BIO, DONNA BAKER SCHWENK
Donna Baker Schwenk has been a Marketing, Licensing and Product Development Specialist for over 20 years. In 2004 Donna, and her partner, Linda Yancy Kidsley started several companies under the Yancy Baker International, Inc. umbrella, including Shining Tiger Enterprises, Inc. (www.shiningtiger.com) and Treasure Coast Advertising, Inc.
She has created and managed multi-million dollar campaigns for Fortune 100 and 500 companies such as Avon, Pepsi, Volkswagen, Disney, National Wildlife Federation, Target Stores, Bradford Exchange, and The Vatican in Rome, Italy. With expertise in all distribution, sales and merchandising channels in the national and international marketplace, Donna has rebuilt brands such as Cyrk, Mainstreet Direct, Partylite Worldwide, Inc. and Bradford Editions with solid market share gains and bottom line growth results in revenue. While Vice President of Village Candle, Inc. of Maine, Donna drove the profitable turnaround of the business and through her creative work on the brand, products, catalog, web-site and market positioning.
Since 1977 Donna Baker Schwenk has served as an art educator in the nation's schools systems, art director for county Recreation and Parks Departments, architectural advisor for Washington DC area communities.
As a result driven entrepreneur with strategic expertise in advertising and licensing/client relationship management, she founded, developed and managed a highly profitable graphics business from 1980 to 1985 with customers including Frank Perdue, Coca Cola, Century 21, Pepsi, Peninsula Bank, Salisbury University, Townsend Farms. Donna subsequently sold her business to a major regional corporation in 1985.
Donna has built over 19 years of proven performance in global product development and team management with emphasis on strategic business planning and implementation, merchandise planning and multi-channel merchandise marketing to national and international Mass, Gift and upscale consumers.
Because of her proven track record, Donna has been retained as a consultant to some of the largest organizations and groups in the US and Europe. Her credentials include work and consultation with European country leaders for Blyth Industries, the Vatican in Rome, Museum Art Properties, Museum Store Association, Direct Marketing Association, Mainstreet Direct, The Catalog Council, International Color Marketing Group, The Color Association of the United States, The Bradford Exchange, Disney Licensing Properties, Warner Bros., Lena Lui, Pepsi, Coca Cola, Michael Jordan, National Football League, National Baseball League, and Environmental Preservation Incorporated.
Donna's acclaim is as a leading talent in creative vision with sales results from building brands, increased market share, new customer acquisition and increased loyalty. Consumer products specialist for indoor/outdoor home décor gifts, accessories, tabletop, candles, fragrance products, retail displays, F/D/M merchandising, jewelry, collectibles and marketing collateral materials for Fortune 500 International and Domestic companies. Donna has traveled extensively throughout Europe, Central America, United States and Asia. She has recently spent March, April and June of 2004 in China for product development and production while promoting these products in channels around the world. She has recently joined as co-founder of Shining Tiger Enterprises for the purpose of working to preserve the 492 Cave Temples of Mogao in China. She is also President of DBS International, LLC. - a product development and import company.
Her leadership and responsibilities for Disney Direct Marketing, The Bradford Exchange, National Wildlife Federation, National Rifle Association, CYRK, BLYTH Industries, Village Candle and The Vatican include corporate brand vision, voice and consumer penetration through media/advertising communications, marketing (budget and timeline management for product development, international procurement and logistics, graphics, creative services, website, sales training support, showroom and exhibit installation, print and media negotiations, licensing, strategic alliance building, brand co-marketing and discontinued inventory, retail signage/ displays, corporate showroom, promotional products, advertising, catalogs, branding, packaging and labels) and product development for a privately held, nationally known manufacturer and wholesale distributor to the Non- Profit, Gift , Private Label, Fundraising and Food/Drug/Mass market channels.
Donna attended Salisbury University in Maryland where she majored in Art education and Art History. She graduated Cum Laude with a 4.0 in her major. In 2003, Donna was honored as an outstanding alumnus was chosen to provide a scholarship in her name to an outstanding art graduate. She has developed a curriculum for art majors wishing to promote themselves in the marketing community.
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BIO, LINDA YANCY KIDSLEY
From 1993 to present Linda Yancy Kidsley has been launching companies and talent around the world. In 2004 Linda, and her partner, Donna Baker Schwenk, started several companies under the Yancy Baker International, Inc. umbrella, including Shining Tiger Enterprises, Inc. (www.shiningtiger.com) and Treasure Coast Advertising, Inc.
She has acquired and developed series of agencies that include Yancy Baker International, Inc., Yancy Enterprise Solutions, Wine Source South Africa, Shining Tiger Enterprises, Inc. Treasure Coast Advertising, Inc., U S Car Market, Inc., Test Drive Your New Car, Inc. as well as agencies that now make-up MultiPath Communications International, Inc., TechSource International, Inc. and Cantell Communications International, which are located in Silicon Valley, Southern California, Florida and France. Whereas Yancy Baker International, Inc. launches talent and products, Treasure Coast Advertising focuses on providing excellent services, including public relations, investor relations, marketing communications and advertising support. With locations covering both East Coast and West Coast markets the agency networks are poised to provide services nationally and internationally. Additional domestic and global capabilities are always available via the company's network of partners and consultants.
Linda and her teams have planned and/or executed effective campaigns for all of the following companies: Broadcom, CompuClamp, ConnectCom Solutions, The Foundry, NewPort Communications, Oak Technology, OSTA (Optical Storage Technology Association - client members include: Hewlett-Packard Company, Imation Corporation, Maxoptix Corporation, Micro Design International, Panasonic Technologies Inc., Philips Components, Plasmon, Ricoh Corporation, Roxio, Inc., Software Architects, Inc., Sony Electronics, Inc., Taiyo Yuden Co., Ltd., Unaxis Balzers AG, Verbatim Corporation), PurchasingNet, Inc., Potpourri Group including: Pyramid Collection, Nature's Jewelry, North Style and Catalog Favorites, SigEx, Inc., SigEx Ventures, Inc., SigEx SuperPBX, SigmaRAM (client members include: Toshiba America Electronic Components, Sony Electronics, Mitsubishi Electric, Integrated Silicon solutions, Inc., and GSI Technology), Simple Technology, Toshiba America Electronic Components, Toshiba America Information Systems, Wine Source South Africa, Yulin International and Zy.com.
Prior to that Linda had a strategic communications and direct marketing recruiting practice based in Boston where she worked with agencies such as Hill Holliday, Arnold Advertising, Bronner Slosberg Humphrey (now known as Digitas), Cunningham Communications, The Weber Group as well as well known direct marketers like Coldwater Creek, AOL, The Bradford Group, Cyrk and The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, among others.
For several years Linda moved to Europe where she had her own direct marketing travel company.
During the mid -1980's, Linda worked for Prodigy, in New York, developing business to business applications, marketing and sales for their then revolutionary on-line service that was founded and owned by IBM, CBS and Sears. She was a specialist in business to business office systems including reporting, client service, sales and promotions.
Her start in the business strategy world was with ITEL Corporation in New York and San Francisco where she worked her way up from Systems Engineer to District Manager supporting business systems for clients like Toro, Aviva, Galoob and Jaco Electronics as well as Lord and Taylor and Bullock's Wilshire. Her skills in understanding the clients business needs and translating those needs into real-time solutions, made her the top in her field.
She attended Connecticut College in New London, Conn where she majored in Art History.
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