Joseph Roark

Education

M.B.A. – Decision Support Systems, Virginia Tech

B.S. – Biochemistry, Virginia Tech

Biography

Joseph has over 30 years of experience in strategic marketing, sales analysis, product development, and project management.  Joseph served as the Senior Director of Trade marketing at Spectrum brands which was one of the largest Pet CPG companies in the world.  He worked closely with account management teams to become the most trusted vendor at major retailers like Walmart, PetSmart, and petco by creating compelling brand stories through the use of both sales data and consumer research.  His approach of understanding the consumer needs, retailer goals, and internal objectives combined with thorough analyses resulted in win-win solutions for all stakeholders.

He most recently held the position of Sr. Director of Business Operations for the GloFish brand, a biotech startup acquired by Spectrum Brands.  This role further expanded his experience in operations optimization, intellectual property protection, and regulatory compliance.  He continued to use his previous marketing experience to preserve the entrepreneurial culture of the acquired company while also being able to tap in the resources of a global organization to provide accelerated growth.

Currently, Joseph is focusing on using his experience to develop the next generation of business leaders.  His approach is to weave real world examples into the business concepts being taught to make them more relatable to the students.  His goal is to actively involve students in the learning process through class discussions and team projects, and only supplemented by lectures. 

Industry and Career Experience focus areas

Analytical Marketing, Data Visualization/Recommendations, Business Strategies, Product Development, Channel Marketing, Pricing Strategies, Process Optimization, Mentoring, Category Management, Negotiation/Game Theory, and Account Relationship Creation.