Leadership

Andrea Young, President

As global president, customer experience for Advantage Solutions, Andrea Young leads commercial strategy, growth, and delivery of retail experiences in a portfolio that has business operations in ten regions globally.  Leveraging a blend of physical, digital, display, and virtual experience models, all businesses under her direction operate with a simple remit to build brands, inspire consumer advocacy and drive product sales.

Young’s progression to the global role comes after successful leadership in helping Advantage to materially grow their market share in the experiential segment, and in-store retail experiences specifically, post joining Advantage ten years ago. During this window of time Advantage Marketing Partners has been named the No. 1 Experiential Marketing Agency in the United States by Ad Age magazine for eight consecutive years.

In addition to leading new and organic commercial growth, Young is a founding member of Advantage’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Board and passionate about building diverse, inclusive, and affirming associate communities for Advantage families around the globe.

Prior to joining Advantage, Young built a decade-long career with the Omnicom Group of companies where she held senior leadership roles at The Marketing Arm, National In-Store Merchandising Services, and U.S. Marketing and Promotions.

Young holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and sports management from Rice University.

Favorite Kirkland product: Kirkland Signature Chocolate Muffins

Denise Garcia, Vice President, International

As Vice President of International, Denise Garcia is a key business leader responsible for the operational direction and management of CDS Canada and Mexico. Denise leads the execution of strategic plans and operational excellence by offering customized event marketing solutions for Costco and its brand partners.

She joined CDS in May 2004 and over her tenure has held multiple roles in sales, business development, customer relations and international expansion. In 2017, she led the CDS business expansion into Canada and relocated to become the Country Manager. In 2020, Denise expanded her scope of responsibilities to include the Mexico region and was appointed Vice President of International.

Denise received the Innovative Thinker of the Year award for her contributions on creating and implementing a new demo platform in 2011. In 2016, Denise was selected for Progressive Grocer’s Top Women in Grocery in the rising star category and at the Executive level in 2019.

Favorite Kirkland product: Kirkland Signature Chocolate Covered Raisins

Dierra Romero, Director of Human Resources, SPHR, ARM

Dierra is responsible for the strategic direction and management of CDS’ Human Resources (HR) organization in both US and Mexico.

Dierra joined CDS in 2006 as a Risk Management Coordinator. Over the years, she held various leadership roles, including Risk Manager – where she worked closely with Costco partners at managing workers’ compensation and general liability claims. In 2016, she moved into a role as Sr. Manager, HR Capabilities, where she focused on driving creative training solutions for our frontline associates and the project management of large-scale HR initiatives.

Dierra holds Sr. Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and Associate in Risk Management (ARM) designations, as well as a BS degree in Graphic Arts from The Art Institute of California. Dierra’s background in the arts and diverse experience has enabled her to bring innovative solutions and fresh perspectives to the HR team.

Favorite Kirkland product: Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups

Christina Coyle, Senior Vice President, Talent Acquisition

Christina is responsible for talent acquisition strategy, innovation, and delivery for CDS and leads the Enterprise Talent Acquisition team at Advantage Solutions.

Christina joined the team in April 2021 in this newly created role where she brings her expertise in high-volume recruiting, hourly hiring and rapid-hiring initiatives at scale. Already she is delivering strategic talent innovation and workforce planning to our enterprise.

Her Fortune 500 experience includes Walmart, Samsung and Verizon, where she designed and implemented solutions, leading talent delivery at scale into steady state as a dedicated recruitment partner. Christina has held corporate talent acquisition leadership roles optimizing employment brand, process redesign, configurable technology and smart automation through the eyes of the applicant. As head of U.S. restaurant workforce planning and talent attraction for McDonald’s, she directly supported the U.S. chief people officer in the ideation, build and implementation of an award-winning talent platform and related product offerings to franchisees and company-owned restaurants.

Favorite Kirkland product: Kirkland Signature Steak Seasoning

Kirsten Alford Osborne, Senior Vice President, Customer Experience Innovation

Kirsten Alford Osborne is the Senior Vice President of Customer Experience Innovation.  Kirsten leads Advantage’s Strategy and Innovation Center of Excellence which is focused on driving program diversification and growth through new, customized, channels and services.

She joined Advantage in 2015 and has helped launch and oversee regional and national retail platforms.  In 2018, she led the development and launch of the Strategy and Innovation Center of Excellence and a supporting Analytical Hub to help expedite innovation and conversion throughout the experiential enterprise.

She joined the CDS team in 2021 to help actively drive turn-key demo evolution and help bring innovation to life for Costco, their members, and their vendors.

In 2016, Kirsten received the Advantage Pillar Award for Culture and the Top Women in Grocery Senior Executive Award. She joined Advantage 16 years of merchandising and marketing experience at retailers like Target, where she spent the 8 years prior to joining the team.

Favorite Kirkland product: Kirkland Signature Marcona Almonds

Ashley Whitley, Director, Global Technology Products

Ashley is responsible for the strategic planning and management of the technology products supporting the CDS business, globally.

She joined CDS in 2021. Ashley works with the internal teams to understand the business process, seeks opportunities where technology can enable efficiency and uses strategic planning to ensure the IT platforms can evolve alongside the business they support. Prior to joining CDS, Ashley was a Business Engagement/Products Manager for the rest of the Advantage Demo retail teams, managing the platforms which supports sales, scheduling, staffing and executing of demo events. Her career began at Advantage in the ‘Retail Continuity’ segment supporting teams and technologies related to merchandising, distribution audits, and sales in retail.

Ashley takes pride in her role as a translator; helping often-non-technical business users and leadership translate their needs to technical engineers and product teams. And conversely helping share technical details to the users in a way in which facilitates ease of understanding regardless of technical skill.

Favorite Kirkland product: Kirkland Signature Organic Animal Crackers

Don Dohanyos, Advisor to the President

Don Dohanyos is the former president of Club Demonstration Services, a subsidiary of Daymon Interactions and the preferred in-house marketing provider for Costco for nearly 30 years.

Don joined the company in 1989, a year after CDS was founded. He rose through the leadership ranks beginning as the company’s first controller, implementing fiscal policies and procedures that brought stability and order to the fast-growing company.

He then transitioned from finance to operations, demonstrating his impact on the company’s growth both nationally and internationally. Under Don’s leadership, CDS secured business with Costco across the United States, Mexico, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, Spain, France, and Canada.

He created programs that provided consistency in the quality and standards at CDS and across all Daymon Interactions events, lending its efficiencies and impactful results to its retail partners.

Don received two PDS Outstanding Achievement Awards (in honor of the company’s co-founder, Peter D. Schwartz) for his financial contribution as well as his impact on Daymon Interactions’ international expansion.

He believes that the strength of any organization is its people, and he is proud of the dedication and results his team achieves around the world.

Favorite Kirkland product: Kirkland Signature Dry Roasted Almonds