Rita Dawson, a co-inventor of SOAR to Strategic Excellence™ and a Certified SOAR Facilitator, joined The Parkland Group in 1999. She works with clients in various industries to develop strategies and practices focused on driving economic value, bringing a solution-based approach to management, sales, marketing and leadership to all her client engagements.

Rita functioned as interim COO at a fourth-generation wholesale food distributor that achieved dramatic improvements in strategic, operational and marketing effectiveness under her leadership. She also recently worked with a plastics manufacturer to increase its business development, decrease its sell cycle and focus on delivery windows, resulting in a significantly improved backlog, streamlined customer service and enhanced competitive advantage. She worked with a rubber manufacturer to improve its sales and marketing strategy and execution.

Prior to joining The Parkland Group, Rita worked for a Fortune 500 company where she was charged with managing more than $250 million in product- line sales. Her accomplishments include leading cross-functional development teams to introduce more than 50 new products to retail and industrial markets and developing and managing channel relationships resulting in more than $50 million in new business.

Rita has a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from The University of Pittsburgh and an MBA from Case Western Reserve University.