1. Andrew Ballenthin
Toronto, Ontario, 416 317 7313
andrew@solsolutions.ca linkedin.com/in/andrewballenthin
Career Objective
To excel at creating and managing industry leading growth and retention marketing programs at a
senior level for an entrepreneurial and dynamic company.
Overview of Industry Experience
16+ years in business to consumer: beverages, hospitality, household goods, home and real estate, health and wellness.
8+ years in business to business: supply chain, retail stores, hospitality and business consulting.
International experience working with 15 countries; 6+ years based in England, 3 years in international wine import/export.
Key Skills
• Leadership – The ability to offer creativity, vision and hands-on impact with diverse groups of people by
inspiring them to apply their potential toward the achievement of a common short or long term goal.
• Communication – Able to listen well and probe statistics, research and work with people to gain insight
into meaningful trends and then write, present and implement programs with high levels of buy-in.
• Social Media Marketing – Over 2,500 hours invested in researching and applying social media. Achieved an
audience reach of 1.8 million professionals through LinkedIn. Interviewed twice by the Wall Street Journal
This Morning, selected as an international expert for video-casts series on 2010 strategic forecasting by
yourBusinessChannel.com, interviewed on Rogers television and much more.
Employment and Key Achievements Overview
Sol Solutions 2005 – Present
Founder, President, Marketing Consultant – Canada
Worked with over 30 businesses specializing in branding and integrated marketing strategies and programs.
Clients included Volvo, Molson, Labatt, Quebecor, Harley Davidson and a wide variety of small businesses.
• Created and hosted Blog-Off I and II. For Blog-Off II $45,000 in prizes was raised, 28 bloggers
participated from 6 countries and coordinated post publicity between 5 countries.
• Envisioned and delivered an integrated public relations event between Harley-Davidson and a Volvo
Group business; 4 industry papers reported on it and a magazine gave a cover page feature.
• Delivered innovative re-branding implementation, sales collateral, websites, sales promotions and
publicity events for clients seeking industry differentiation and growth programs.
• Presented on integrated marketing and social media to attendees at Milton Chamber of Commerce,
Executive Mentors Group, Microsoft Headquarters, PMI regional annual meeting and more.
Enhanced Marketing Solutions 2004 – 2005
Director, Marketing – Canada
Responsible for managing Rothman’s Benson and Hedges (RBH) and Arrow Truck Sales, a Volvo Group
Company. Duties included supplier management of 15 premium companies; Sharp Electronics, Frisco
Bay/Direct Cash and providing solutions for RBH national clients like Canadian Tire and Gateway Newstands.
• Successfully redesigned branding, product positioning, pricing and sales processes for 2
buying/loyalty groups. This was quoted as one of RBH’s best launches in their company’s history.
• Achieved campaign results of 11+% response rate and 1.1% total database conversion to sales.
• Revamped supplier management practices and substantially increased profit margins from previous
year while growing from $0 to $1,000,000 in new sales in 6 months.
• Successfully created and implemented a new brand position and campaign for Arrow Trucks Sales.
Also worked in cooperation with Ryder Rentals at a national level for new program rollout.
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2. Andrew Ballenthin
Toronto, Ontario, 416 317 7313
andrew@solsolutions.ca linkedin.com/in/andrewballenthin
Cash Converters Canada Inc. 2003
Vice President, Business Solutions / CRM Consultant – Canada
Assessed the feasibility of a new technology program and reviewed the existing web site. Analyzed
financial, legal, technology and implementation needs for head office and 30 franchisee businesses.
Presented the new solution at the annual conference and gained exceptional buy-in for change.
WineSmart BV 1999 – 2003
Vice President, Marketing & Operations – European Union, UK, USA, Australia, etc.
Created, implemented and managed marketing, call centre, logistics, customs tax and technology programs for
a start-up B2C and B2B wine business for international import and European Union export.
• Spearheaded a cutting edge internet site and PR campaign with Texaco and UPS for Europe’s first
program to order online and have the product delivered to a gas station for pick-up.
