Max Krakauer

About Max Krakauer

My purpose is simple: improve my corner of the universe.I lead eCommerce innovation for North America at SC Johnson — building brands, launching new products, and developing the strategy and team to grow SC Johnson\'s Amazon business through real, consumer-driven innovation.In the past three years, my team launched a foaming toilet cleaner that sold out online in four months and grew into a $9MM national retail opportunity. We built the first new SC Johnson brand since 1992. Right now, we\'re bringing the Shout brand into pet care.What makes this work possible — more than any framework or process — is empathy. The ability to genuinely understand how people think, and what they actually want, is the most underrated skill in marketing. I think about this constantly. It\'s part of why I am so honored to be a guest lecturer in Consumer Behavior at Cornell University.(Thanks, Professor Rifkin, for inviting me!)Outside of new products, I\'m on a not-so-secret mission: most meetings and presentations are broken, and I want to fix them. I\'ve trained 200+ SC Johnson employees on how to run meetings that matter and present ideas that land. Those trainings are now becoming e-learning modules for the entire company.I also serve on the Board of Directors of the Milwaukee Community Sailing Center — an organization that makes sailing accessible to everyone in the community, regardless of background.If you\'re building something new in CPG or eCommerce, thinking about consumer behavior, or looking for a speaker on any of these topics — I\'d love to connect.

Experience

1. Brand Manager

   SC Johnson

   Sep 2022 — Present · Racine, WI, US

   Leading eCommerce innovation for North America at SC Johnson — building the new product pipeline, developing go-to-market strategy, and creating the organizational capabilities to grow SC Johnson\'s Amazon channel through consumer-driven, fast-to-market innovation.• Developed and launched Scrubbing Bubbles Foam Frenzy — a new-to-company foaming powder toilet cleaning technology. Launched eCommerce-first; sold out online within three months, spending less than 25% of planned media budget. Insights from the in-market experiment unlocked a full national retail expansion projected at $9MM in year-one sales.• Built SC Johnson\'s eCommerce Innovation strategy for North America from scratch — including a 3-year NPD pipeline, whitespace opportunity analysis, and cross-functional product prioritization framework. Presented the strategy to senior leadership and directly to Amazon.• Launched Shout Pet — extending the Shout franchise into pet stain care with an eCommerce-first go-to-market strategy and industry-fast development timeline.• Negotiated a $2.1MM agreement across three agencies, establishing new creative, media, and commerce capabilities for in-market experimentation — including SC Johnson\'s first content creator-led campaigns. Generated 123 unique content assets in 90 days.• Led employee engagement (GEOS) efforts across SC Johnson\'s Global Marketing organization (100+ employees) — conducting deep-dive diagnostics, directing five action teams, and delivering the \"Fabric of Work\" training program on emails, presentations, and meetings.• Trained 200+ SC Johnson employees on effective meetings and presentations through \"Running Meetings Like a BOSS\" and \"Presenting Like a BOSS.\" Content now transitioning to company-wide e-learning modules.• Hired, onboarded, and managed SC Johnson\'s first dedicated eCommerce Innovation hire — establishing team culture, ways-of-working, and a direct report relationship built on trust and feedback from day one.

Education

• Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management

  Master of Business Administration - MBA, Business Administration and Management, General

• Cornell University

  BS, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering

  2008 — 2012

Skills

• Matlab
• Haccp
• Minitab
• Chemical Engineering
• Gmp
• Mathematica
• Ansys