Donn Monroe

Donn Monroe, founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of RAM Atelier, LLC, has wide-ranging experience in marketing and business management across an array of consumer product categories. Having managed all aspects of marketing for many consumer product companies, Mr. Monroe’s specific expertise lies in creating compelling, profitable brands and resuscitating once-great brands. His educational background (B.A Political Science from Amherst College in 1987 and a double-MBA Marketing and Business Economics & Public Policy from Columbia Business School in 1989) and 35 years of work experience as a marketing executive for top tier companies have prepared him well for creating RAM Atelier, LLC and for maximizing the potential this company plans to deliver.

After receiving his B.A (Political Science) from Amherst College in 1987 and a double-MBA (Marketing and Business Economics & Public Policy) from Columbia Business School in 1989, Mr. Monroe worked with the leading advertising agency Leo Burnett in Chicago. As an Account Executive on the Kraft Foods account, he managed advertising, promotional development and research programs for Parkay and Chiffon margarines. This experience provided a strong foundation in consumer marketing and branding. More specifically, Mr. Monroe excelled in identifying consumer desires and creating compelling product benefits to match these desires.

Mr. Monroe joined Morton Salt in 1992 as an Advertising and Sales Promotion manager on the $150 million food salt business. There, he developed new products, managed P&L’s and directed the company’s advertising and consumer/trade promotional programs, gaining invaluable insight into building sales profitably. His key achievement at Morton Salt was reversing the sales decline of Morton Salt & Pepper Shakers by realigning their trade promotion programs, bringing about a 9% increase in the business. Continued growth of the product line as a result of this program inspired the brand’s key competitor to offer a joint venture in which the two companies would jointly develop salt and pepper shakers and no longer compete against one another.

In 1997, Mr. Monroe left Morton Salt to work as the first Brand Manager for Oil-Dri Corporation of America. Oil-Dri is a leading manufacturer of clay-based products for various absorptive purposes. As Brand Manager for the $120 million Pet Products division, Mr. Monroe was charged with maximizing division sales and profitability. It was at Oil-Dri that he created his first brand, Smart Snacks. Smart Snacks was a line of nutritionally-balanced dog treats that delivered specific benefits beyond competitive offerings. For example, the Smart Snacks Highly-Digestible Biscuit was made of easy-to-digest ingredients for older dogs with sensitive stomachs. And the Smart Snacks Non-Staining Rawhide provided great flavor without the staining problems dog owners experienced with traditional rawhides. By developing a sales strategy that rewarded retailers for taking distribution, Oil-Dri experienced a 95% retail acceptance of Smart Snacks, and the line outpaced sales expectations by 20%.

Mr. Monroe was offered a unique entrepreneurial opportunity in 2000. Outback Steakhouse was looking to expand its presence in the Chicago area and offered to train Mr. Monroe in the restaurant business for one year after which he would be granted his own restaurant. Using his management experience, Mr. Monroe quickly learned the intricacies of the restaurant business and built a strong and loyal workforce. However, he yearned for the rush of marketing and elected not to continue in the venture.

Fortunately, at this time Alberto-Culver was searching for an executive with a classical marketing background for its $80 million Pro-Line hair care products division in Dallas, TX. So, Mr. Monroe joined Pro-Line in 2001 as Director of Marketing over all of its ethnic consumer hair care products: Soft & Beautiful, Just for Me, TCB, Botancials, Comb-Thru and Pro-Line-branded products. This was a fortuitous turn of events because it represented the first time Mr. Monroe fell in love with an industry. For him, the hair care business represented the ultimate in consumer marketing: high margin products that people dearly desire. He immediately found success in re-creating Pro-Line’s brands, advertising and promotions. For example, TCB, once Alberto-Culver’s largest ethnic brand with sales greater than $20 million, by 2001 had dwindled to less than $9 million as a result of mismanagement and neglect. By repositioning the brand’s consumer proposition, delivering new advertising, and creating compelling new products, TCB’s sales began to soar. The brand is now a $12 million brand with continued sales gains each year.

So it was in 2006 that Mr. Monroe realized he had all the crucial elements in place to create his own company - stellar work experience, a fine education, an industry in which he knows how to compete, and a network of consultants with vast experience and relationships in the industry – and Mr. Monroe left Pro-Line to create RAM Atelier, LLC. The company’s first brand, Simply Stylin’, has found amazing success in the marketplace as a pure silicone alternative to blended silicones that are popular across the country.