RUSSELL E. SCHMUHL

Russ Schmuhl is a highly-respected Customer Care professional with a diverse background in Business-to-Business and Business-to-Consumer service functions. Russ joined the Customer Care Institute from SUPERVALU, a leading wholesale food distributor and retailer.

As Corporate Director of Customer Service for SUPERVALU, Russ led the initiative to bring all of its decentralized Customer Service activities into one location. He successfully developed the site, systems, telecommunications, training and innovative hiring processes required to handle the over 800,000 inbound calls received annually. He was responsible for a staff of 150 that handled retailer and consumer issues for 3,500 stores and 26 distribution centers across the nation.

Prior to joining SUPERVALU, Russ spent 25 years in a variety of service roles at Polaroid Corporation, most recently as the Director of Worldwide Customer Service Process, serving as the process owner for all consumer and customer activities from order fulfillment to consumer satisfaction worldwide.

He also served as Services General Manager for Asia Pacific responsible for Dealer Services, Consumer Services, Product Service, Logistics, Information Management and Total Quality in a region including Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, India, Indonesia, Thailand and China.

His career there also included roles as International Consumer Service Manager, Worldwide Product Planning Manager, Consumer Resource Center and Technical Assistance Manager, Regional Distribution Operations Manager, Service Center Supervisor and Customer Support Specialist. He started his career as a Consumer Service Representative.

Russ has been a member of the Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals in Business (SOCAP) since 1982. He was elected New England Chapter President, served on the Board of Directors as an officer, and was National President. He also is a member of the International Customer Service Association (ICSA), served as the Colorado Chapter president, was a founding member of the Chicago chapter and currently is on the Board of the Colorado Chapter.

A Wisconsin native and a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Russ is a certified facilitator in the Rummler-Brache methodology for business process improvement. He speaks frequently at Customer Care-related functions on a variety of topics including centralization of services, innovative hiring practices and business process improvement.