Chad Haas

Current

FOUNDER & CEO (Chief Gearhead) at Vault

Past

NORTH AMERICAN SALES & MARKETING MANAGER - Industrial Segment at Weyerhaeuser
NORTH AMERICA MARKET DEVELOPMENT MANAGER - Panels Division at Weyerhaeuser
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER at ForestExpress

SALES MANAGER at Weyerhaeuser
FOUNDER at Wisconsin Green Building Alliance (http://www.wgba.org/)
SOLID WASTE COORDINATOR at Dunn County, Wisconsin

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Education

University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
Milwaukee James Madison

University of Wisconsin-Stout

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1 more...

Recommended

2 people have recommended Chad

Connections

170 connections

Industry

Building Materials

Websites

Chad Haas’s Summary

DEMONSTRATED HISTORY

1. Business Turnaround & Culture Change:

* On multiple occasions, led Turnaround and Change Management of lagging organizations.
* Employing Team Building, Incentives & Motivation for Change as well as Sense of Urgency, created the acceptance of Culture Change within stagnant, mediocre-performing teams.
* Overcame strong resistance from employees comfortable with the status quo.
Created Vision & Strategy where none existed, leading to complete turnaround in both business results & company culture.
* The Transformation and Development of Revenue:
Transformed commodity-based sales organizations into high performance, margin driven, customer-orientated teams
Financially astute, able to identify and pursue finding sources and revenue streams

2. Business Development & Sales Leadership:

* Leading Sales Teams
* Closing Contracts
* Developing Winning Marketing Strategy & Materials
* Power Negotiator
* Maintained long-standing and superior client relationships
Personally closed contracts up to $15MM with The Home Depot, Lowes, Masco, PetSmart & other Fortune 500 companies.

3. Creating & Marketing Innovative Products and Solutions:

* Envisioning New Products
* Achieving Competitive Differentiation
* Anticipating and Avoiding costly problems

Chad Haas’s Specialties:

Marketing, Public Relations, Product Development, Branding, Media, Strategic Alliances, and Sales [Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Sales Officer activities].

Chad Haas’s Experience

FOUNDER & CEO (Chief Gearhead)

Vault

(Privately Held; Building Materials industry)

September 2006 — Present (3 years 3 months)

Vault is recognized as the world’s premier luxury garage furnishings company.

FORBES referred to Vault as “The Williams-Sonoma of Garage Design” for setting the standard in custom garage furnishings when we pioneered the category in 2004. Our passion is providing the best selection of options and service to organize and furnish the American garage just as nice as any other room in the home.

Each of our exclusive products is made through a unique collaboration involving designers, craftsmen and artisans using the finest materials & craftsmanship. Everything we make is extraordinary and unequaled in terms of their quality, performance and style.

Please visit us at http://www.vaultgarage.com to see how we are revolutionizing the garage experience.
NORTH AMERICAN SALES & MARKETING MANAGER - Industrial Segment

Weyerhaeuser

(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; WY; Paper & Forest Products industry)

October 2002 — January 2005 (2 years 4 months)

Charged with leading sales & marketing strategies for this $450MM business unit reporting directly the Business Manager - Building Materials. Under my leadership, sales grew 9.5% from previous year and the business returned to higher profitability - margin expanded $49MM (an 11% increase).

Also asked to assume brand management of a new, highly specialized product. Shifted our product launch strategy toward more appropriate sales/distribution channels and led cross-functionality training of a 250+ sales force that had previously not sold this type of product:

• Leveraged the introduction of our new product into non-customers to cross-sell/bundle other products.
• Led strategic sales to National Accounts such as The Home Depot, Lowes, Masco Corporation and similar Fortune 500 Companies.

Prior to joining this team, sales were $1.1MM in '02 and grew 290% to $4.3MM while gross margin increased 253% from $253K to $930K.
NORTH AMERICA MARKET DEVELOPMENT MANAGER - Panels Division

Weyerhaeuser

(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; WY; Paper & Forest Products industry)

October 2001 — October 2002 (1 year 1 month)

Promoted to lead sales and marketing of this $35MM product division, reporting directly the Business Manager - Wood Products, during time of enormous change in a softening market. Quickly grew sales and returned product segment to higher profitability by conceiving a strategy to bundle a collection of related products across multiple-business units together, versus selling each independently.

