Nabeel Ishtiaq
Mississauga,ON
Summary
Experienced professional with a diverse background in Strategy, Sales, Marketing, and Finance, with a passion for developing winning strategies. Recognized for delivering winning results in building brands and leading people in fast-paced environments. Strong commercial leader and general manager with excellent communication and project management skills. Effective in leading up to drive fact-based, timely decisions, and leading down with cross-functional peers to drive progress with pace.
Overview
14
14
years of professional experience
Work History
Sr. Manager Sales and Marketing Strategy
Irving Consumer Products
09.2024 - Current
- Lead a deep analysis of the bath category in the Canadian landscape and created a 3 year strategy to bring Royale back to growth through appropriate positioning and impactful investments in strategic white space
- Aligned senior leadership to insights, strategies and required investments to driver growth in areas aligned with company objectives
- Partnered with marketing and CSD to create go-to-market plans by channel and region, including the development of sales materials and promotional calendars
- Developed a deep understanding of the consumer journey through primary and secondary research to stay ahead of market trends
- Partnered with sales teams in the development of Annual Key Account Plans to ensure each team could deliver set budgets and regularly reported key metrics
- Reviewed all P&Ls for marketing initiatives to ensure key metrics (profit and mix) were met before they graduated to senior leadership
Manager Sales Planning
Irving Consumer Products
09.2022 - 08.2024
- Closely collaborated with the Canadian sales team to ensure key metrics were met and provided monthly updates to key stakeholders and senior leadership
- Proactively managed excess inventory, by introducing a new process to JDI, to minimize the financial impact to the business reducing stale inventory from 20% to 3% in 18 months
- Led weekly Sales Leadership roundtables for stronger collaboration between various customer teams and recalibrate forecast signal to the organization
- Conducted monthly and annual performance reporting for senior leadership and published for the company owner
- Developed and implemented a Monthly Consumption Review (MCR) process, resulting in regular reads of consumption trends and on-time issue/opportunity identification
- Led the annual sales budget and 5 year strategy planning to enable appropriate supply chain planning and cap-ex approvals for longer horizon
- Created, improved, and implemented tools to effectively manage KPIs, resulting in faster and more accurate business pulse
Manager Business Development
Maple Leaf Foods Inc
09.2021 - 08.2022
- Negotiated and finalized 10+ RFQs worth over 7 million KGs with cross functional and leadership alignment for profitable wins
- Developed strategies for the Sobeys PL category growth in line with customer and MLF shared objectives
- Conducted deep data analysis to uncover opportunities with commercial viability, presented in easily digestible stories
- Persuaded customers with clear, concise, and impactful communication and presentations
- Actively managed forecasts and supply planning to ensure customer expectations were met and balanced with MLF’s commercial goals
Marketing and Community Relations Manager
Maple Leaf Foods Inc
01.2017 - 09.2021
- Orchestrated a 5-year brand strategy in 2017 to lead the brand to #1 share position in 5 years, which was achieved in 4 years with over $70M in sales growth.
- Renovated the Mina brand to drive 2X distribution and achieve the highest velocity in the category, resulting in #1 share of Nielsen halal poultry with 185% growth since January 2017.
- Identified key trends to inform product strategy and enable brand growth into new consumer segments through white space expansion which drove incrementality in the category with base consumers
- Managed Marketing Agency relations to create award winning campaigns with 360 support from grassroots, print and billboards to full scale digital support.
- Leveraged social media influencers and brand ambassadors across Canada to increase brand trust, leading to Mina becoming the #1 brand in consumer consideration
- Managed sponsorships and partnerships for over 500 events, including trade shows like the, Halal Food Fest Toronto, Halal Expo Canada and RIS Conference, enhancing brand visibility.
- Award-winning performance for always doing the right thing and delivering winning results – Maple Leaf Foods Golden Rule Award 2017.
Community Relations Manager
Maple Leaf Foods Inc
03.2015 - 12.2016
- Deepened Maple Leaf Foods’ community ties through a team of 40 brand ambassadors across Canada with heightened communication and grassroots involvement.
- Consulted retailers and foodservice and retail partners such as Freshco, Walmart, GFS, and Sysco on the ethnic consumer opportunity which resulted in category expansion for major retailers with new consumer acquisitions.
Community Relations Representative
Maple Leaf Foods Inc
10.2013 - 03.2015
- Established strong ties between Maple Leaf Foods and ethnic communities in Canada through grassroots efforts including sponsorship of cultural and sports events.
Financial Analyst
Maple Leaf Foods Inc
08.2011 - 09.2013
- Established reporting with SAP Analytics to for strong trade spend management and accountability
Education
BA - Economics - Finance and Business Management
U of Waterloo
Waterloo01.2010
Marketing Strategy Certification - Marketing
E-Cornell
01.2018
Future Leaders -
JD Irving
01.2025
Skills
- Strategic Planning
- Project Management
- Brand Strategy Development
- Digital Marketing Tools
- Team Leadership and Management
- Budgeting & Forecasting
- Problem Solving
- Cross-Functional Team Leadership
Hobbies and Interests
- Avid traveler and outdoor explorer
- Loves food and finds it therapeutic to replicate difficult recipes at home
- Active volunteer in the community to support and mentor as part of a youth program
Technology Skills
- Nielsen
- PowerPoint Slide Master
- Power BI
- Sobeys IRI
- Advanced Excel Skills
- SAP Business Analytics
- SAP PLM
- Numerator
Languages
English
Native/ Bilingual
Urdu
Professional
Punjabi
Limited
Timeline
Sr. Manager Sales and Marketing Strategy
Irving Consumer Products
09.2024 - Current
Manager Sales Planning
Irving Consumer Products
09.2022 - 08.2024
Manager Business Development
Maple Leaf Foods Inc
09.2021 - 08.2022
Marketing and Community Relations Manager
Maple Leaf Foods Inc
01.2017 - 09.2021
Community Relations Manager
Maple Leaf Foods Inc
03.2015 - 12.2016
Community Relations Representative
Maple Leaf Foods Inc
10.2013 - 03.2015
Financial Analyst
Maple Leaf Foods Inc
08.2011 - 09.2013
BA - Economics - Finance and Business Management
U of Waterloo
Marketing Strategy Certification - Marketing
E-Cornell
Future Leaders -
JD Irving