Donna Rippin is a Partner with the recently formed Business Brains LLC, a consortium of senior level strategists and C Level executives specializing in strategic planning and business growth initiatives. A rich and diverse 30+ year track record of leading consumer goods businesses to profitable growth enables her to tap into world-class best practices; she readily applies those experiences to benefit clients from any industry and of any size.

Donna is a multi-functional expert, who because of her ability to lead, manage and develop people, has been functioning as a general manager with P&L accountability for the past 10 years, prior to joining Business Brains LLC. Her functional background includes 7 years of technical R&D practice at a Fortune 100 Petrochemical company, where she worked on human drug and medical device development; 3 years of financial work at Kimberly-Clark, where she became the first woman plant controller for a KC Consumer Sector mill in the history of the company; and 30 years of progressive marketing and business leadership positions at some of the world’s largest and most respected companies including: Unilever, Kimberly-Clark, Birds Eye Foods, Chiquita Brand International, and Lactalis International. At these companies, she established a reputation of being a high-energy, results-driven business leader, with a knack for driving profitable growth, rebuilding heritage brands, and successfully launching new categories and product lines.

Her competencies include: deep expertise in strategic planning and implementation, company and product positioning and branding work, business management for profitable growth, new business and product development and startup, integrated marketing strategy formulation, and creative concept development and writing. While her expertise is both broad and deep in all areas of business management, as a creative, her true passion lies in the area of new business startups and business/brand expansion.

In addition to being an innovative and inspired risk-taker, Donna is recognized as a team builder and a strategic thought leader. During her time in Corporate America, she has spoken at various Innovator Conferences to share not only her know-how with colleagues, but her passion for building brands and businesses as well.

A native of Northeast Ohio, Donna holds a Bachelor of Science degree, as well as a Masters of Business Administration with a Finance focus, both from Cleveland State University.