• Acquired new customers and transitioned the company into a B2B supply chain business that
imported internationally and exported to 15 countries over 700 premium wines.
Thorn EMI plc (An International Retailer) 1993 – 1999
Received a variety of promotions over a 6-year period due to developing, implementing and managing
programs that improved business performance at a multi-million dollar level. Thorn EMI was a multi-national
business specializing in the home furnishings including entertainment, furniture and consumer credit/financing.
Director, Business Planning, Strategy – United Kingdom 1997-1999
• Lead marketing and operations strategic planning in a senior management team for a
cutting edge retail proposal to launch a new chain of stores.
• Successfully managed annual business plan creation and sign-off for a retail division’s
senior management team on behalf of CEO and Nomura Securities.
• Successfully led the creation of a strategic 5-year restructuring plan for 2 CEO’s and
Nomura Securities. The company implemented the plan and returned to aggressive
growth mode. Cash flow has increased by over 300% due to the efficiencies gained.
Brand / Product Manager – United Kingdom 1996-1997
• Managed the product portfolio of over 600 product lines and $50 million budget.
• Implemented changes resulting in 10% improved gross margin and reduced cash
spend of $5 million. Increased sales in key revenue category by over 25% and
improved annual net cash flow directly by $2 million.
Direct Sales / Project Manager – Canada, United States 1993-1996
• Created and managed a direct sales call centre. Achieved the most profitable operation
out of 4 centres and wrote Best Practice guidelines for North America.
• Conducted segmentation analysis on customer base and determined new target
markets and effectively implemented advertising campaigns to capture business.
Retail Sales Person / Assistant Store Manager – Canada 1993-1993
2001 Futon 1990 – 1993
Responsible for a furniture retail chain of nine stores in Ontario. Received promotion due to effective
management of marketing and operations resulting in increased sales.
Regional Manager – Ontario 1991 – 1993
• Managed staff of 40. Responsible for managing marketing, merchandising and smooth
running of all stores.
Retail Sales Person / Store Manager 1990 – 1991
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3. Andrew Ballenthin
Toronto, Ontario, 416 317 7313
andrew@solsolutions.ca linkedin.com/in/andrewballenthin
Training and Education
Terminal Ill Volunteering & Care - Peel Hospice
Ontario Data Privacy - Cassels Brock
Strategic Marketing and Planning - Chartered Institute of Marketing
Advanced Market Research - Chartered Institute of Marketing
Web Design Planning - Chartered Institute of Marketing
Cognos - Product & Customer Dbase - Thorn plc
Leadership in Management - Dale Carnegie
Xcellence in Management - Thorn Americas/Zerox – Certified Trainer
Sales and Management Communication - Dale Carnegie, Fred Pryor, Zerox - Certified Trainer
Project and Time Management - Fred Pryor, Franklin Quest - Certified Trainer
College - Business Administration - Toronto School of Business
Grade 13 Honors - Kitchener Waterloo Collegiate
Public Speaking and Media Accomplishments
2009/10 Highlights - Practical social media from a marketing perspective.
- Created and directed Blog-Off contests with over 40 bloggers participating, 7 judges and $45,000 in prizes
- Blog-Off II achieved 27,700 page views, 110 blog posts, 1,262 comments in 12 days
- Received mention of Blog-Off contest on Huffington Post news site
- 2 interviews with the Wall Street Journal This Morning
- Presented at Microsoft Headquarters Canada
- Presented to the Milton Chamber of Commerce
- Presented to The Executive Mentors Group
- Presented to Strickland Associates' client base
- Guest presenter at Leesa Barnes Podcasting breakfast
- Interviewed on Rogers television
- 4 online TV/Radio interviews with ThatChannel.com
- 3 expert video casts by youBusinessChannel.com
- 2 program interviews on BlogTalkRadio.com
- Co-authored articles with Ecademy co-founder Penny Power
- Interviewed Charlene Li, David Tokheim, Penny Power
- Worked with 50+ social media marketing professionals and writers across 5 countries
- Achieved over 135,000 page views, 350+ posts, 2,100+ comments on personal blog in 12 months
- Directing 13 volunteer media and marketing people across 5 countries in post Blog-Off Contest which will
achieve a reach of over 4 million people online via audio/video casts, blogs, press releases, Twitter, LinkedIn,
Facebook and more.
