Billy Ruff

Experience

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  Gordon & Smith Skateboards

  Jan 1979 - Jun 1988

  Professional Skateboarder/Team Manager

  Ranked #1 in pool/vert category of skateboarding 1985-1986.15+ 1st place finishes from 1983-1985. Lead performer in Swatch on Broadway exhibition. Represented paid sponsors extensively by competing internationally.

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  NHS - Santa Cruz Surfboards

  Jan 1982 - Jan 1988

  Professional Skateboarder

  Professional Skateboarder Salary and Product endorsement

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  Airwalk

  Jan 1984 - Jan 1996

  -Responsible for Skate, Surf, Snow divisions for US and international markets.-Worked with advertising agencies to plan campaigns for all divisions.-Managed team and promotional budgets for US team and international distributor’s teams.-Worked with team/marketing managers to maximize team member’s viability. -Coordinated Nordstrom account nationally.-Worked closely with outside sales force and internal CSR’s to grow accounts.-Developed territories including TX, ID, UT, CO by researching territories, recruiting and training reps until they were assigned to an area sales manager. - Pioneered Southern California territory for Airwalk Footwear.- Increased sales from 500K to 6M for Airwalk Footwear during this period. - Received #1 Salesman Award for greatest dollar increase in one year: $2M-$4M.- Managed 4 sub reps within territory.- Represented region in product meetings.- Represented supporting lines for G&S Sports, Style Eyes Sunglasses, Swag Snowboard Apparel. Professional Skaterboarder - Salaried and Product Endorsements.Participated in Design, Development and Marketing of the launch of the brand.

  • Dir. of Marketing - Action Sports

    Jan 1994 - Jan 1996

  • Key Account Manager/Western US

    Jan 1992 - Jan 1994

  • Southern California Sales Rep/Agency Principal

    Jan 1984 - Jan 1992

  • Professional Skateboarder

    Jan 1984 - Jan 1988
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  Swatch Ltd.

  Jan 1984 - Jan 1988

  Professional Skateboarder

  Professional Skateboarder endorsement. Salary and promotional product endorsements. Participated in Broadway show as featured skateboarder with other skateboarders, BMX riders, rollerskaters and dancers.

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  Sole Technology

  Jan 1996 - Jan 1997

  National Sales Manager

  -Managed internal and outside sales forces.-Oversaw footwear purchasing and inventory levels for overall company.-Directed staff and converted existing manual order processing to a completely online system, streamlining procedures and improving inventory control and order accuracy.-Increased order fullfillment.-Attended senior management meetings on behalf of US sales department.-Maintained inventory levels and identified shortages and overages.-Responsible for setting annual budgets and all sales planning activities. Show less

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  Dukes Shoes/Gen-X

  Jan 1997 - Jan 1998

  VP Sales & Marketing

  -Directed re-launch of Dukes action sports footwear brand, targeting mainstream accounts.-Responsible for all aspects of sales and marketing for the brand.-Directed freelance footwear designers for initial brand offering.-Forecasted and managed budgets and goals.-Sourced factories for footwear production in Asia.-Recruited sales force for US and Canada.

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  Element Case

  Mar 2011 - Apr 2013

  Director Global Sales/Action Sports Marketing

  - Created and executed a skate graphic based line of cell phone cases. Oversaw sales for all wholesale business worldwide.- Worked with VP of Operations to develop licensing and endorsement programs for action sports brands.- Create internal procedures to forecast sales from introduction through delivery.

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  One Industries

  Feb 2014 - Mar 2015

  Director of Sales

  Manage inhouse and outside sales staff

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  Electric Skate Shop

  Jan 2016 - Nov 2016

  Executive Director
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  DMCV Sharks

  Dec 2016 - Oct 2017

  VP Sponsorship

  Manage all sponsorship relationships. Create and execute a Marketing and Social Media strategy for DMCVSharks. One of the largest non-profit soccer organizations in North America.

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  Sha Sha Fine Shoes

  Oct 2017 - Sept 2020

  -Concepted, executed and launched the Sha Sha Fine Shoes brand.-Responsible for all aspects of the business including sourcing, financing, production, sales and merchandising (US and International).-Create budgets and goals for the Sha Sha Fine Shoes brand.-Work with lenders to maintain lines of credit.-Direct key account relationships including Hot Topic, Journey’s,Nordstrom and Pacific Sunwear.

  • Sales Director

    Jul 2018 - Sept 2020

  • Founder

    Oct 2017 - Sept 2020
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  RLS-CMC, Inc.

  Sept 2020 - Jun 2022

  Director Of Business Development

  Frame and master adjacent spaces through primary/proprietary market work Build-out M&A funnel through strategic gap analysis and adjacent market workSupport design and development of the translation of strategic choices into clearly articulated in-market actions (in partnership with the cross-functional team)Perform quantitative analysis and modeling to support insights and recommendationsWorking with regional commercial and business leaders to align global views with regional viewsEnsures frameworks incorporate broader strategic considerationsLeverages presentations to develop the storyline and connectivity to other projectsSpearhead the development, communication, and implementation of 5 yr automotive commercial strategy across regions and customers Show less

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  RuffCase Wireless

  Aug 2022 - now

  Connecting the dots, to connect the people, to the connected world in wireless technology.

  • CCO - Chief Connections Officer

    Jan 2023 - now

  • Senior VP, Global Connections

    Aug 2022 - Feb 2023