A Federal Court has ordered Lorillard (the previous maker of Maverick), Altria, Philip Morris USA, and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco (the previous maker of Winston, Salem, and Kool) to make these statements.

HELLO

Meet Melanie

Melanie McRae
ITG Brands
Director of Market Insights and Forecasting
Greensboro, NC

Go back to Our People

Can you talk about your career journey so far at ITG Brands?
I joined Fontem US as a pricing analyst three and a half years ago, focusing on how value propositions impact product performance within EVP. After 9 months, I was promoted to Revenue Growth Management Analyst, aiding in streamlining the promotion development and performance tracking process. These processes were adapted within the Cigarette and Cigar categories during the integration into ITG Brands. After 2 years in RGM, I was promoted to Manager of Consumer & Market Insights and then to Senior Manager, helping the business understand the drivers and drains on must-win battles in addition to supporting new product launches. Most recently, I’ve been promoted to Director of Market Insights and Forecasting to lead the transformation of our forecasting process, build new optimized approaches, and drive better efficiencies in the hand-off with our operating stakeholders.

In your role, do you work collaboratively with other functions – locally or globally?
Cross functional collaboration is integral to my role. As sub-teams within I&I, Consumer and Market Insights works hand in hand with the Revenue Growth Management team. With frequent joint meetings, the level of support and feedback has allowed us to streamline processes and provide cohesive insights.

Is there a typical day in your role?
My days aren’t as structured as I’ve experienced at other companies. I regularly meet with my direct reporting manager and other broader teams to understand what workstreams to prioritize and gather supporting details. From there, I have full autonomy over the methods in which I analyze data for these various requests, being mindful of checkpoints and project deadlines.

How would you describe the culture at ITG Brands?
Culture within ITG Brands has been an evolution since I’ve joined the company three and a half years ago. There has been great emphasis on driving diversity and inclusion, which is extremely important to me as an employee belonging to minority groups both in terms of race and gender. There are also major efforts in providing visibility into other business units’ workstreams to aid in the flow of information. There has been increased attention surrounding cross functional collaboration and aligning all teams under common goals with focus on the main driver of the business, the consumer.

Three words to describe working at ITG Brands?
Fulfilling, Engaging, Collaborative