About

About Donna Shunk

Donna Shunk has spent 25+ years working in the consumer-packaged goods (CPG) industry. She is a highly skilled CPG sales professional with a history of excellence working for Top 100 CPG OTC/HBA, Food, & Beverage companies. She has held multiple sales-related roles with four major companies over the years, gaining a wealth of experience in the industry.  She has worked at Warner-Lambert Consumer Healthcare, Bayer Consumer Products, Mars Wrigley, and Lavazza NA.  

She is strategic and excels in fast-paced environments, builds sustainable business strategies through collaboration, and fosters win/win relationships with buyers and C-level executives. 

Donna is a go-to sales leader with an inherent determination to achieve business results.  She has received recognition for developing win-win retail in-store activities and sales strategies, onboarding and managing national broker teams, managing 3rd party vendors, building customer rapport, and business acumen, and supporting key customers within FDM, Convenience, Specialty, and B2B channels. 

Donna’s work in the CPG industry has been focused on sales, where she has applied her skills in developing sales strategies, building fact-based selling stories, establishing trust with customers, and leading sales agency organizations. She is proud of her ability to over-deliver sales results. She has been handpicked by the Vice President of Sales for various roles over the years. She is known for consistently exceeding sales objectives and contributing to team camaraderie.

Donna is skilled in developing and implementing effective sales and trade strategies across various channels, consistently surpassing gross and net sales objectives. 

Donna connects the dots quickly and is highly proficient at driving strategic sustainable growth, new business and customer development, retail operations & merchandising, category management, and consistently achieving budget metrics.  

Donna is an expert at evaluating initiatives and delivering compelling, fact-based presentations that influence decision-makers. She is known for exceeding objectives with an entrepreneurial mindset, strong business acumen, and the ability to navigate complex situations while upholding organizational values.

She continually leads profitable growth and spearheads annual category line reviews, new item launches, distribution priorities, and top-to-top meetings.

Breaking Records in Sales

Donna is skilled in developing and implementing effective sales and trade strategies across various channels, consistently surpassing gross and net sales objectives. 

For years, she has led a team of broker sales and category managers to drive sales activities aligned with key performance indicators, achieving double-digit growth plans, maximizing promotion and trade spend, and ensuring forecast accuracy.  Donna has demonstrated her ability to lead and manage complex sales operations. She has sourced, vetted, and onboarded new broker organizations, negotiated commission structures, and transitioned from existing brokers to new ones, all while maintaining her assigned customer base and strong relationships with key clients.

In her current role at Lavazza NA, Donna has demonstrated extraordinary growth from 2021 to 2023, which includes increasing sales at Publix +165%, H-E-B +170%, Meijer +5%, Ingles +148%, and AWG, Supervalu, Lowes Food, KVAT, +174% collectively.  She has delivered decades of similar sales results in her past roles.

By consistently exceeding sales expectations, Donna has earned recognition throughout her career. She is proud of her ability to drive sales growth, even in challenging circumstances.

Sales Expertise

Donna has developed her expertise in sales over many years of hands-on experience. Some of the areas she has specialized in include:

New business development:

• Has been successful in identifying and developing new business opportunities. Her ability to spot trends and quickly make a connection with prospects has helped her to excel in expanding into new markets and customers.

Category Management, Shopper Marketing, and Merchandising:

• In addition to her sales management work, Donna is experienced in category management and shopper marketing. She understands the importance of in-store execution and retail operations, which has allowed her to design win/win scenarios.
• Donna has always been detail-oriented, and her focus on execution has led to successful in-store campaigns that drive sales and consumer engagement.
• She has developed and implemented in-store activity strategies for national and account-specific initiatives that have achieved retail excellence.  Donna has a deep understanding of how crucial these strategies are for growing brands and achieving retail excellence. She has been recognized for in-store merchandising, display, and channel-specific product innovation.

Unwinding With Donna

Donna has a variety of personal interests that reflect her love for life and her commitment to wellness. She enjoys sharing her experiences with friends and family.

Donna loves researching data on various topics and has been accused of having a head full of random facts across many subjects.  She is also an animal lover and enjoys spending time with her pets.  Her love for animals and humane treatment has shaped her lifestyle and the choices she makes in her professional and personal life.  

A Passion for Animal Advocacy

Beyond her professional achievements, Donna is an advocate for animal welfare, having supported various causes since 2003. Since 2003, she has been a pescatarian, reflecting her strong beliefs in the humane treatment of animals. She has also long supported organizations like The Farm Sanctuary, which rescues and protects farm animals from factory farming practices.

Support for Environmental Causes

Donna is not only passionate about animal welfare but also about protecting the environment. She is fond of companies and organizations that support environmental stability.  She supports the Environmental Working Group (EWG), which provides resources and tools to help 

consumers make informed decisions about the products they use and the food they eat. Donna regularly uses the EWG App and appreciates their work advocating for healthier, more sustainable consumer choices.

Strong Connections to Family and Community

Donna values family and enjoys spending time with her loved ones, including her two nieces and their families. In addition to her family, Donna has a strong network of lifelong friends and colleagues, many of whom she has met through her work in the CPG industry. Donna enjoys giving back to her community and always looks for ways to make a positive impact.