- Seminar instructor on LinkedIn Super Users for 2010 Social Media Telesummit for up to 200 people
- Upcoming feature in white paper by Mindeliver Media
- Upcoming full chapter feature in Conrad Hall's book, Voices of Influence in 2010
- Upcoming listing in Conrad Hall’s North American social media directory
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4. Andrew Ballenthin
Toronto, Ontario, 416 317 7313
andrew@solsolutions.ca linkedin.com/in/andrewballenthin
Industry Recommendations
“I had the privilege of participating in Blog-Off II and was impressed with the way Andrew managed the
competition, from training contestants on the use of TypePad to providing status reports throughout the contest
period. Furthermore, he fostered a spirit of collaboration rather than competition, and as a result, I've
connected with several excellent bloggers from whom I'll continue learning in the future.” Janet Barclay,
Founder Virtual Assistant, Blog-Off II participant
“I don't want to oversell it, but Andrew is a genius! As a participant in Blog-Off II, I could only marveled at his
professionalism, dedication, and the high caliber of work and creativity displayed in his creation of the site and
the (much larger) contest. Andrew's Community Marketing Blog is a dynamic work in motion, much like Andrew
himself, a relentlessly innovative marketing professional. It was a privilege to work with him and all of the other
professionals involved.” Elizabeth Thomas, Freelance copywriter, Blog-Off II participant
“In addition to being creative, enterprising, and innovative, Andrew has ushered contestants through the Blog-
Off with consistency and care, making himself readily available and offering plenty of encouragement. The
Community Marketing Blog-Off is a great idea and has inspired me to learn from the varied offerings of many of
the contestants, as well as to dig deep to offer the best of myself in my posts. Thank you, Andrew, Blog-Off
judges, and fellow contestants!” Lucia Brawley, Writer for Huffington Post, Blog-Off II participant
“My referral to Andrew was after meeting with several other marketing/social media consultants. The immediate
benefit of our initial discussion was that Andrew 'gets it': the critical importance of integrating classical
marketing with social media marketing. It's not one or the other - it's a focused, targeted & blended strategy
and execution of deliverables aimed at value added branding, community credibility, business development,
client retention & loyalty, measurable results and increased sales and bottom line profits. Andrew had a unique
in-depth approach to learning my business, understanding my clients' needs, and identifying and analyzing my
specific goals. And this was only the pretext to his comprehensive, integrated marketing proposal and 'bang on'
targeted recommendations which I could apply immediately. Andrew's ongoing knowledge, best practices and
cutting edge expertise in the social media arena provides enormous value as he consistently aims for my
continued success. I constantly refer Andrew to my business colleagues and they are agreeing that he is leaps
and bounds beyond any other marketing consultant out there.” Nancy Jo Bidderman, Real Estate Agent Harvey
Kales Ltd, past client
“Andrew is a highly intelligent, energetic professional. He was a great help to our Strategic Sourcing Process
project. During the project, Andrew demonstrated his excellent abilities to: - facilitate out of the box thinking to
solve international manufacturing quality issues - bring our team together to align goals and internal processes
- go beyond the project requirements and coached team to help develop skills to support the program’s future
success - challenge us to go with sharper thinking to deliver strategic and operational effectiveness.” Ge Qu,
Business Development Manager GCP Elastomeric Inc, Past Client
“Andrew is a brilliant lecturer and gifted public speaker. He successfully demonstrated, to a group of our
corporate clients, his ability to effectively communicate by sharing his in-depth understanding of social media,
in relation to business professionals, and how it can increase corporate ROI. By embraced his audience with
current statistic, visionary concepts and amusing, case in point examples, Andrew engaged the participants,
and initiated interactive discussions & business networking.” Susan Sparkes, The Selection Group, Managing
Partner
Over 20+ recommendations on my LinkedIn profile – linkedin.ca/in/andrewballenthin
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