Bills Returns to Retail Planning Associates as President
For Immediate Release
He Will Oversee Day-to-Day Operations, Facilitate Growth
COLUMBUS, Ohio (June 6, 2001) – Retail Planning Associates (RPA), a leading retail consulting and design firm, announced today that Michael A. Bills will step up to the helm as the company’s new president. He will oversee the firm’s day-to-day operations, with responsibility for the entire RPA staff, financials and client acquisition.
Todd D. Cameron, RPA chief executive officer, said that Bills brings a great deal of insight about RPA and the markets it serves after leading the company as senior vice president of account services for more than six years. His responsibilities included client acquisition, brand consulting and account relationship activities. While at the firm, he co-founded the RPA Foundation, which is a philanthropic organization involving more than 400 retail industry leaders. He was also named one of the 40 most influential people in retail consulting and design by Display & Design Ideas, a leading retail trade magazine.
“Bills brings more than 13 years of professional creative and marketing services experience to RPA. We feel his background will be key to helping the company expand the breadth of its services into consumer behavior and technology and focus its sights on international growth,” Cameron said.
Bills said he welcomes the opportunity to return to the retail strategy and design community.
“RPA is where I got my start,” he said. “I look forward to concentrating the company’s efforts on its core competencies and working with people who know and love the retail business. My goal is to work with the associates and individual disciplinary experts to help leading retailers and consumer goods manufacturers effectively position their brands via built environments. RPA has over twenty-five years of strategic heritage in understanding consumer’s needs, wants and behavior and a tactical appreciation for how to translate these insights into effective and profitable retailing. My job is to help the company in any way possible to continue this effort and to expand the influence that our work has for our clients.”
After leaving RPA in 1999, Bills served as chief development officer for Resource Marketing, Inc., a digital design arm of 10 Worldwide, where he was responsible for managing the company’s business development, marketing, strategic alliances, communications and public relations efforts. Upon creation of 10 Worldwide, Bills served as chief development officer overseeing the creation of a sales and marketing effort for the various companies within the organization.
Bills’ clients include award winning work such as Adidas, Wal*Mart, The Sports Authority, Microsoft, Eastman Kodak, Hewlett Packard, Levi Strauss, Playboy Enterprises, Calvin Klein, The Wiz, DKNY, Nike, the Cleveland Browns and Universal Studios. He is a graduate of The Ohio State University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial design.
About RPA
RPA is a leading strategic retail design firm, developing customer experiences that maximize retail performance for clients in the United States and in 33 countries worldwide. With expertise in brand development, merchandising practices, environmental elements, visual and electronic communications, materials and finishes and lighting design, RPA offers innovation and implementation support to some of the world’s leading Fortune 500 companies, including Wal*Mart, Eastman Kodak, Levi’s, E*TRADE, UPS, PepsiCo/Frito-Lay and Calvin Klein. For more information about RPA, visit the company Web site at www.rpaworldwide.com.
###
For more information, please contact:
Denise L. Baker
Lord, Sullivan & Yoder Public Relations
614-825-1795
dbaker@lsy.com
Back...
