Phil is a digital marketing and e-commerce professional living in Portland, Oregon and currently the VP of Marketing and E-commerce at West Coast Sailing, a niche marine retailer. Over the last 10 years he has worked across the spectrum of digital tools and processes with exceptional results, from replatforming projects and ERP integrations to day to day management of a $3.5M+ year online business and all aspects of merchandising, user experience, search optimization, digital advertising, and back office operations.
With an academic background in entrepreneurship, marketing, and economics, he enjoys solving complex problems and finding solutions that meet the needs of both customers and businesses via well designed and functional online experiences. Offline, Phil is passionate about spending time outdoors and can be found exploring the mountains, forests, rivers, and lakes of the Pacific Northwest. He is a founding member of Friends of the Gorge Seral Society and former Columbia Land Trust Emerging Leaders Council co-president. He is an avid bikepacker, route planner, trail runner, year round bike commuter, musician, homebrewer, and aficionado of all things baked, brewed, and fermented.
Questions? Advice? New Projects? Just want to say hello? Email philip.j.krug@gmail.com
Experience
VICE PRESIDENT OF MARKETING & ECOMMERCE : West Coast Sailing (Portland, OR), 2019 - Present
With business owner stepping away from day to day involvement in 2019, core three person Leadership Team elevated to take over management of all business functions and operations. Key relationships are working closely with company President as well as Vice President of Operations to manage all aspects of sales strategy, staffing, budgets and forecasting, cash flow, along with frequent collaboration with sales and customer support teams to implement new functionality and improve customer experience. Continued ownership of all aspects of digital marketing including BigCommerce site management and curation, email marketing, and digital advertising with focus on Google Ads. Report monthly metrics and updates to ownership as part of Leadership Team obligations.
MARKETING DIRECTOR : West Coast Sailing (Portland, OR), 2016 - 2019
Responsible for management and execution of all aspects of day to day e-commerce and digital marketing activities across the three brands as well as long term growth strategies. Primary tasks include management of three BigCommerce based e-commerce sites, from product mix decisions to user experience improvement, maintaining an active presence across multiple social media channels, driving traffic and conversions across multiple advertising channels, creating and implementing sales promotions, content writing, and maintaining brand identity. Key relationships include sales, inventory, and customer support teams, working to resolve issues, identify new opportunities, and improve overall customer experience.
Recognizing the high management costs and instability of Magento and the negative impact on future growth opportunities, championed a successful migration to the BigCommerce Enterprise platform for two portfolio sites in 2018 and a ground up build for the third site in 2019. Served as leader and key decision maker for the entire replatforming project, working closely with development agency project managers and developers to build an industry leading online shopping experience, while advocating for and defending unique business needs. The new e-commerce ecosystem has reduced staff management time and fixed costs and increased revenue by 40%.
Member of organization's Leadership Team, a group of long time employees tasked with guiding overall direction of the business, from business unit strategy, acquisitions, staffing, and capital investments.
MARKETING MANAGER : West Coast Sailing (Portland, OR) 2013 - 2016
Transitioned from customer service to managing marketing activities, with emphasis on quickly growing online sales channels. Responsibilities included day to day management of Magento based web store and product catalog, email marketing and promotions, working with digital agency to achieve sales and ROI targets on paid advertising campaigns, and overseeing all aspects of various sponsorship and brand building activities. Developed deep understanding of key site KPIs and trends to better align web store performance with sales goals and inventory strategy. Worked closely with in house developer to optimize online shopping experience and implement web store functionality changes. Focus on high quality product listings, site functionality, and data driven advertising and promotional activities produced a 111% increase in online sales revenue during this period with a 95% increase in transaction volume.
CUSTOMER SERVICE MANAGER : West Coast Sailing (Portland, OR) 2011 - 2013
Developed a full time customer service department to compliment existing sales and inventory teams for niche retailer. Responsibilities included the management of all aspects of customer experience - managing customer interactions via phone and email, providing product support, assisting with order processing, and handling warranty claims - as well as additional tasks related to website content management, social media, and limited marketing campaigns. Emphasis for this role placed on timeliness, proactive responses, and anticipating customer needs.
Education
GABELLI SCHOOL OF BUSINESS : Fordham University (Bronx, NY), 2007 - 2011
QUINN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS : University College Dublin (Dublin, IRL), 2010
ST. ANTHONY'S HIGH SCHOOL (Huntington, NY), 2003 - 2007
Volunteer Work
SERAL SOCIETY : Friends of the Columbia Gorge (Portland, OR), 2018 - Present
EMERGING LEADERS COUNCIL : Columbia Land Trust (Portland, OR), 2014 - 2019
BOARD OF DIRECTORS : Oregon Youth Sailing Foundation (Portland, OR), 2013 - 2016
SAILING TEAM CO-CAPTAIN : Fordham University (Bronx, NY), 2008 - 2011
GO! ECUADOR : Fordham University (Bronx, NY), 2011
Stories
Bikepacking the Olympic Peninsula
Honors & Awards
JOSEPH J. SULLIVAN, JR. LEADERSHIP AWARD : Fordham University Sailing Team, May 2011
MVP AWARD : Fordham University Sailing Team, November 2009
ST. FRANCIS STELLITE AWARD : St. Anthony's High School, June 2007