Curtis Hector

Dominion Equity is a minority owned private equity independent sponsor that invests in consumer growth businesses.

Ajinomoto Foods North America was formed from the acquisition of the Windsor Foods company. The goal for my group was to develop ways of working to build a new, unique and successful culture for the North America operation. Previously, I had worked and led teams in corporate cultures that were well established. This was the first time that I had to drive the creation of a new and effective culture. Bridging three very different cultures was the key challenge and in the process I learned important culture creation strategies that have made me a much stronger leader. My initial challenge in this role was to create a more formal brand management structure for the company. Prior to joining Ajinomoto, there was no organizational focus around marketing the brands. The programming that was implemented was very tactical and driven by Sales and customer needs. I was able to create internal processes and build a Marketing organization essentially from scratch. Along the way, we began to influence the way that the company made decisions and operated. The leadership culture of the company evolved away from traditional silos into a more cross-functional and collaborative form of operation and management. Ultimately, my Marketing Team developed annual business plans, directed marketing research, created marketing strategies, and drove new product innovation. Marketing assumed a leadership role in working with agency partners and played a critical part in developing and executing merchandising and promotional programs. KEY SUCCESSES ◼ Hired, directed, and trained a team of marketers to form a business unit responsible for providing cross functional business leadership. ◼ Generated a 4-year average sales growth rate of 16% and an average profit growth of 18%. ◼ Created and implemented successful Social-Media, Digital, and E-Commerce strategies. ◼ Executed a SKU rationalization project which helped Operations improve order fill rates from 78% to 93%.

I was selected to help Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) launch a new business unit tasked with building the $900MM Specialty Ingredients segment. I led a team of marketers that were focused strategically in North America, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Through my experience at ADM I gained experience leading and growing a global team and business. I partnered with sales & local teammates to share insights and strategy with customers across global markets to grow the specialty ingredients business regionally. The first step in forming this new team required writing and gaining approval for the Business Unit’s Marketing Strategy. The strategy called for doubling the revenue of the Protein Product segment. Geographic expansion and product innovation were the key tactical levers that allowed us to achieve this goal. Another key element of the strategy was focused on uncovering and acting on potential supplier partnerships, primarily in the Expeller Pressed Protein, Savory Flavor Bases, and Pea Protein categories. Several key acquisitions resulted from these efforts. KEY SUCCESSES ◼ Launched a digital marketing initiative which increased customer awareness by 29%. ◼ Created and executed a marketing plan for Latin America which resulted in creating enough demand to completely sell-out a newly constructed protein plant in Brazil prior to it coming online.

I was recruited to ConAgra as part of the initial team that launched the Shopper Marketing function. Over the course of five years, I led various brands including La Choy Asian Foods, Hebrew National franks, Banquet Homestyle Bakes, Marie Callenders & Healthy Choice Soups, Healthy Choice Fresh Mixers convenient meals and Chef Boyardee pizza & pasta. As the Senior Brand Manager for Chef Boyardee, I supervised two direct reports and managed a $50MM advertising and promotion budget. I managed the P&L, developed the strategy, and drove innovation for the $700MM prepared pasta business. Strategic planning required leading a cross-functional team that built annual plans derived from rolling 3-year strategic plans. During my time at ConAgra I gained valuable leadership, business management and cross functional experience. KEY SUCCESSES ◼ Used consumer research and insights to identify potential innovation opportunities for 17 new products. ◼ Created and activated a Latino marketing strategy that grew household penetration by 10%. ◼ Aggressively managed product assortments and SKU productivity to reduce costs and increase Gross Margins by 6.0 points.

Managed the Crystal Light multi-serve business