Todd Hassenfelt is Director of eCommerce at Glanbia Performance Nutrition which includes Brands like Optimum Nutrition, Isopure, think!, BSN, SlimFast, and others. His team is responsible for profitable growth on marketplaces like Amazon where they manage over 1000 ASINs. 

Todd is a University of Wisconsin Green Bay graduate where he was a walk-on for the NCAA Division 1 Men’s Basketball Team. His eCommerce journey officially started in 2016. 

He enjoys spending time with his family: Wife Kelly, & sons Alex (5) and Jake (2) in the Chicagoland area and keeping up on the latest eCommerce trends by attending eHackathons, listening to podcasts, and consuming content on LinkedIn!  

Why did you choose to pursue eCommerce in your career? When I decided to pursue eCommerce as a career, I felt it was the right time to have a chance to get in with no experience, because if I waited any longer, it might be too late. Luckily another eCommerce Leader of Change, Matt Goodson took a chance on me to work with him on the Amazon business for Glanbia Performance Nutrition and I am forever grateful to be part of this movement. I love how much faster eCommerce’s threats and opportunities come vs Brick and Mortar. You really have to read and react in addition to planning the future with serious collaboration/understanding of so many stakeholders of a company. There are so many ways to positively impact the consumer, your company, and be surrounded with others that have a growth mindset that ecommerce roles provide.  

What is your biggest strength, and how have you used it for your success in eCommerce? I really do try to think like the consumer and anticipate obstacles to help find solutions faster. This was ingrained early on as even going back to high school working at various fast food locations, I would go out and look at the drive thru menu board so I had a better idea of what drive thru consumers were seeing and it helped me address their questions easier since I had a better idea what about the menu board was confusing to them. It is all about conversions and how to best optimize a PDP or get ahead of a trend early is key in eCommerce.  

What is the weirdest skill or talent to come in handy in your eCommerce experience? I think accepting that failure is necessary to truly learn and being a humble leader are some skills that definitely come in handy. Of course you should try to succeed more than you fail, but you can’t push yourself to greater heights without failing now and then. I remember a story from my youth that a group of students went to watch Wayne Gretzky practice and he was falling down on the ice constantly. After practice they asked him why it was a “bad practice” and he said quite the opposite as if he only practices to his current skill set, he would never get better. By pushing himself beyond his comfort zone and falling down, he was actually taking small steps to get better each practice which would help in games where it mattered. Humble leadership allows others to feel comfortable with taking calculated risks as well and ensuring you don’t become complacent.  

How have you most successfully influenced change within your organization (or with your clients)? Probably the biggest influence is helping those not on the eCommerce teams how to understand ecommerce by translating it to B&M examples so that they have a better understand on how/what to invest in and how to compare KPIs appropriately across all channels. Flywheel Digital does an amazing job helping with this concept both in speaking presentations and presentation materials that can be shared via email yet understood.  

What was your most “valuable” career failure, and why? Long ago, I made a bad hire based on the need to fill the position fast vs finding the right hire for the job. Predictability the quick hire was bad for both sides and ended up costing the organization more money vs just waiting for the right candidate in the first place. Bad hires have such a negative impact on so many parts of the organization that I have learned to evaluate talent effectively and not look at days the role is open as the only/top criteria for making hiring decisions. I am so grateful for my current team that I have hired in Ashley Zhao, Drew Donnally, and Ian Forrester who are all extremely talented and have the needed unique skills to succeed in eCommerce.  

In the last five years, what new belief, behavior or habit has most improved your life? I think shifting my thought that LinkedIn was only needed during times of a job search vs the incredible amount of information and learning that LinkedIn provides if used correctly.  

What are you learning right now? Working on understanding how and why consumers are already and will adopt to non-Amazon marketplaces/options. Really trying to understand the pros and cons of BOPIS, really well done B&M experiential experiences, and personalized product needs from the consumers lens.  

What are the 1-3 songs that would make up your career soundtrack today?

• I am a big Dave Matthews Band fan, so I guess I will go with Seek Up, Two Step, and Crush.

What are the 1-3 books you’ve gifted the most or that have greatly influenced your life, and why?

• Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kivosaki: It was given to me by someone in college who invested their time in me to help me learn on how to look at finances and growth opps early on.
• It’s Your Shipby Captain D. Michael Abrashoff: I was lucky enough to hear him speak about the book and tell some incredible stories on leadership.
• The New Leadership Literacies by Bob Johanse: It is a very relevant look at how to adapt to change and think about the future. 
• Bonus shout out for Amazon for CMOs: How Brands Can Achieve Success in the New Amazon Economyby Kiri Masters and Mark Power.  

If you could have a gigantic billboard for the world to see with anything on it, what would it say, and why? These type of questions are tough for me as I am still scarred from my High School Senior Yearbook quote of “Better Eat Your Wheaties” by Michael Jordan (1991 commercial clip here) . 

Today I would quote John C. Maxwell’s “Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them.” 

I go back to my days of making sales calls at C-stores and listening the front clerk complain about the Store Manager spending all day in their office and not helping up front, but then see that same front clerk become Store Manager and exhibit the same behaviors they complained about in old role. It had enough of an impact on me, that when I have been lucky enough to be promoted, I write down what was good and bad of the role I am leaving and thoughts on next role as I start it so that I have that fresh perspective later on of both sides. 

Of course, I would need to add some logos/slogans of our Brands since the reach of a worldwide billboard is impressive!

What are the worst recommendations or advice you have heard related to eCommerce? A lot of what I have heard has been brilliantly covered in Chris Perry’s “CPG Executives say the Darndest Things” series (are we due for an update?), but I think something that was emailed to me in a serious tone that was humorous was “How many days does the Deal of the DAY last on Amazon?”

What advice would you give to a future leader of change about to enter business, or specifically the eCommerce field? Let go of any previous assumptions on how retail works from any B&M experience, constantly be curious by asking questions and exploring marketplace sites, and think like a consumer would when evaluating Product Detail Pages, ads, and product design.

What specific, industry-related change do you believe will happen that few others seem to see? I think as autonomous cars become more of a reality, it will change how Brands can connect with consumers in a significant way. Just some of the options could include: shared car rides fares sponsored/paid for by Brands, in car experiences that are more entertaining/effective than what can be done on a mobile device, drone delivery to your moving car of items bought during long trips, advanced geo-targeting with so many options, personalized ads based on your car’s entered destination or purpose of trip, in vehicle 3-D printers for immediate product delivery, c-stores really utilizing BOPIS since consumer has time to make selections on an app while in the car, etc.  

What is the last thing you bought online, and why? Well, since it was recently Valentine’s Day, my 5-year-old son Alex said he wanted to get his Mommy a lot of flowers which was awesome of him to think of his Mommy like that, so I took advantage of the Whole Foods 2 dozen roses for $19.99 deal. Mommy loved them!

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First Movers is a change leader interview series featuring select industry pioneers who are boldly driving the evolution of digital commerce, the consumer and everything in between.