Curt Peterson

cpetersonindiana@aol.com
Schererville, IN 46375 H: 219.865.2566

Senior-Level Marketing, Communication, & Operations

Consumer, Manufacturing & Retail, Non-profit
Dynamic operations, marketing, and sales management career building and leading top-producing
partnerships in Fortune 500, national and non-profit markets serving 85,000 customers daily. Expert
skills in customer loyalty, strategic planning, key account management, channel development, team
leadership and mentoring within direct and indirect selling environments. Personal record of top-digit
gains in revenues and market share ratings for competitive multi-million dollar markets. Creative and
decisive with strong organizational talents.

Sales Team Leadership / Financial Optimization / Team Building & Motivation / Lifecycle
Strategies
Territory & Distribution Alignment / Negotiations & Proposals / New Business Development
Project Management / Client & Vendor Relations / Consumer Behavior Modeling / Customer
Relations

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:
The Lutheran Magazine, Chicago, IL 2005 to Present
$60M non- profit organization with a national organization of more than 4 million.
Marketing Director & Publishing Manager
Manage operations, brand awareness, marketing and sales for multiple publications in national
market. Spearhead key aspects of contract coordination and negotiation for subscription
fulfillment. Communicate product strategies to 10,000 national contacts increasing visibility
through marketing campaigns, data base management, direct sales and outreach programs.
• Improved brand awareness and core retention 22% with communication plan involving web
strategies, direct mail, loyalty touch point initiatives, promotions and extensive community
outreach campaign.
• Inverted 8% annual sales volume decrease and improved market utilization 15% with
evaluation of historical sales and market demographics followed with national campaign
using direct mail, special events, improved public relations.
• Boosted advertising revenue 6% and circulation rate 9% by developing multi-tier pricing
strategies and implementation of premium price points, including value-added and web
incentives.
• Increased revenue 10% by identifying market niches, implementing a business and
communication plan with end-users, pricing plans through web and data base strategies,
strategic alliances and direct mail.
• Reduced variable production expense 8% as a result of identifying expense variables,
implementing margin improvement plans and contract negotiation.

The Times, Munster, IN 2004 to 2005

$80M newspaper publisher with 85,000 daily and 95,000 Sunday subscribers.
Circulation Director
Recruited to highly visible position tasked with spearheading financial turnaround for
underperforming operations. Accountable for revitalizing sales, service, collections and
distribution of product with $16M in revenue and $7M in annual expenses. Supervised multi-
site operations with 4 direct reports, 55 down-line employees and 350 independent contractors.
• Elevated brand awareness in highly competitive market through strategic alliances with
market advertisers, product sampling and special event marketing.
• Bumped consumer sales 5% over prior years by developing forecasting model, executing
market segmentation and applying strategic sales plan based on demographics.
• Increased revenue 5% through analysis of price elasticity to service and demographic
variables, implementation of market-based pricing tiers, control of sales incentives and
inventory management.
 • Reduced distribution expenses $65K, improved bad debt write-offs $50K and spurred
customer retention 20% by establishing execution benchmarks and managing by
accountability performance objectives.

Curt Peterson - Page Two

Portland Press Herald & Sunday Maine Telegram, Portland, ME 2000 to 2004
$75M Statewide newspaper publisher.
Circulation Sales Director
Joined organization to lead marketing and sales activities for $15M in revenue operation and
$7M expense budget. Supervised 4 direct reports, 52 down-line employees and 400
independent contractors.
• Increased sales volumes 11% through market research, analysis and implementation of
tactical sales promotions, including strategic partnerships with retailers and advertisers
• Amplified revenue $200K by developing a market data base and leading new product
initiatives with analysis, campaign roll-out and creation of new vertical sales channels.
• Improved department efficiency 10%, increased customer satisfaction 15% and propelled
core retention 8% by implementing performance management standards in unionized
department.
• Slashed expenses $175K by reengineering distribution and operations of circulation
department, including minimizing route deliveries, realigning territories, streamlining
delivery patterns and negotiating distributor rates.

Duluth New Tribune, Duluth, MN 1994 to 2000

$50M newspaper publisher spanning a three-state territory (MN, WI, and MI).
Circulation Sales Director
Held directly accountable for strategic leadership of circulation department related to $10M in
revenue. Supervised 3 direct reports, 40 employees and 400 contractors.
• Received top-level customer satisfaction rating by improving customer relationship with
direct mail, telemarketing, loyalty promotions and service levels exceeding customer
expectations.
• Increased total revenues $300K by developing a marketing data base strategy.
• Orchestrated operations and circulation into new geographic markets through market
analysis, strategic planning, market campaigns and budgeting of operations / distribution
activities enhanced revenue 5%.
• Enhanced brand recognition through special event campaigns, strategic alliances and major
sponsorships.
Additional prior experience includes role as Regional Sales Manager and Field Sales
Manager at The Chicago Tribune; recognized with Presidents Award for contributions boosting
field sales volume 12% in mature market; conducted industry training seminars in Product Life
strategies, customer service and loyalty as well as retail and consumer sales strategies.

EDUCATION:
M.B.A., Marketing
Keller Graduate School of Management – Chicago, IL

B.S., Business (minor concentration in Accounting)

Governors State University – Park Forest, IL

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT:
American Marketing Association
Community Leadership School
Portland Downtown Business Council
Suburban Postal Customer Council
Audit Bureau Rules Committee
Circulation Management Association Board Member