CANDIDATE QUESTIONNAIRE

Prepared for

Chief Operating Officer

1. Please provide an overview of your current or most recent position. Include a
discussion on your areas of responsibility, reporting structure (including who
you report to and your direct reports), and key accomplishments.
I am currently the Program Manager for our Diversified Retail Channel. My
responsibilities include Weekly and Monthly POS reporting. In this area of my role, I
run weekly and monthly sales and inventory reports. I analyze the data and
distribute the reports with commentary of their programs and categories. As I
analyze the data, I will do a deeper dive to explain in more detail issues that arise
and provide the stakeholders with solutions. If there is a promotion, or a special area
of focus, I will create ad hoc trackers to visualize the impact of the promotion or
special area of focus. I communicate these reports to SVPs of Sales, SVPs of
Marketing, Directors of Sales, Account Managers, various levels of sales
administration teams, Demand Planners and Forecasters, and other members of the
supply chain teams for the respected Operating Company. In addition, I include
those I report to, the VP of Masco Support Services-Operations and the VP of
Masco Support Services- Communications and Analytics.
In addition to Weekly and Monthly Sales and Inventory Analytics, I work on special
projects include market analysis, category bucket analysis, and POG analysis. With
these types of projects I will branch off into marketing and demographic data. I will
analyze how products perform in areas and analyze the age, type of community,
education level, etc. Once I analyze the data, we make recommendations for our
Account Managers to suggest stocking strategies to their account. The most recent
project I have worked on resulted in the creation of 14 new planogram combinations
to be offered to a retailer in order to improve supply chain metrics and improve sales
by decreasing the dead inventory stocked in stores that do not have the consumer
profiles for those products.
The last major portion of my position includes project creation and management. We
have an internal Field Team that services Lowes Home Improvement. However, for
the Diversified Retail Channel that I support, we pay third party agencies to manage

Credit Union Resources, Inc. | 1001 West Loop South, Suite 216 | Houston, Texas 77027 | 832.200.8714

our in-store operations and sales. I work with the Sales and Marketing Teams for the
Masco operating companies and the Principals of the sales agencies to create sales
and service focused projects in order to drive sales through pull through orders.
These projects can include product focused sales based on seasonality or new item
introduction, training, and daily service activities. In addition to the creation, I track
and analyze the progress of the field reps during these projects. I help to identify
gaps and opportunities in order to meet the sales goals identified at the beginning of
the project. At the end of the project, I will recap the results and insights gained to all
stakeholders.
Our organization has an advantage over our competitors in various markets through
our program management team as we are able to provide all of our customers with
insights of the consumers activities in real time. In addition, we are able to provide
real time sales and inventory analytics, and, perform deep dive analysis to trouble
shoot category issues. Lastly, we are able to create and manage projects directed at
driving sales by ensuring the field
team executes in a timely manner with consistency and promptness.
2. What is your definition of customer service and how do you know when
exceptional customer service has been achieved?
One definition of customer service is the assistance and advice provided by a
company to those people who buy or use its products and services. I think this is a
pretty good definition. However, I would add that customer service is when a person
helps a customer reach their desired outcome or goal. I think customer service is a
lot more of a personal interaction than we give it credit for today. I believe that you
can identify excellent customer service when the goal or desired outcome is reached
for the customer and they have an experience that leads them to repeat business
and recommends others to use the product based on their experience. When
service becomes warm in a personal way for the customer, they will be more likely to
treat it as a personal experience.
3. What has been your experience in developing and fostering a culture that
delivers unique service? What are some things you have done to separate the
service level of your organization from that of your competition?
First, a culture that is developed to drive unique services starts with the team
delivering those services. It is important to invest, equip, and release those who
work on your
team in order to deliver those services. It is important to the organization I currently
work for to challenge each other. We are constantly looking to share best practices
and ideas in order to equip each other. And lastly, we are released to implement our
findings and strategies at will. I believe that this type of culture helps each individual

Credit Union Resources, Inc. | 1001 West Loop South, Suite 216 | Houston, Texas 77027 | 832.200.8714

