Page 1 of 2

Tona M. Hess
408.981.5497- mobile
tonahess@yahoo.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/tonahess


Summary
Experienced marketing professional with broad horizontal/vertical industry experience in creating and leading marketing strategies that include:
product positioning & messaging, go-to-market planning, advertising, public relations, social marketing, customer research, co-marketing,
partner marketing, developer relations, project management, field marketing / sales support leading to integrated marketing communications.
Skilled in managing cross-functional and external teams to ensure marketing initiatives launch on schedule and within budget. Effective at
applying creative solutions to marketing challenges.

Marketing Consultant, Red Hat, Inc.
Leading marketing strategy and execution for Global Partner Enablement team. 2013 - Present
Developing marketing strategies and tactics to support growth of Partner Accreditation program in collaboration with LATAM, EMEA,
APAC and NA regions.

Planning and implementation include customer research, developing accreditation logo brand guidelines, advising on design and
content for new partner website, recommending and implementing social marketing, and partner testimonial program.

Currently exceeding partner accreditation targets by 20%.

Worldwide Integrated Launch Strategy & Planning, Hewlett-Packard 2011 2013
Integrated marketing launch planning lead for Retail Point of Sale and Business Laptops, interfacing with APJ, EMEA, and AMS
regions.
Identified key features, benefits, positioning and target segment and advertising campaigns for laptops and tablets sold into SMB and
Commercial as part of HPs worldwide marketing team.

Led cross-functional teams (advertising, marcom, web, pr, sales tools, digital, social) and managed interdependencies to ensure a
successful, integrated and global launch along with executive review and approval processes.

Co-led National Retail Federation (NRF) presence in 2013 resulting in exceeding retail on-site meeting and lead generation goals by
15%.

Interim Director/Sr. Product Marketing Manager, webOS GBU (formerly Palm, Inc.), Hewlett-Packard 2011 - 2011
Marketing lead for the mobile TouchPad webOS tablet.
Introduced a new product and category for HP: consumer tablets. Identified and developed product line positioning, messaging,
packaging, sell-in presentation, retail demo, direct marketing, app marketing, web, and overall product launch of the webOS
TouchPad tablet.

Collaborated with public relations, field marketing / sales enablement, product management, regions, and HPs worldwide marketing
organization on the integrated launch and advertising campaign.

Led an executive daily war room the last sixty days pre-launch, identifying critical issues and recommending solutions.


Sr. Launch Manager (consultant), Palm, Inc., 2006 2011
Provide launch strategy development, Go-to-Market planning and promotions for Palm Pre & Treo smartphones.
Developed strategy and tactical execution of a dozen smartphone launches working with key carriers in the US and internationally: US-
Verizon, Sprint, AT&T; Canada- Alltel, Rogers, Bell Mobility, Telus; Mexico-Telcel.

Managed the cross functional schedule and tracked all launch activities; managed interdependencies to ensure a successful,
integrated launch as well as overseeing positioning and messaging along with executive review and approval process.

Launched the first Facebook application for PalmOS in collaboration with business development, legal, and product management.
Developed launch plans including over-the-air distribution strategy (OTA), messaging, website, all within 3
rd
party guidelines.

Launched Treo Film Festival in 2007 to increase awareness and extend phone use beyond calling. Managed mobile website, online
promotions, mobile text promotion to view and vote, MobiTV channel, and Palm Store customer events.

Managed loyalty programs including What would you do with $10,000? resulting in nearly 200K registrations and 30% of participants
opting-in for Palms marketing newsletter.

Planned and executed vertical sales tools to support sell-thru including identifying and collaborating with key software developer
partners, scripting, and overseeing a flash demo CD of showcase demo applications to support medium to enterprise business sales
efforts and an Application Demo Portal website.




Page 2 of 2

Product Line Marketing Manager, Palm, Inc. 2002 2005
Managed customer research and product lifecyle from launch to eol for LifeDrive, Tungsten, and Zire handhelds.
Led the launch of LifeDrive, Tungsten and Zire handhelds and (8) line extension products. Including, leading the cross-functional
marketing teams (direct mail, web marketing, public relations, marcom, channel and events) to ensure consistent positioning and
messaging across all deliverables.
Defined, planned and spearheaded positioning for the products based on features as well as on other products within the portfolio.
Initiated Marketing Requirement Document (MRD or PRD) for each launch and managed executive sign-off.
Executed high profile promotional bundles to gain buy-in and increase sell-in to retail: Zire Be Productive custom developed book
bundle (co- developed with Product Mgr and a professional writer the structure, tone, and content for the book), the LifeDrive
Entertainment Bundle, and assisted with the Now You Know Treo book series.
Co-authored Palms Segmentation Study weaving primary research data from a custom Forrester study and overlaying psychographic
intelligence from Trend House to support marketing efforts and align cross-company teams against a set series of target customers.
Spearheaded the Out Of Box Experience (OOBE) research for the Tungsten T to test consumer reaction to installation and set-up
instructions for the new device and recommended modifications to overall packaging and in-box materials based upon learning.

Corporate Advertising Manager, Sun Microsystems, Inc. 2001 2002
Led advertising and messaging efforts for Suns first foray into the Small Business (SMB) market promoting Cobalt servers.
Developed and managed a pilot co-branded channel bundle program, implemented across US, EMEA and Asia to increase revenue
within a given quarter. Implemented Sun Sigma methodology to measure results for post-mortem reporting.
Interviewed internal teams and researched internal resources to create advertising value proposition and messaging for the cross-SMI
stories initiative.
Collaborated with Enterprise Services marcom team to create the first approved advertising messaging for the Enterprise LOB,
Professional Services, Support Services and Sun Educational Services.

Senior Marketing Programs Manager, Symantec Corporation 1998 2000
Managed revenue, brand, lifecycle, positioning, advertising and go-to-market planning for (4) Security product lines targeting the
Small Business (SMB) segment.
Led the Small Business Initiative for Symantecs Consumer Products, recommending the first 5 and 10 pack license products,
messaging and leading research efforts to educate marketing teams.
Launched Symantec's first security retail product, Norton Internet Security, overcoming the market-leading competitor in 4 weeks by
units and revenue resulting in being awarded the Vice Presidents Achievement Award.
Developed and presented quarterly revenue forecast based upon marketing programs along with ROI and metrics, to the CFO and
staff.
Successfully launched ACT! 2000 and Norton Internet Security resulting in record 3rd and 4th quarters.
Strategically managed the marketing mix and conducted a pricing analysis for pcAnywhere, resulting in an increase in revenue of 9%
year-over-year.
Consistently met revenue and budgetary spending targets (estimated annual budget $8M).
Spearheaded strategic partnerships including Intuit and Dale Carnegie to add positive brand value, enhance feature sets, and
increase marketing exposure.
Reviewed and approved strategic direction of all collateral, packaging, sales tools, presentations and graphics for external audiences.
Managed direct reports by helping them achieve their goals and encouraging them to continually increase their skill set.

Education
San Jose State University, San J ose, CA. Bachelor of Science, Advertising, 1992
Channels & Distribution, UC Santa Cruz Extension, Sunnyvale, CA, 2000
Program Management, Sun Microsystems, Menlo Park, CA, 2002


Awards & Honors
Vice Presidents Achievement Award, Symantec Corporation
Bell Mobility Bravo Award for Launch Execution (Awarded to Palm; Launch that I co-managed)