Serena L. Everette
Consulting Director, Consumer and Retail
Denver, CO · (303) 555 0100 · name@example.com · linkedin.com/in/serenaleverette
Key Qualifications
EXPERIENCE
Sixteen years across merchandising and management consulting, nine of them leading engagements
INDUSTRIES
Specialty retail, grocery, consumer packaged goods, direct to consumer brands
SPECIALTIES
Growth strategy, pricing and promotion, assortment planning, market entry
SYSTEMS
Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, Alteryx, Tableau, Miro
PORTFOLIO
Four national accounts and one investor backed retailer, 11.4 million dollars of sold work
CREDENTIALS
Certified Management Consultant, Institute of Management Consultants
EDUCATION
Master of business administration, University of Denver
Results at a Glance
$11.4m
Consulting work
84%
Percent by pricing
210
Stores that added
6
Competitive orals
Executive Summary
Consulting director in a national strategy firm, accountable for 11 million dollars of sold work a year across consumer goods and specialty retail. Sixteen years in the field, nine of them leading engagements after a start in merchandising. Owns four client relationships, writes the proposals, and runs the steering committee room.
Signature Achievements
- Sold 11.4 million dollars of consulting work in 2025 across four consumer clients, up from 7.9 million dollars two years earlier.
- Lifted practice realization from 84 percent to 92 percent by pricing scope changes into the statement of work rather than absorbing them.
- Led a pricing and promotion program for a grocery chain with 210 stores that added 34 million dollars of gross margin in its first year.
- Won 6 of 9 competitive orals in two years, including a three year master services agreement with a national footwear brand.
- Held case team utilization at 74 percent across 18 consultants while protecting two development weeks a year for every analyst.
- Coached five consultants to manager and two managers to senior manager since 2021.
Professional Experience
Director, Consumer and Retail Practice
Cairnbrook Partners, Denver, CO 2020 to present
Leads a case team of 18 consultants and analysts serving grocery, specialty retail and consumer packaged goods clients across the Mountain West and Southwest.
- Owns four client relationships and the pipeline behind them, from first conversation through statement of work and renewal.
- Sets engagement structure, tests the hypothesis set with the case team, and edits every steering committee readout before it leaves the firm.
- Prices work, negotiates fee arrangements, and reviews realization against plan with the practice leader each month.
- Staffs engagements against both client need and consultant development, and chairs the quarterly performance review for the practice.
- Writes the annual consumer pricing point of view that the firm publishes and takes to clients.
Senior Manager
Halden Ridge Advisory Group, Denver, CO 2016 to 2020
Ran two and three concurrent workstreams on growth and margin engagements for regional retailers with revenue between 200 million and 900 million dollars.
- Built analysis plans for assortment reviews covering up to 40,000 stock keeping units using Alteryx and Tableau.
- Wrote proposals and built the supporting fee and benefit models in Microsoft Excel.
- Presented findings to owner operators and their boards, then stayed on to install the changes with store teams.
- Managed five consultants and carried a personal utilization target of 80 percent.
Category Manager
Northstar Merchandising Group, Boulder, CO 2012 to 2016
Managed the household goods category for a regional retailer with 64 stores and 480 million dollars of revenue.
- Set assortment, shelf pricing and the promotional calendar for a category worth 58 million dollars a year.
- Negotiated annual terms with 30 suppliers and ran the quarterly business review with each of the top ten.
- Moved category gross margin up 2.4 points across four years.
Licensure and Certification
Certified Management Consultant, Institute of Management Consultants
Member, Retail Industry Leaders Association
Education
Master of business administration, University of Denver, 2016
Bachelor of science in economics, Colorado State University, 2009
Core Skills
Growth strategy · Pricing and promotion · Proposal writing and orals · Statement of work negotiation · Case team leadership · Hypothesis driven problem solving · Client relationship ownership · Utilization and realization management · Alteryx · Tableau · Microsoft Excel modeling · Steering committee facilitation