Tom Tester

About Tom Tester

I\'m a seasoned, pragmatic professional with over three decades of progressive retail experience in operations, corporate and supplier roles with many highly admired companies. I have worked in numerous capacities including Business Development, Strategy, Store Operations, Planogramming / Visual Merchandising, Store Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment, Project Management, Strategy, Third Party Vendor Management and Special Order Sales. I am currently lead all Space Planning activities for Ahold Delhaize USA, leading teams supporting our 5 great local brands. I work with a dynamic, skilled group of professionals delivering quality, data-driven, customer-centric planograms and floorplans for our teams I provide a consultative approach to business, steering our partners towards programs that meet their needs, returning value in the form of optimized sales in store. My mission is to add value by working to drive continuous improvement each and every day. My desire is to create streamlined work, seeking automation, reducing error, honing processes, fostering innovation, and improving both accuracy and productivity of my work each day. I challenge the status quo, think divergently and ask the tough \"why\" questions.Specialties: Space Planning, Retail Field Operations, Project Management, Forecasting and Replenishment, Visual Merchandising, Special Order Sales, 3rd Party Merchandising Services and Retail Shelf Edge TechnologyI enjoy rolling up my sleeves at home at work, and conquering many projects, improving our surroundings and enhancing lives.

Experience

1. Board Member - Space Planning Community

   Category Management Association

   May 2023 — Present

   The Space Planning Community is a group of professionals dedicated to the growth and advancement of the Space Planning industry through education, thought leadership, cross-vertical retail partnerships and networking. Founded as a Charter in 2022, this community was established as a part of ARC, the Association of Retail and Consumer Professionals, along with sister organizations, CMA, Category Management Association and the Retail Dietitians Alliance.

Education

• Appalachian State University

  Bachelor's of Science, Psychology, Concentration in Special Education

Skills

• Sales
• Planograms
• Project Planning
• Team Building
• Management
• Retail
• Space Planning
• Program Management
• Merchandise Planning
• Retail Sales
• Merchandising
• Inventory Management
• Inventory Control
• Leadership
• Marketing
• Assortment
• Profit
• Forecasting
• Store Operations
• Visual Merchandising
• Loss Prevention
• Time Management
• Operations Management
• Store Management