Christina Fumia
Senior Director, Marketing & Communications · Avant-Garde Marketing & Communications
brooksville, FL
In My Own Words
VALUE PROPOSITION
► I am highly effective in marketing, with experience developing and executing strategies that increase revenue, customer engagement, and competitive differentiation.
► My career includes the oversight of marketing operations to increase brand awareness, lead generation, and sales.
SUMMARY
► Engaging marketing leader possessing a winning blend of subject matter expertise, practical experience in multiple industries, and a history of success building brands from the ground up.
► Leverages a unique mix of strategic and analytical expertise, consistently exceeding performance goals by aligning talent and focus with organizational objectives.
LEADERSHIP HIGHLIGHTS
★ With Avant-Garde Marketing & Communications, built and leads a team of full-time employees and interns, as well as freelance developers, web designers, writers, and creative personnel.
★ Innovated the concept, brand, and menu for Plancha Latin Kitchen, achieving $45,000 in revenue in the first month, growing to $56,000 in the third month.
Work Experience
Founder, Chief Marketing Officer, and Chief Executive Officer
Avant-Garde Marketing & Communications2016 – Present
★ Established the business and developed a customer base of small business owners, independent restaurants, and medical providers.
★ Advises clients with respect to marketing, menu optimization, event planning, branding, strategic planning, and engagement over social and digital media
★ Formed a team of full-time employees and interns, as well as freelance developers, web designers, writers, and creative personnel.
☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲ ABOUT AVANT-GARDE MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS
Avant-Garde Marketing & Communications is a marketing, advertising, and communications firm supporting small business success.
Director of Marketing / Department Head (Managed Care)
veriMED IPA2022 – 2023
★ Managed and led the marketing team through all facets of Marketing for the organization, independent physician practices, and its 20 wholly-owned clinics.
★ Responsible for brand development and management, public relations, event planning and production, provider relations and communications, broker relations, patient communications, grassroots marketing, and internal company events.
★ Engaged with health plans, specialists, agents, brokers, and vendors to promote the organization and its network of more than 100 providers.
★ Successfully executed the Why veriMED relationship-based marketing campaign, providing tools and resources to ensure that Medicare enrollments were linked to a primary care provider in order to protect broker enrollments.
☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲ ABOUT VERIMED IPA LLC
veriMED IPA is an independent physician association (IPA) that manages independently owned and operated primary care practices.
Publisher
DiningOut Orange County & Long Beach Magazine2016 – 2020
★ Oversaw magazine production, including advertising, design, relationship management, public relations, event production, and photography.
★ Led the magazine from a break-even status to $70,000 in advertising sales. Achieved over 300% growth in advertising sales in two years.
★ Managed a six-person team in California and Colorado encompassing a photographer, operations personnel, editors, writers, and finance personnel.
★ Credited with repositioning the magazine from a tourist-only publication, to a publication that locals love as well.
★ Worked with chefs and restaurant owners in Orange County and Long Beach to showcase new restaurant openings, menu offerings, events, and awards. Covered food and wine festivals in Orange County and Long Beach.
★ Captured 10,000 paid subscribers in six months by placing the magazine into Whole Foods, Vons, and Target stores with subscription cards.
☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲ ABOUT DININGOUT ORANGE COUNTY & LONG BEACH MAGAZINE
DiningOut Orange County & Long Beach Magazine is part of the DiningOut brand, which has been publishing magazines and guides showcasing regional dining across the United States for over 15 years. The brand serves as a comprehensive marketing resource for restaurant and advertising clients while covering the latest trends and happenings in the local restaurant scene.
Concept & Brand Creator / EVP, Marketing & Public Relations
Plancha Latin Kitchen2016 – 2020
★ Created the concept, brand, and menu for the restaurant, achieving $45,000 in revenue in the first month, growing to $56,000 in the third month.
★ Supervised the Director of Operations, the Executive Chef, an architectural team, a design team, and three interns to bring the establishment from concept through to execution and growth.
★ Hired for all Front of House positions, building a team of brand ambassadors.
☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲ ABOUT PLANCHA LATIN KITCHEN After spending many years working with multiple restaurant brands, a group of seasoned, passionate, restaurant veterans came together to establish a brand of their own—something they could all contribute to and be very proud of. Plancha Latin Kitchen is a collaboration of many different backgrounds and cultures presenting a Latin-American style cuisine that is blended, unique and healthy—It’s what Southern California is all about. You might recall memories of sitting at a table and feeling love through the food you were eating. Plancha was created with this in mind. We hope our hand-crafted, house-made dishes bring back those fond memories in our warm, comfortable atmosphere.
Director of Corporate Internal Communications & Marketing
Molina Healthcare2015 – 2017
★ Directed internal communications and marketing for over 20 internal clients encompassing departments and state health plans.
★ Managed a four-person team while partnering with colleagues in IT, Travel, Marketing, Training, HR, Facilities.
★ Led the rebranding of company departments, redesign of intranet pages, and event planning.
★ Handled the company’s intranet and blog, writing content for employees and announcements for executive hires and health plan milestones.
★ Supported more than 25,000 workers in the continental United States and Puerto Rico by introducing employee engagement programs.
★ Implemented software enabling pop-up messaging for the entire workforce during emergencies.
★ Observed calls in the contact center that served as the basis for improvements, leading to a 35% increase in job satisfaction and a reduction in turnover from 50% to 25% in two years.
☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲ ABOUT MOLINA HEALTHCARE
Molina Healthcare, Inc. is a managed care company that provides health insurance to individuals through government programs such as Medicaid and Medicare. Molina Healthcare operates in multiple states across the nation and focuses on offering quality healthcare to low-income families and individuals.
Account Director / Brand Strategist
adhoc2014 – 2017
★ Managed client relationships with nonprofit organizations.
★ Served as Director of Marketing for Global Genes, a global advocacy and awareness group for rare disease patients.
★ Supported projects with other clients that included Tropic Surf, Hornblower Cruises, Direct Relief, El Pollo Loco, Zoe’s Kitchen, 18|8 Fine Men’s Salons, A2 Milk Co., BREAD Artisan Bakery, DonateIt, Bottom Up, and UCLA Health. ☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲ ABOUT ADHOC
AdHoc is a full-service advertising agency that offers marketing, digital, and advertising services.
Manager, Digital Marketing & Public Relations
Mimis Cafe2012 – 2014
★ Responsible for public relations strategy, corporate and crisis communications, digital marketing, social media, cause marketing, and fundraising initiatives.
★ Established social media and digital advertising. Advocated for the integration of social media into the overall business strategy.
★ Reported on digital and social media effectiveness, identifying opportunities for improvement.
★ Designed and launched a new company website.
★ Raised more than $1M over 18 months for collaborations with Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, Children’s Hospital of Orange County, National Breast Cancer Foundation, American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women Movement, and Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign.
☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲ ABOUT MIMI’S CAFÉ
Mimi's Café, now known as Mimi's Bistro + Bakery, is an American restaurant chain that offers a blend of French and American cuisine.
Coordinator, Field Marketing & Social Media
El Pollo Loco, Inc.2008 – 2012
★ Managed more than $2M in media budgets in 12 markets to promote company-owned and franchise locations. Achieved double-digit sales gains in challenging and highly competitive markets.
★ Led media and local store marketing initiatives, directing the development of marketing materials for individual stores.
★ Coordinated social media communications strategies, leading seasonal, promotional, and topical tie-ins.
★ Tracked and responded to online mentions and criticisms of the brand.
★ Developed and distributed press releases.
★ As Event & Fundraising Manager for El Pollo Loco Charities, managed silent auctions, employee engagement, and other fundraising events.
☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲☲ ABOUT EL POLLO LOCO INC.
El Pollo Loco is a fast-casual restaurant chain that specializes in Mexican-style grilled chicken.
Account Coordinator
cruz/kravetz:IDEAS2009 – 2011
Offered field marketing support for new markets, overseeing the development and production of LSM materials. Established and maintained a comprehensive calendar for catering marketing initiatives, including online coupons, email blasts, blogger outreach, and events. Managed the corporate website and played a key role in coordinating the development and launch of all company social media sites, the new corporate website, and the catering online ordering system.
Led grassroots marketing efforts for the launch of El Pollo Loco’s acceptance of the EBT card, resulting in a substantial 3% increase in incremental sales.