Jody E. Levy, Senior Consultant, Liberty Business Strategies

Expertise

Jody Levy is a results-oriented consultant who works with organizations to strategically build their teams and businesses. Leveraging her 20-plus years of marketing, new business development, market research, and R&D leadership, Jody provides pragmatic, customized approaches that maximize available resources to meet a company’s goals and strategically build its business. Jody specializes in four areas: 1) developing differentiating strategies that significantly advance business objectives; 2) leveraging cross-functional talents to create opportunities and solve business challenges; 3) building organizational alignment, communication, and collaboration; and 4) partnering with leaders to optimize their leadership effectiveness and advance their business agenda.

Clients

Her clients range from small businesses in the service industry to Fortune 500 companies. Representative clients include Arkema Inc.; BioVid Corporation; Campbell Soup Company; Fuji Film; IBM Consulting Services; Kellogg’s; Masterfoods, USA; New Courtland Elder Services; Riceland; Tierney Communications; Tyco International; and USA Rice Federation.

Representative Engagements

• Optimizing Cross-Functional Partnerships: Although Marketing and Sales was one organization in a business-to-business division, a huge chasm separated the two functions. Neither understood the other’s role, and each lacked respect for the other’s function. Goals and priorities were not aligned, and leaders pointed fingers rather than joining forces. They talked only when major problems arose. With a new product slated for launch, the functions needed to synchronize and strategize. Jody designed and facilitated an offsite session that brought the leaders together to focus on common goals, issues, barriers, and action planning. To support and monitor the resulting action plan, the organization created a joint business planning process and set up monthly alignment meetings. Each Sales leader was paired with a Marketing leader to keep proactive and timely communication flowing. Real synergies developed, and the joint function met its product launch goals for the first time.
• Transforming an Organization: When an organization raised the performance bar for R&D, the function’s leaders faced the challenge of heightening innovation, quality, and speed. With Jody’s guidance, the leaders reassessed and articulated the R&D mission, vision, and goals to root its aspirations in a firm foundation. Next, they established key strategic imperatives. They subjected their current state to scrutiny, assessing what processes and behaviors needed to change to optimize effectiveness and assure optimum organizational dynamics. Finally, they assessed their talent pool—looking at gaps, acquisition, and training. The process of self-examination not only launched the transformation, but enabled the leadership to clarify accountabilities, cement relationships, and form a cohesive team. Their new R&D model gained corporate buy-in and approval to expand the R&D headcount.
• Communicating for Effectiveness: When organizations lack clarity on functional roles and responsibilities, communication ceases, efforts are duplicated, and accountability is too often shrugged off. An organization at cross purposes sought Jody’s guidance to open its communication channels and gain momentum. Jody worked with leadership to map the key elements that drive the business and define both the individual and joint roles and accountabilities around those business drivers. Next, by creating a case for improved communication, leaders gained an understanding of their own and others’ communication styles and adopted a common language. Over time, the organization eliminated redundancy and “dropped balls,” increased clarity, and saw overall effectiveness measurably rise.
• Truly Going Global: An organization with leaders spanning five countries looked global on paper, yet operated regionally. Jody designed and facilitated a three-day leadership retreat to develop a strategic plan that would align all operations with common imperatives, objectives, accountabilities, and timelines. When the retreat ended, the work continued, with leaders integrating the strategic plan with a transition management plan to operationalize the strategy and shore up talent and accountabilities.

Professional Background

Jody has built teams and businesses at Campbell Soup and Procter and Gamble. As Campbell Soup’s vice president of North American Marketing, Jody established an Innovation department, which received the 2004 Prepared Foods Innovation Award. Jody also reinvented and rebuilt the Category Marketing department through a focus on role definition, employee engagement, strengthening cross-functional partnerships, and talent acquisition. Jody received the prestigious Advertising Age “Top 50 Marketer” award for her leadership in establishing a $250MM Convenience platform for Campbell Soup. Jody credits this success to the combination of a customer-centric strategy with the development of a high performance cross-functional team. As an Adjunct Professor at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Jody’s Global Consulting Practicum course includes partnering with international companies to develop business strategies for US market entry.

Education and Training

Jody has a MBA in Marketing from Drexel University and a BS in Food Science from Cornell University. She is certified in the DISC assessment and is a skilled facilitator of workshops and business meetings. Jody is a Coaching graduate of the Corporate Coach University.

Jody Levy can be reached at:
Phone: 610-649-3800
jodylevy@libertystrategies.com