Forty Under 40: Amanda Whittaker

Amanda Whittaker has worked in some aspect of the retail industry throughout her career.

The Little Rock native spent the first 11 years working in the marketing and supplier segments of the industry, including at Saatchi & Saatchi X, TracyLocke and Nestle USA, and helped brands such as Procter & Gamble, Kimberly-Clark, HP and Disney.

In 2014, she joined Coca-Cola as shopper marketing director.

During her time with the company, she served as marketing lead for Walmart’s Beverage Council, co-led the development of annual business plans, and developed marketing plans to increase Coca-Cola sales at Walmart by nearly $200 million. She and her team contributed to this business growth, which was twice as fast as consumer sales and three times faster than the nearest competitor, resulting in a No. 1 Advantage Monitor Ranking in 2017. She worked with the sales team to develop e-commerce strategies, five nationwide “Share a Coke” events, content partnerships, and in-store displays that are still in nearly 3,000 Walmart stores.

In April 2019, she and Alisha Watkins established marketing agency Paradox Retail.

Revenue rose to $500,000 in 2019, and $1 million is the projection for this year. The company has worked to build the brands of about 15 clients since it was established. Paradox has five employees,  all of whom have been working remotely since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Goals include opening a new office and reaching $20 million in revenue by 2030.

Whittaker supports Keypoint Church, Children’s Safety Center and the Network of Executive Women. She spends her free time writing, exercising and reading. Personal goals include reading a book weekly in her 39th year, launching a podcast and writing a book.