learn new things, not stay stagnant in their position and duties, and allows them to
be the heroes of their own journey. What sets our organization apart from other
organizations through this type of culture is that we dare to ask tough questions and
challenge the status quo. We have the flexibility to change direction as the market
dictates. We often look for new technology to assist as we need, but it is often the
intuition of the people who chart the direction of our organization.
4. Please expand on your analytical skills and your ability to analyze market
trends, conditions and opportunities.
I use Microsoft Excel for a lot of what I analyze. It all starts with raw data, either by
linking excel to the data, or creating a data set myself. So, I am quite proficient with
the Microsoft programs. I often have to bounce between sales and inventory to
marketing metrics in order to tell the complete story. I have analyzed products in
order to suggest new category features, eliminate wasteful stocking skus, or identify
problems within the supply chain. Other projects I have worked on included new
item introductions. On these products, I analyze demographic metrics in order to
suggest the correct item for the correct groupings of stores.
5. How do you promote and gain buy-in from the leadership team AND
subordinates when you want to pursue your strategic vision?
The first step in gaining buy in from others when communication a vision is to
present the opportunity clearly and concisely. The key component is to give those on
the team the opportunity to provide the solution. For example, when I first became a
Program Manager, I was on a rather large account dealing with Lowes Home
Improvement. One of my responsibilities was to take customer service calls from the
stores. This took up a large portion of my day. When I should have been analyzing
sales and inventory, I was spending the majority of my time fielding calls regarding
orders, product specifications, and troubleshooting installation issues. My vision was
that we needed a separate team to field these calls. Therefore, I analyzed the
problem and presented my findings to others on my team and those I reported.
Today, we have a customer service team of 3. Not only do they field calls from the
stores and trouble shoot issues regarding orders, but they are also a liaison to the
stores and the field team who services the stores. In addition, there have been new
technologies developed to help with these relations that provide faster, more
efficient, and consistent service throughout the country.
6. What has been your experience in evaluating operational structures, staff and
processes? Expand on your successes in developing best practices.
Continuous Improvement is a very important part of our organization. In order to stay
ahead of our competitors we must be able to identify opportunities and change
direction on the fly. While we stay consistent with our principals, we do change our

Credit Union Resources, Inc. | 1001 West Loop South, Suite 216 | Houston, Texas 77027 | 832.200.8714

organizational structure and processes in order to stay ahead of the market. I have
participated in Kaizens and other continuous improvement exercises in order to
improve our processes as the market conditions suggest. In my previous role as the
Service Manager for Canada, I was responsible for shifting the direction of our
Canadian Operations. Before this change, the Canadian reps reported into a
Regional Manager in the US and they were to follow the processes and duties of the
US programs. However, there was a change in the market conditions in Canada to
where eventually more stores would be added and other opportunities would
suggest that we would have the ability to branch into new markets. Therefore, the
Canadian team would need to be set up in a way that they could and would
eventually operate on their own. I needed to establish more analytics capabilities,
develop leaders, and build relationships with our operating companies in Canada.
7. What are you passionate about?
I am passionate about people. I love to spend time with someone, do life with them,
invest in them, and watch them grow. I do this both professionally and in my
personal life. In my personal life, I make disciples. In my faith, I believe this to be a
command and I love it. Currently, I have 3 fifteen year olds, and separately, I have a
couple of adult guys who I disciple. My approach is not only to grow them
intellectually in their faith, but also to grow them in life. I spend time teaching them
the Bible, but also just hanging out and doing regular life things with them. And I
love it. It can sometimes be messy. It can be challenging. But I commit myself to
those guys for 2 years. I teach them, then release them to find others to do the
same thing. I use this approach in my career. I look for 2 or 3 other people who may
not know what I know. And, I spend time with them showing them how to use
technologies, analyze data, present opportunities and solutions, and develop their
leadership qualities.
8. What behaviors are critical for someone working in a member facing
environment?
To consider everyone a customer. To always be looking to serve others. To consider
the needs of others important. To be flexible, patient, and optimistic.
9. How is leading a sales team different from leading a non-sales team?
Often times, with sales teams, there are metrics and goals that need to be met. It doesnt

matter the parameters that are put in place to obtain these goals. Non-sales teams
have to play within those parameters. For example, our account managers look at
POS sales from their customers that suggest that orders will be higher. However,
supply chain may determine that the model they are using is accurate and
therefore an increase in orders is not necessary. Sales want more inventory

Credit Union Resources, Inc. | 1001 West Loop South, Suite 216 | Houston, Texas 77027 | 832.200.8714

ordered and Supply Chain wants the inventory to be more efficient and productive.
Communicating clear goals and defining clear metrics is the key for both of these
teams. In addition, these teams should be in communication with one another so
that they can work together in order to reach their objectives.
10. Tell me about a time when you Made a Difference in someones life? How
would you Make a Difference in your role as AFCU COO?
I had a rep in Canada whom I hired to be a part of our team. When hired he did not
possess the skills that other applicants had, but he had a contagious personality. I
just felt that I could teach him the skills, but I couldnt teach the other applicants a
desire to truly serve and love other people. So, when I hired him, I taught him
everything I could about our organization, leadership, and analytics. He reported for
me for a year and half before I was re-assigned. He continued to seek me out for
advice and ideas to continue to grow. Earlier this year, he was hired away from us to
be a regional manager for one of our competitors. He called and asked my advice
about the position before he interviewed. He later called me to say that he had
considered all the advice and that he was going accepted the position. What I will
bring to this opportunity is a relentless and persistent worker. I am someone who
works to accomplish the objectives of the organization through inspiring growth in
others and mobilizing them to excel while displaying the principles and values of that
organization. I measure myself, not by my own accomplishments, but by the
successes of those I invest and the success of the organization. I would try to
establish this culture at AFCU if given this opportunity.

Credit Union Resources, Inc. | 1001 West Loop South, Suite 216 | Houston, Texas 77027 | 832.200.8714