX / Atlanta, GA 1990 – 2000

Brand Marketing Manager, North America – Consumer Division; Associate Brand Marketing Manager, Latin America – Pro Division; Retail Sales Associate; Credit Coordinator; Adjustment Coordinator

Promoted to coordinate all phases of high-profile national marketing campaigns for North America. Previously managed brand marketing for $24M territory covering 100+ products in 5 countries. Interfaced with account managers and lines of business in Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Colombia to gather customer requirements.

? Grew sales by 12% ($6M+ above plan) in in 1st year of launching national marketing campaign for Camcorder Department. Increased web activity and web sales by 25% in first year of implementing in-the-box sales promotion.