Dena Haton
About Dena Haton
Dena Haton serves as the Merchandising Manager for US Foods Direct in Rosemont, Illinois, a position she has held since 2019. With a strong background in marketing and extensive experience in the distribution and wholesale industry, she specializes in cost reduction, profitability enhancement, and project management.
Work at US Foods
Dena Haton has been serving as the Merchandising Manager for US Foods Direct since 2019. In this role, she is responsible for overseeing merchandising strategies and initiatives aimed at enhancing product offerings and customer satisfaction. Based in Rosemont, Illinois, her tenure at US Foods has spanned five years, during which she has applied her expertise in cost reduction and profitability enhancement within the distribution and wholesale industry.
Education and Expertise
Dena Haton holds a Bachelor of Arts in Marketing from Illinois State University. Additionally, she has studied Business, Management, and Marketing at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her educational background is complemented by her studies in Chinese Language at National Taiwan Normal University. Dena's expertise includes dynamic project management, compliance, market development, and procurement principles.
Background in Product Management
Prior to her current role, Dena Haton worked at Essendant, where she held various positions including Product Manager for JanSan/Health and Personal Care and Senior Category Merchandising Manager for Janitorial Chemical Products. Her experience at Essendant lasted from 2012 to 2019. Before that, she spent 12 years at Edward Don & Company in roles such as Category Manager and Associate Product Manager, gaining extensive knowledge in inventory management and global sourcing.
Professional Experience in Inventory Management
Dena Haton began her career at Hudson RCI as an Associate Inventory Manager from 1997 to 1999. This early experience laid the foundation for her subsequent roles in inventory and category management. Throughout her career, she has demonstrated a strong aptitude for contract negotiation and management, particularly in a B2B context, and has utilized marketing intelligence to inform business and pricing strategies.
Skills in Project Management and Sourcing
Dena Haton possesses strong skills in cross-functional alignment and product lifecycle management. Her expertise in global sourcing and dynamic project management enables her to effectively achieve multiple objectives and tasks. She has a proven track record of leveraging these skills to enhance operational efficiency and drive business success in the wholesale distribution sector.