Selected Accomplishments:
• Developed segmentation, targeting and position strategy within 60 days.
• Trained team of 110+ reps and implemented a new customer-focused strategy.
• Increased sales of core product 32%; raised margins for product segment 27% above plan to an 11% profit margin.
• Conceived new product, built its brand and executed strategy that resulted in first year sales of $1.1MM that were 210% above plan.
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER

ForestExpress

(Privately Held; 51-200 employees; Information Technology and Services industry)

December 2000 — September 2001 (10 months)

Recruited to join a team charged with building a B2B eCommerce strategy for a new global forest products venture, conducting market research, developing the business model, devising sales strategies and new product development.

Selected Accomplishments:

• Conceived new product development to eliminate manual scale ticket entry into supplier accounting systems that resulted in the elimination of pre-settlement errors, forever transforming the way data is input at mills. Our first customer, International Paper, achieved annualized savings of $250K per factory.
• Led key sales strategies through close interaction with Fortune 500 clients, including Boise Cascade, Weyerhaeuser and Willamette where I initiated sales and built visibility and credibility.
• Defined product requirements through needs assessments to uncover optimal business productivity, performed gap analysis and ROI calculations, and drove product design and development from the ground up.
SALES MANAGER

Weyerhaeuser

(Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; WY; Paper & Forest Products industry)

February 1997 — January 2000 (3 years )

Led bottom-line strategies to expand net sales $4.2MM from previous year (a 92.5% improvement) and increased RONA from 21% to 71%, despite the limitations of inheriting a staff that was reduced by half.

Achieved significant procurement cost reductions to improve financial performance of pre-tax earnings 417% to seize a 56% growth in profit margin from previous records earnings year.

Expanded customer base 112%, adding 120 new accounts, to improve sales volume 1,192% against plan. Cultivated client loyalty to maintain 99% retention of a large customer base of 227 accounts. Reclaimed three customers, despite competitors more aggressive price competition.

Presidents Club recipient in 2000 after placing #1 in Sales Winner Club and #3 in 1999 for this $12.3 Billion company.
FOUNDER

Wisconsin Green Building Alliance (http://www.wgba.org/)

(Construction industry)

September 1996 — January 1998 (1 year 5 months)

One of two founders who launched this 240 member non-profit organization to accelerate the adoption of ecologically sustainable materials & practices within the building trade ... occuring many years before this market was even recognized.

Principally managed multiple initiatives simultaneously of this venture from conception through start-up, incubation of its development, recruitment of the founding Board of Directors, strategic partnerships and raising $120K in seed funding.
SOLID WASTE COORDINATOR

Dunn County, Wisconsin

(Environmental Services industry)

March 1991 — August 1996 (5 years 6 months)

Transformed a department that had difficulty achieving goals and maintaining community relationships by restoring positive external public response, slashing costs, capturing alternative funding sources and negotiating significant improvements.

Selected Accomplishments:
• Principally led all aspects of operations, including full P&L responsibility over serving 40,000 customers, control of a complex $1.0 MM+ budget/billing system, a $1M bond for facilities construction and upgrading employee productivity of 18 team members.
• Led negotiations of an unfavorable contract, despite existing term conditions, to reduce net costs 44% and $2.12M savings. Persuaded neighboring municipality to forego landfill expansion and consolidate our programs to leverage negotiations reducing fees 41%, an annualized savings of $200K.
• Conceived and negotiated a contract addressing stakeholder concerns and reduced costs 50% for an annualized savings of $190K.

Chad Haas’s Education

University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

1997 — 1998
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point

Bachelor of Science , Environmental Resource Management/Wildlife Biology , 1986 — 1990
Milwaukee James Madison
University of Wisconsin-Stout

Additional Information

Chad Haas’s Websites:

Chad Haas’s Interests:

Making the world a better place, caring for the environment, enjoying life, spending time with friends, reading, tinkering around in the garage, collecting antiques, designing, traveling, trying new things, being challenged, learning, relaxing at our cabin in Hayward, Wisconsin, hunting, fishing, enjoying most outdoor activities, working out/lifting weights, and driving my 1967 Pontiac GTO. Heroes who inspire me for their vision, creativity and perseverance include the following self-made entrepreneurs who took an idea and built their companies into icons: Chuck Williams (Founder of Williams-Sonoma), Fred Carl, Jr. (Founder of Viking Range), Ralph Lauren, John Paul DeJoria (Co-Founder of John Paul Mitchell Systems & Patron) and Sam Calagione (Dogfish Head - the best beer on the planet).

Chad Haas’s Groups:

* Associated Recyclers of Wisconsin (AROW) - Board of Director
* Recycling Association of Minnesota (RAM) - Board of Director
* Wisconsin Green Building Alliance (WGBA) - Founder

Member: StarveUps, Oregon Entrepreneur's Network (OEN)