Steve Lee has joined Hot Chillys in the new position of VP of Sales. Previously all sales, marketing and operational duties were divided between Hot Chillys two founders, Ray Bolton and Guy Wells.
While this looks like a simple new hire, it actually represents a new direction for the company. “This is really my tenth day here and I came in with a whole laundry list of things I wanted to accomplish in the first year,” said Lee. “My hope is to make Hot Chillys easier to work with and more fun through the use of technology.”
Lee came to Hot Chillys from his sales agency, The Blue Sky Group, which he ran with his business partners for 11 years. “I have worked with a lot of different companies and seen how things are done from the inside. The opportunity for me is to take all of this experience and apply it to one business,” he said.
The first steps Lee will take involve more operational details, like a new sales order system to allow retailers and reps to check orders and availability on-line and an expedited freight system. He will also be working with the design team to clean up the line and make it easier to understand instead of, a line that needs to be explained.
“Hot Chillys is not really complicated, but we have made it more complicated than it need to be. We have some great product that sells through well, but at the same time there are some holes. So, Ill be working on organizing our existing products to make them easier to understand and also rounding it out.”
