Ron Gerace – Advisory Board Member

Ron Gerace is an experienced Merchandiser and Business Development professional. As Vice President of Merchandising Services and Partnership Development for Staples.com , Mr. Gerace established vision, identified partners and negotiated deals ranging from co-branding to multi-million dollar strategic investments. Mr. Geraces team was responsible for developing the strategic plan for services merchandising utilizing a bricks and clicks strategy. His team was recognized by Cahners InStat, MediaMetrix and SmallBizTechnology for outstanding business service strategy.

As Director of Corporate Pricing Strategy for Staples, Mr. Gerace developed pricing strategies for retail store, mail order business and e-commerce units. Mr. Geraces team developed and implemented a price elasticity analytical tool which predicted the economic impact of various pricing scenarios. The use of this tool contributed an incremental $5 million to the profit margin of the corporation.

Prior to Staples, Gerace was with W.R. Grace and Co. where he spearheaded marketing for high growth and new product lines. Mr. Gerace was responsible for P&L for two different product lines generating worldwide sales of $125 million combined. Through emphasis on distribution and channel marketing, Mr. Gerace achieved 20% revenue growth and increased market share by 10%. Under Geraces leadership he reorganized the marketing staff and returned the business unit to profitability from a 5 year break-even position.

Mr. Gerace graduated from Bentley College with a Masters Degree in Business Administration and with a Bachelors of Science Degree from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. At the University of Massachusetts he served as the President of the Chemical Engineering Student Body. Mr. Gerace is a member of the American Marketing Association and the American Institute for Chemical Engineers.