Resume | Matt Krause

MATT KRAUSE
Istanbul, Turkey
phone: +90 535 680 9680
email: mattkrause@mattkrause.com

WORK EXPERIENCE:

KRAUSE ENGLISH, 2012-present
Istanbul, Turkey
PRINCIPAL

MK COMMUNICATIONS CONSULTING, 2006-2012
Turkey and Romania
BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS COACH

Built a client base of executives and managers from multinational FMCG, financial, and manufacturing companies in Turkey and Eastern Europe.
Improved clients’ communication skills by training them how to anticipate the needs of their audience, focus their thinking, and squeeze better results from their existing language levels.
Trained customer service reps at a $3 billion export business, teaching them how to convey difficult messages in a way that built customer loyalty.
Prepped product managers for global FMCG companies like P&G and Cadbury for presentations on product development plans to European and American bosses.
Coached Retail Operations Director of $1 billion apparel company how to better present store opening and closing strategies to international board members.

MODA JEWELS, LTD., 2003-2006
Istanbul, Turkey
SALES AND CUSTOMER SERVICE MANAGER

Owned and operated an ecommerce retail business selling Turkish jewelry to North American customers.
Grew direct-to-consumer retail shipments from only 20 per month to over 200, while stabilizing the delivery window and cutting transit time from 2 weeks to 3 days.
Developed customer service practices via calls and email, to build relationships with customers and to better understand their needs and how they used the products.
Tripled repeat customer business with incentives and WOM tools, raising return business from 5% of total sales to 15% of total sales in the first year.
Cut advertising costs in half by refining target customer definitions and improving site design elements like product photography, graphic design, and navigation.

EDDIE BAUER, 2000-2003
Redmond, WA, USA
FINANCE ANALYST, Retail Operations

Allocated monthly payroll budget (average of $10 million per month) to 550 individual retail stores across the USA and Canada, taking into account store-level factors like product assortment, square footage, security needs, etc.
Improved store-level sales planning, so sales managers could spend less time in the office adjusting forecasts, and more time on the sales floor with customers.
Developed tools to plan and manage retail store staffing expenses, so individual stores could adjust staffing levels quickly as sales fluctuated, and yet the overall company would still hit its % of sales targets.
Collaborated with other Retail Ops Finance members, developing ways to make more efficient use of the existing budget money, in order to maintain as much staffing in the stores as possible, given the shrinking budgets brought on by steep drops in sales.

PROGRESSIVE INTERNATIONAL CORP., 1998-2000
Kent, WA, USA
PURCHASING SUPERVISOR

Transferred purchasing and import logistics functions from USA headquarters to a Hong Kong subsidiary. Included system design coordination with IT staff, and on-site training of Hong Kong merchandising staff. Designed the new system to eliminate redundant procedures while still ensuring process integrity.
Managed the company integration for merchandising and purchasing departments during acquisition of a California-based company with $6,000,000 annual sales. Overhauled supply chain structure and transferred finished goods assembly from original facility in USA to vendors in Hong Kong/China and Thailand, reducing the cost structure and bringing the products back up to PIC’s profitability standards.
Managed the transition for merchandising and purchasing departments throughout installation of a new ERP system. Designed better processes that leveraged strengths of the new system, and taught department staff how to use them. Worked extensively with programmers throughout the transition to the new system.
With demand planners, analyzed forecast deviations and tweaked ERP parameters for more accurate forecast output. Enabled planners to improve inventory turns and service level while reducing their workload.

PROGRESSIVE INTERNATIONAL CORP., 1995-1998
Kent, WA, USA
INVENTORY PLANNER

Managed inventory turns and service level for wholesale import company ($50,000,000 in annual sales, purchases of $25,000,000 per year). Forecasted demand at sku level for product line of 1200 finished goods.
Kept inventory growth down to 17% while sales grew 43%.
Worked closely with sales force to supply goods for special promotions and new distribution roll outs, including new distribution to major retail chains like Wal-Mart and Target.
Negotiated annual ocean freight contracts and overseas container consolidation arrangements.
Traveled to China, Indonesia, India, and other Asian countries to source products and inspect factories.

ZYGON INTERNATIONAL, INC., 1994-1995
Redmond, WA, USA
OVERSEAS PURCHASING AGENT AND PROJECT MANAGER

Sourced new Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China vendors for the following: Plastic Injection Molding; Printed Circuit Boards; SMT and Through-hole PCB Assembly; Wire Assemblies; Hardware (screws, light bulbs, etc.); Speakers; Printing and Packaging (brochures, corrugated color boxes, etc.); Electronic Components; CD Duplication.
Purchased unused compact disc duplication capacity in Hong Kong. Cut CD manufacturing costs 40%.
Moved PCB manufacture and assembly from USA to Hong Kong/Guangdong. Cut PCB assembly costs 60%.
Managed component supply to consumer electronics assembly facilities in Guangdong and Shanghai.
Using component-level sourcing and true-cost analysis, trimmed fat from margins of overseas OEM vendors.

XIAN UNIVERSITY OF ARCHITECTURE AND TECHNOLOGY, 1992-1993
Xian, CHINA
ENGLISH INSTRUCTOR (China)

Taught conversational English to university Ph.D. and undergraduate students.
Learned Mandarin to reading at newspaper level and speaking/listening in sustained conversation.

EDUCATION:

UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO, 1988-1992
Chicago, IL, USA
B.A. (Bachelor’s Degree) in East Asian Languages and Civilizations, 1992.

Harry S Truman Scholarship, 1991

APICS Certified in Production and Inventory Management (CPIM), since 1998.

LANGUAGES:

American English (native); Mandarin Chinese (intermediate); Turkish (basic); Spanish (basic)

OTHER:

Club Founder, Istanbul Toastmasters
Happy to relocate and travel internationally
On the web at www.mattkrause.com and www.linkedin.com/in/mattkrause