Marketing • Operations • Strategy • Financial Control and Analysis • Customer Care • Public Speaking

Marla Bace is currently a member of the Executive team at Circles a division of Sodexo.  As General Manager, Marketing and Operations, Marla provides concierge services, event management, as well as customized rewards and experiences for customers and employees.  Marla interacts seamlessly across all organizational levels addressing and solving critical issues, empowering teams, and establishing cultures that foster organizational alignment.

Broad-based experience in both discipline and industry verticals enable her to create new ways to better serve customers, increase sales, improve business development and operations while containing costs.As a business leader,Marla has formulated and implemented business strategy and the corresponding processes that increase corporate and shareholder value and improve performance within F500, turnaround, and growth organizations.

Specialties:

  • B2B, B2C and B2B2C – products and services
  • Marketing – e-commerce, digital, advertising, public relations, communications, customer loyalty, market research, brand development – strategy through execution, and product development
  • Operational profitability, financial control & analysis, P&L
  • Strategic & tactical planning
  • Corporate integrations and organizational change management strategy
  • Establishing strategic partnerships & alliances
  • Building, refocusing and leading diverse management teams
  • Client Relationship Management

About Marla Bace the Professional:

Marla Bace began her career as a CPA with Ernst & Young.  When Marla moved on to Prudential Investments as the Director, Financial Services, she managed financial activities and implemented accounting policies, optimizing productivity.  Marla’s strength in finance and accounting was a solid foundation on which to build a new career focus in marketing, strategy and operational excellence, which she effectively demonstrated

…as Chief Marketing Officer and a member of the strategic management team for Brinton Eaton, a national wealth advisory firm.

Marla was responsible for all marketing and business development activities (e.g., public relations, branding efforts, marketing communications, pricing, customer relations and product development) as well as change management and employee development.

…as Head of Global Marketing Best Practices for UBS Wealth Management.

Marla was responsible for identifying and replicating emerging and leading practices within UBS and best practices from other companies across global marketing, to drive revenues and enhance business efficiency.

…as Chief Marketing Officer at J.H. Cohn, the 16th largest accounting and consulting firm within the US.

Reporting directly to the CEO, Marla planned and administered a $6 million budget and was responsible for guiding marketing and practice development activities across eight regions. She grew a passive nine-person marketing team into a dynamic, 24-person, fully integrated Marketing Department that was instrumental in growing the firm’s annual revenues from $123 million to $200 million over two years. The highlight was a public relations initiative which exceeded goals in the first year by over 125%.

Marla drove an innovative, targeted marketing campaign using the first-ever regional spokesperson for an accounting and consulting firm—New York Yankees Manager Joe Torre. The campaign, which included ads featuring Torre in mass-transit displays, public telephone kiosks, drive-time radio, The Wall Street Journal, Crain’s New York Business, CFO magazine, in both print and online, yielded a jump in brand awareness to 25% from an estimated 0% in a two year timeframe,in the Firm’s key target audience. Marla also managed the rollout of all external and internal communications to reflect the new brand. When she first joined the firm as a Marketing Director, Marla coached the firm’s partners in client relations and prospecting to develop new business.

…as Senior Vice President of Marketing and Sales, at Financial Executives International (FEI), a 15,000-member professional association for CFOs, corporate controllers, and treasurers.

Marla was a top-ranking member of the executive team for this $6.5million nonprofit organization.  She administered and controlled a $1.2 million operating budget.  Under her leadership, FEI achieved an 8% year-over-year increase in revenue (compared to a 15% decline industry wide), a 30% increase in product sales, and a 305% increase in customer base over two years.

Marla also served in the role of Chief Operating Officer for the Foundation affiliated with FEI. She implemented the rollout of the newly created FEI brand, coordinated all marketing activities for FEI, and unified its various sales functions into one customer-facing model. Marla worked directly with Fortune 500 senior financial executives, the FASB and SEC on a regular basis, and reported directly to a board of Fortune 500 senior financial executives.

…while holding numerous positions at Nabisco®, including Food Service Brand Manager for Single Serve cookies and crackers, Grey Poupon® and Cream of Wheat®.

In her role as Brand Manager, Marla reversed declining sales of Nabisco’s Cream of Wheat brand, delivering revenues at 5% over goal. She also played a team role in launching Cream Savers® and Cool Blasts®, with Cream Savers® growing it to a $100 million annual business.  Previous responsibilities at Nabisco® included project management, risk management, process re-engineering and financial controls in various divisions of sales and marketing.

Leading strategy, change, transformational business improvement and restructuring initiatives from concept to delivery, Marla takes great pride in turning every customer touch point into a source of customer satisfaction and bottom line results.