Heechan (Brian) Lee
Coquitlam,Canada
Summary
B2B and D2C sales leader with 12 years of experience in driving growth through cost-effective IT solutions, including Salesforce and Asana. Expertise in the Consumer Packaged Goods sector, with a strong record of developing profitable coffee programs and enhancing waste management processes to boost efficiency and cut costs. Achieved remarkable growth for a startup, scaling revenue from US$110K to US$10M in 8 years, and secured a US$2M deal with Starbucks across the US and Canada.
Overview
19
19
years of professional experience
Work History
Sales Director
Quality Coffee Systems Corp.
Burnaby, BC
07.2024 - Current
- Representing premium brands such as WMF, Schaerer, Jura and Conti Espresso machines to target audiences: cafes, new restaurants, government branches, education institutions.
- Building a profitable coffee program for HORECA industry.
- Responsible to penetrate the US market with the Conti line.
- Onboarded dealers/service centers in Los Angeles, Sioux City IA, Chicago IL and New Jersey. First step to US$10M revenue in 3 years
Sales Director
Maple Leaf Disposal
Langley, BC
11.2023 - 07.2024
- Managed a waste management portfolio of CA$45M annual revenue through various channels while leading a team of 7 territory managers, utilizing Salesforce to establish and track clear Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
- Successfully implemented comprehensive employment policy, procedure and sales process.
- Implemented Salesforce as CRM ($150k integration) with custom reports functions.
- Maintained and enhanced relationships with major accounts such as BC Liquor Distribution Branch, BC Institute of Technology (BCIT), Langara College, Vancouver Community College and Douglas College.
- Existing BC Net contract was successfully renewed.
- Have drafted and submitted 6 Request for Proposal (RFP) for public sector clients such as City of Richmond, Canadian Mortgage Housing Corp (CMHC).
Sales Director
Regal Ware Inc, DBA ESPRO Inc.
07.2019 - 10.2023
- Managing and mentoring a team of 8 Regional Sales Managers, located in Vancouver, Kewaskum WI and Copenhagen Denmark by utilizing Salesforce and Asana.
- Key sales contact for 8 exclusive partners in Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Czechia, Canada, Germany, India and Scandinavia.
- Role included regulatory compliance, negotiating and planning to meet the needs for each distributor’s purchasing & sales calendar.
- Preparing and presenting monthly/annual forecast.
- Planning and pitching product concept, planogram and calendar to fully own the sales cycle with major retailers such as Starbucks, Neiman Marcus, Williams Sonoma, and Recreational Equipment Inc (REI).
- Implementing Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) company-wide for more productive leadership meetings and team communications.
- Successfully integrating Salesforce with in-house ERP system.
Sales Manager
Regal Ware Inc, DBA ESPRO Inc.
01.2014 - 07.2019
- Managing 1,000+ active accounts while proactively achieving 25% annual growth.
- Key role in developing specialty coffee market in North America: sell-through and marketing strategy.
- Initiating and maintaining successful relationships with big volume international distributors.
- Landing prominent clients such as Nordstrom Inc., Tim Hortons Inc. and Capital One Financial Corp.
- Ensuring specific compliance of commercial standards to various countries for export.
- Generating and managing 3,000+ global leads.
- Managing trade shows that include Ambiente, International Houseware Association (IHA), and Specialty Coffee Association (SCA).
General Manager
Caffe Divano
04.2011 - 11.2013
- Managing 3 profitable cafes: forecasting inventory and labor based on previous year’s P&L reports.
- Actively involved in selling retail products.
- Coffee quality control including finding and contacting new roaster vendors to improve customer experience.
- In charge of sizable commodity orders around $5k.
- Responsible for building a team: interviewing, training and scheduling for approximately 40 staff members.
Office Manager & Licensed Proctor of TOEFL
Vancouver Trinity Elite Academy
01.2007 - 06.2009
- Responsible for monitoring company expenses.
- Running daily operations including teaching and consulting.
- Setting up a computer lab for TOEFL official testing centre.
- Curriculum building (grade 9 to 12).
- Consulting with parents and students about graduation and post-secondary plans as an academic coach.
Education
Linguistics -
University of Victoria
01.2006
Economics - incomplete
University of Victoria
Skills
- Business Development
- Salesforce integration
- B2B negotiations
- Sales forecasting
- Customer relationship management
- SaaS Solution Sales
- Consultative Sales
- Product Development
- Global Relationships
- Forecasting
- Account Management
- Regulatory Compliance
- RFP Process Negotiations
- MS Office Suite
- Sales process optimization
- Key account management
References
Available upon request
Hobbies and Interests
- Coffee tasting and espresso extraction: Favorite Coffee: any Geisha variety from Blue Bottle Coffee
- Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai and boxing: Rank of purple belt under Giacomo Zanini
- Audio Enthusiast: Big collector of premium headphones & earphones such as Focal & Sennheiser products
- Baseball: recorded 78 mph fast ball as a middle school player in Korea
Languages
Fluent in written & spoken Korean
Affiliations
- Purple Belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under Giacomo Zanini of Gracie Barra
- Avid trainer of boxing and kickboxing
- Audio Enthusiast: premium headphones and in-ear monitors
References
References available upon request.
Timeline
Sales Director
Quality Coffee Systems Corp.
07.2024 - Current
Sales Director
Maple Leaf Disposal
11.2023 - 07.2024
Sales Director
Regal Ware Inc, DBA ESPRO Inc.
07.2019 - 10.2023
Sales Manager
Regal Ware Inc, DBA ESPRO Inc.
01.2014 - 07.2019
General Manager
Caffe Divano
04.2011 - 11.2013
Office Manager & Licensed Proctor of TOEFL
Vancouver Trinity Elite Academy
01.2007 - 06.2009
Linguistics -
University of Victoria
Economics - incomplete
University of Victoria