Stephen P. Jones

118 Albion Ave Park Ridge, IL  60068 |  405.684.7777  |  stephenpjones10@gmail.com

 

Summary

Senior business leader with considerable experience launching new products, new teams and new initiatives. Excel at defining white spaces; identifying the problem and finding creative and innovative solutions to drive business and culture forward. Proven success leading teams in Marketing, Operations, Communications and Product Management. Expert writer and presenter, able to lead cross-functionally and drive change through creative thinking, storytelling and problem solving. Proven entrepreneurial spirit succeeding in a large organization.

• Product Development & Management:
  • Consumer Insights Research
  • Business Case Creation
  • In-life Product Optimization
• Enterprise Initiatives Execution:
  • Executive Buy-in
  • Cross-Functional Leadership
  • Driving Change
• Innovation Implementation & Delivery:
  • Ideation Tools and Processes
  • Facilitation, Training & Culture
  • Insights to Execution
• Professional Communication:
  • Storyteller / Writer
  • Communication Planning
  • C-level Authorship
• Team Leadership:
  • Coaching and Developing
  • Driving Culture
  • Leader as Servant
• Field Marketing
  • Local Brand Activation
  • Trade Shows/ Sponsorships
  • Event Analysis

Professional Experience

United Airlines – Chicago, IL

Senior Manager, Corporate Communications

Feb 2018 – Present

• Specialize in leadership messaging and coupling operational communication with engagement and change management activities
• Member of senior leadership team for multiple operational areas, providing strategic guidance to Vice Presidents and direct reports
• Identify, assess and implement new communication technologies and processes; new outage communication technology removed email and increased efficiency in deliver information to real time
• Led team of nine communicators providing strategic communication and change management leadership to operations, marketing and program management
• Redefined operations and customer experience communication strategy for 70,000 frontline employees
• Reduced email by 30% and increase mobile web and app usage to more than 60
• Led digital content migration to new intranet management system (Sitecore), designing UX and taxonomy for multiple frontline work functions

U.S. Cellular Corporation – Chicago, IL

Senior Manager, Product Management & Innovation (Lab 465) Treehouse & Treehouse Table  

Feb 2017 – Present

• Launch and lead product management activities resulting in more than 250,000 downloads in first 6 months with 30% month over month retention
• Serve as product owner in an Agile environment, providing strategic leadership for development team to create two differentiated digital products dedicated to meeting pain points of today’s families
• Create user stories and epics based on defined user personas; prioritize product backlog items to achieve more than 100 feature enhancements
• Create defect documentation, revenue forecast, social media strategy, customer service strategy, lifecycle strategy
• Operate in a start-up environment with limited resources and oversight; Lab 465, LLC is a wholly owned corporation dedicated to launching and managing non-core products

Product Manager, Innovation – New Product Development and Execution

Mar 2016 – Feb 2017

• Located and explored business opportunities adjacent to the core mobile space; directed development efforts across insights ideation, partnerships, and commercialization for three products within innovation portfolio with combined projected $400 MM 5-year revenues
• Led early project management effort to focus on two digital products, identifying prioritized backlog items to create a minimum viable product
• Created, customer segmentation targets, acquisition strategy and launch timeline
• Recognized as innovation expert sought out by internal business partners to help facilitate and assist core organization’s innovation efforts

Senior Manager, Operations – Associate Readiness and Change Management                                

Oct 2013 – Mar 2016

• Led three separate functional teams; Internal Communications, Policy and Procedure Management, Intranet Portal Management
• Led team to create and implement holistic associate readiness strategy for more than 7000 geographically dispersed associates, including email, push notifications, online content, social learning, and leadership directed education, reducing communication messaging by 48%
• Developed requirements, documentation, and business case for new financial processes and systematic enhancements regarding credits and adjustments, resulting in $112 MM savings year over year.
• Led team through RFP process, strategically comparing top providers to meet the needs of our business and ultimately selecting Oracle as new Intranet technology provider

Senior Manager, Marketing – Prioritization and Messaging                        

Dec 2011 – Oct 2013

• Researched current state of prioritization and internal communication by interviewing key stakeholders, surveying, collecting pain points and using a test and learn methodology
• Created strategy to centralize all marketing projects, priorities, and launches resulting in a repeatable process to educate and inform larger organization of marketing priorities
• Created team to act as communication consultants, serving as change managers for all marketing projects

Manager, Brand Activation

Jun 2009 – Dec 2011

• Executed all territory brand management activities for the Oklahoma and Kansas region, including identifying brand appropriate grass roots and sponsorship opportunities and creating experiential onsite activation
• Served as local head of marketing, providing local recommendations to national agency and support to regional director
• Worked with local leadership to staff external events and drive sales revenue
• Led national experiential marketing campaign, partnering with national cinema company, driving more than $350,000 in incremental revenue

Manager, Sales Feb 2007 – Dec 2011

• Led, developed, and coached 15 sales and operations professionals over multiple locations
• Ranked consistently in top 3 for market, achieving 110% or more of budget

Indoor Raceways, Inc.  – New Business Launch Oklahoma City, OK

Senior Manager, Business Development and Marketing

May 2006 – Feb 2007

• Original start-up team for Oklahoma City Market, introducing high speed indoor carting
• Led team of outside sales and event coordinators to execute business meeting and team building packages, resulting in sales of more than $30,000 monthly
• Served as local marketing decision maker reporting directly to CFO

Alltel Wireless – Outside Sales

Oklahoma City, OK

Business Solutions Representative

Feb 2001 – May 2006

• Original member of Oklahoma Alltel Business Sales Team, catering to small and medium businesses
• Grew brand recognition and book of accounts to rank in the top three consistently monthly

 

Education, Memberships, Accomplishments, Interests

University of Oklahoma – Norman, OK

Bachelor of Arts, 2001

• Major: Journalism – Public Relations
• Minors: Philosophy, Sociology

Additional

• Design Thinking for Innovation Certification, License H58YXNJBFW38 – University of Virginia, Coursera.com
• S. Cellular Recognition
  • Coaches Award, 2008
  • Key Leader Award, 2011, 2012, 2014
• Blogger – daddydevelopment.com
• org Member
• Advertising National Association (ANA) Member
• University of Oklahoma Chicago Alumni Member
• Author, “I’m a Leader, Now What Do I Do?” ISBN 1523686294
• Pretty Great Dad, Pee Wee Soccer Coach, Karaoke Singer, Beer Snob, Terrible Guitar Player and Expert Lawn Mower