Resume | Vanessa Smith

Resume

The formal record.

The complete executive resume, with employment history, education, and the platforms and disciplines I work in. Download the PDF, or read the summary below.

Vanessa Smith

Commercial strategy and marketing leader. Channel enablement, sales activation, and growth strategy for consumer products, retail, and wholesale. Based in Lehi, Utah.

Executive summary

Commercial and marketing leader with 17+ years in marketing, including 15 years inside a nationally distributed consumer brand and 7 years leading an independent practice. Turns product stories into the tools a sales channel can actually use. Inside the consumer brand, started in customer service in 2004 and added marketing in 2009, then led both as the brand grew and owned a nationwide reseller channel end to end. Now founder and principal of Catwalk Advisory, leading marketing strategy and operational execution for a concurrent portfolio of clients spanning consumer, B2B, and service-sector markets. Connects marketing, operations, and customer experience around one commercial outcome, and builds the systems that keep messaging consistent from launch through partner execution.

By the numbers

17+ yrs

In marketing. 15 inside a nationally distributed consumer brand, 7 leading an independent practice. Started in customer service in 2004, added marketing in 2009, and led both functions alongside a nationwide reseller network.

$3.87

CPM on paid social. Ran Meta and Hulu paid social for Amber NaturalZ at a $3.87 CPM, well below the roughly $13 industry median.

+75.4%

Year-over-year site sessions for V Auto Care with zero ad spend, with pageviews up 113.2 percent, unique visitors up 51.3 percent, and bounce rate down from 90 to 80, by resolving multi-platform listing errors and SEO gaps.

$250K+

First-six-month revenue at a transportation startup, captured on the complete operational and digital infrastructure I built from zero.

Core competencies

Commercial activation

Reseller and channel enablement, partner onboarding and training, product launch messaging, selling stories and sales tools, competitive positioning, trade shows and events, customer experience design.

Brand strategy

Brand positioning, multi-channel paid media across Google, Meta, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Hulu, SEO and digital analytics, product-education content.

Leadership

Team leadership and development, organizational health and culture, cross-functional alignment, regulatory compliance under FDA and NASC.

Operations

Business operations and systems design, CRM and marketing systems, financial operations including invoicing, reporting, and budgeting, vendor and agency management.

Experience

Sep 2019 to Present

Founder and Principal, Catwalk Advisory

Lead marketing strategy and commercial execution for a concurrent portfolio of clients spanning consumer, B2B, and service-sector markets. Under contract to a nationally distributed consumer brand, designed the reseller sell-in kit: a mailed folder holding sample products, a price sheet, product and customer catalogs, and info cards, which flips into a pop-out counter display with reorder and reseller-signup codes on the front. Built the reseller intro kit that activated new partners at the shelf, with pre-designed ads segmented by customer moment, ad stands, window clings, branded magnetic cards, and a fold-out product reference chart organized by body system rather than by SKU. Built the launch kit that shipped with every new product, including a training manual, training videos, a product catalog, and an instructional insert, so the channel could sell new items from day one. Designed and wrote the 46-page, 35-product retail catalog used as both a customer take-away and a counter reference, and produced the product video for the brand’s Amazon listings. Developed an evidence-based organizational diagnostic applied with leadership teams across three industries to identify the leadership, operational, and marketing barriers holding back growth. Advise on brand consistency and the operating systems that keep execution consistent as companies grow, including managing relationships with outside creative agencies and vendors.

Feb 2024 to Aug 2024

Business Launch and Operations Consultant, Dukatz Logistics, LLC

Wrote the business, marketing, sales, and pricing plans for a transportation startup launching from nothing, then built the infrastructure to run them: formation, brand, website, CRM, invoicing, accounting, and executive reporting. That infrastructure let the founder focus on customer acquisition. The company captured more than 250,000 dollars in revenue within its first six months.

Feb 2022 to Jun 2022

Marketing Coordinator, Vitality IO, Inc.

Supported cross-functional marketing for a B2B SaaS platform serving utilities management and energy billing, coordinating customer communications, web content, vendor relationships, and sales materials.

Apr 2004 to Sep 2019

Marketing Specialist and Customer Service Lead, Amber NaturalZ

Fifteen years inside a nationally distributed consumer brand in Tooele, Utah. Started in customer service in 2004 and added marketing in 2009, leading both functions, managing and developing a team alongside an external reseller network. Owned the reseller channel end to end: partner onboarding, training, and the product-education and selling materials the channel ran on, so independent retailers could carry the product story without direct support. Translated product and formulation detail into plain-language selling points retailers could use at the shelf, while holding every claim to FDA and NASC requirements for labeling and marketing materials. Planned and coordinated trade shows and community events where resellers and end customers met the brand directly, and designed the customer experience from first contact through ongoing support. Delivered paid media across Google Ads, Meta, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Hulu at a $3.87 CPM against a roughly $13 industry median. The brand became a Catwalk Advisory client immediately following the transition, with no gap in between. Reseller kit, retail catalog, and Amazon video work were done later under contract through Catwalk Advisory.

Education

Master of Science in Digital Marketing, Western Governors University, 2026.

Bachelor of Science in Marketing Management, Western Governors University, 2021.

Platforms and tools

CRM and marketing

HubSpot, GoHighLevel, Zoho CRM

Analytics

Google Analytics, Google Search Console, Google Business Profile

Creative and productivity

Canva, Adobe Creative Cloud, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace

Web and product

WordPress, WooCommerce, Supabase, and AI-assisted software and app development with Claude, ChatGPT, and Perplexity

References

What the leaders I have worked with say.

Every reference below is real and available to speak with you directly. Several engagements are covered by mutual NDAs, so some are shown anonymized.

She brings clarity, insight, and a thoughtful approach to identifying what a business truly needs before recommending a solution. I highly recommend Vanessa and her team.

George MoggaSoftware Developer and Collaborator

Working with Vanessa completely changed the way I see my business. She broke down complex marketing concepts into practical, actionable strategies, and I walked away with clarity, direction, and a much stronger vision for my brand.

FounderClient engagement

Contact

Let’s talk about the decision in front of you.

Reach me directly

The fastest way to reach me is by email or on LinkedIn. I read everything that comes in and reply personally.

What I am looking for

In-house marketing leadership at a consumer products company. Director or VP of Marketing, Brand, or Growth roles that own the launch calendar and the channel. Consumer products, retail and wholesale, and multi channel businesses are the fit I am after.