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iolo technologies

 

2010 Stevie Award Winner

Company: iolo technologies, LLC
Company Description: Crowned the Fastest-Growing Company in the United States for 2009 by the American Business Awards, iolo technologies (www.iolo.com) produces award-winning software that repairs, optimizes, and protects Windows computers. A privately held firm founded in 1998 and headquartered in Los Angeles, iolo has presence in 14 countries and more than 23 million users worldwide.
Nomination Category: Individual Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Employee of the Year

Nomination Title: Marina Totalca, Channel Sales Executive

Describe for the judges the activities and accomplishments of the nominated employee during the eligibility period (up to 500 words):

With more than 6 years of retail experience, Marina Totalca is responsible for
managing all Canadian retailers and key U.S. retailers for iolo technologies,
LLC (www.iolo.com) a 12-year-old, privately-held PC tune-up company with more
than 30 million users and presence in 18,000 stores worldwide. This includes
driving revenue, growth, and maintaining partner relations.

With her ability to develop and execute tactical plans for increasing brand
visibility and sales in the retail environment, Ms. Totalca has achieved the
following successes since July 2009:
1)            Increased market share: Increased iolo’s market share in the system utility
category in Canada from 75 percent to 98 percent, as measured by NPD – in spite
of the recent financial crisis, the continuing double-digit declines in the
software industry, and the sharpest PC sales declines in history. This dramatic
market share increase was achieved by Marina Totalca’s effective work in
maintaining relations with partners, distributors and retails and her skillful
efforts at driving revenue and growth, through creative and innovative
promotional retail campaigns, positive net bookings, extensive ROI analysis, and
detailed quarterly business reviews.
2)            Increased revenue: In addition to growing iolo’s overall market share of the
PC tune-up software category, Marina Totalca also led iolo to some of the
highest sales growth percentages in history. Canadian sales achieved 80 percent
growth in 2008 and added over 30 percent in 2009, roughly doubling iolo’s
profits in Canada last year alone. That means that iolo’s Q4 2009 sales were
242.6% higher than its Q4 2007 sales.
3)            New product launches: Marina Totalca also successfully – and single-handedly
– launched five new products in the Canadian market. The list of the
successfully introduced new products, which immediately showed impressive
sell-through numbers and became a key source of revenue for iolo technologies,
included: bilingual French/English packaging for four of iolo’s products,
including System Mechanic, System Mechanic Professional, DriveScrubber and
Search and Recover, as well as French language version of System Mechanic,
iolo’s flagship award-winning PC performance software.
4)            Awards: Marina Totalca also received “Vendor of the Year” (2009) award from
Eurpac, one of the leading sales and marketing service firms in the military
market. This prestigious award is coveted each year by hundreds of vendors that
work with Eurpac, including many large companies and well-recognized names in
the industry. Winning the “Vendor of the Year” award amidst such strong
competition was testament to Marina Totalca’s excellent management,
professionalism and top-notch service, which includes timely delivery, prompt
restocking and help whenever needed.
5)            Key account growth: With effective management, successful relationships and
innovative initiatives, Marina Totalca grew iolo’s key accounts in Canada
exponentially. Under her management, sales in Best Buy, iolo’s second largest
retail account, grew by an impressive 65 percent units and 67 percent revenue
year-over-year. Fry’s Electronics, iolo’s fifth largest retail account, also
showed a dramatic growth of 47 percent in unit sales and 44 percent in revenue
year-over-year, in spite of the continuing challenging retail sales environment
across North America.
6)            Charity / environmental work: In addition to her sales efforts in Canada,
Marina Totalca also actively advocated various green and environmentally
conscientious campaigns. As part of the green initiative, iolo donates copies of
its software to non-profit materials reuse organizations to both help recipients
use their aging computers for longer and encourage donors to donate their PCs
without worrying about the safety of any sensitive data. These efforts
compliment sales in the retail channel and increase awareness of iolo’s products.

In 2010, Marina Totalca is planning further market share and sales growth in
Canada, new product releases and an even stronger focus on vendor satisfaction
and awards, as well as green campaigns.

 

List the URLs (web addresses) of any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that you would like the judges to see that support your entry. IMPORTANT: List each URL on a separate line, begin each URL with http://, and enclose each URL in square brackets. For example, [http://www.yourcompany.com/pressrelease.html]:

List of top coverage on iolo and its products, incl. many award-winning reviews:
http://www.iolo.com/company/news.aspx

List of top awards won by iolo in its 12-year history:
http://www.iolo.com/company/awards.aspx

Government Computer News names System Mechanic one of the Best Products of 2009
(the only software included on the list), 12/11/09:
http://gcn.com/Articles/2009/12/14/Lab-Best-Tech-Products-of-2009.aspx?sc_lang=en&Page=9

Impulse Gamer (Australia) gives System Mechanic a 9 out of 10 review, 10/12/09:
http://www.impulsegamer.com/pcsystemmechanic.html

Globe and Mail (Canada) highly recommends System Mechanic for achieving an
impressive 35 percent improvement in his PC performance, 9/17/09:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/blogs/controller-freak/how-to-get-a-35-per-cent-faster-
pc-for-50/article1291754/

PC World praises System Mechanic’s versatility and powerful tools, 7/24/09:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/169125/system_mechanic_9_digs_deep_to_improve_
performance.html

CNet recommends System Mechanic’s breadth and depth, 5/26/09:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13880_3-10248897-68.html?tag=mncol;title

Inc. enlists iolo as an expert source for small businesses, 5/4/09:
http://technology.inc.com/hardware/articles/200905/desktop.html

ComputerWorld says "System Mechanic remains the best bang for the buck. Norton
Utilities pales by comparison, which is too bad, given its illustrious history",
3/24/09:
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxonomy
Name=Software&articleId=9129439&taxonomyId=18&pageNumber=3

NY1 TV enlists iolo as the main expert source for this segment on spring
cleaning for PCs, 3/24/09:
http://www.ny1.com/content/ny1_living/technology/96171/spring-cleaning-also-applie
s-to-computers/Default.aspx

The Economist praises System Mechanic, 3/13/09:
http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13307789

Provide a brief biography of the nominated employee (up to 100 words):

As a channel sales executive at iolo technologies, a 12-year-old PC tune-up
company with more than 30 million users worldwide, Marina Totalca manages all
Canadian retailers and several key U.S. retailers in a two-tier distribution
model. Her responsibilities include maintaining partner relations and driving
revenue and growth, through promotional retail campaigns, positive net bookings,
ROI analysis, and quarterly business reviews, with the ultimate goal of
increasing market share and positive net sell through across the markets.

Marina Totalca started her career at iolo technologies 10 years ago, and is
currently the longest tenured employee at the company after the CEO/founder.
Originally a part-time employee while a full-time college student, Marina
Totalca transferred to the North American sales department upon graduation.
After a year as a sales assistant, she was promoted to channel sales executive,
a post she has held for six years.

Born in Portland, Oregon, Marina Totalca holds a BA in English Literature (cum
laude) from California State University, Northridge.