Eugene F. Zelek, Jr.

“Hands-down the most practical, business-oriented outside counsel that I have ever worked with. He not only responds to requests for advice immediately, he routinely provides a list of 3 to 7 options, many very creative, for addressing the issue at hand, and he clearly delineates the legal and business pros and cons of each.” Brian R. Henry, General Counsel, North America & Global Customers, The Coca-Cola Company.

“Gene is one of the foremost antitrust pricing lawyers in the retail and consumer goods world.  Rather than the old cliché of the lawyer who just makes your job harder and tells you all the ways you can’t get something done, Gene helps focus your team on all the ways you can.  He’s the lawyer to call.” Eversight, Inc. (now part of Instacart), a cutting-edge provider of artificial intelligence-based pricing and promotional analytics.

“Superb at thoroughly educating you on complex, important issues and explaining options. He is service-oriented and delivers great results and value. Specifically, if you are trying to combat Internet price and program violations, [he] is your guy.” John Gitelman, VP of Marketing of Aqua Products Inc.

These are just a few comments Gene has received from clients regarding his work, which focuses on all aspects of consumer and industrial marketing law, including antitrust, pricing, brand protection, advertising, licensing, and channel management. Chambers USA calls Gene a “renowned expert on marketing-related law….  Sources single him out as ‘an exceptional counselor who really thinks outside the box.’”   Chambers further notes, “He can take complex concepts and create structures and explanations that are reasonable for business people to follow. He is commended for his knowledge at the crossroads of IP [intellectual property] and antitrust” and “He is a charming and personable guy, as well as very professional and incredibly knowledgeable in the area.”

Gene applies extensive counseling, transactional, and litigation experience on behalf of a wide range of leading manufacturers, service providers, and consulting firms worldwide. He advises clients on antitrust and distribution matters, such as assistance with revenue growth management (RGM) (including pricing), brand protection, information exchanges, licensing, strategic alliances, supply arrangements, group purchasing organizations (GPOs), complex contracts, and new product development. In addition, he has helped design, implement, and enforce several hundred successful policies setting minimum resale price (MRP), minimum advertised price (MAP), and their variants (EMRP, EMAP, and IMAP) in diverse industries for both consumer and industrial products.

Publications

Since 2001, Gene has written, co-authored or contributed to the following works:

• “In Luxury, Getting the Right Price Can Make All the Difference,” The Global Legal Post, Luxury Law Alliance (June 29, 2024) (available at https://www.globallegalpost.com/news/in-luxury-getting-the-right-price-can-make-all-the-difference-1427835561).
• Legal Aspects of Pricing in the US, in Elgar Encyclopedia of Pricing (Andreas Hinterhuber ed. 2024).
• Jean-Manuel Izaret and Arnab Sinha, Game Changer: How Strategic Pricing Shapes Businesses, Markets, and Society (2023).
• The Legal Framework for Pricing, in Thomas T. Nagle, Georg Müller and Evert Gruyaert, The Strategies and Tactics of Pricing, A Guide to Growing More Profitably (7th ed. 2023) (as well as in the four previous editions).
• “Legal Tools for Battling Resale Price Erosion,” American Bar Association, Antitrust Law Section, published in connection with “Curbing Resale Price Erosion: A No-Nonsense Panel” Webinar (2020).
• “Pricing Policies that Protect Your Brand: How to Prevent Unauthorized Discounting,” Harvard Business Review 76 (March-April, 2020) (Co-Authored with Ayelet Israeli) (also available at https://hbr.org/2020/03/pricing-policies-that-protect-your-brand).
• “Authorized Reseller Programs: A Brief Explanation,” Contemporary Legal Issues White Paper (2018).
• “How to Create the Right Reseller Pricing Program for Your Company,” TrackStreet White Paper (2018).
• “10 Reasons Your Minimum Price Program Could be Upsetting Your Resellers,” TrackStreet White Paper (2018).
• “Effectively Using Pricing Policies and Other Means to Control Discounting,” Contemporary Legal Issues White Paper (2018).
• “A Primer on Lawfully Fighting Resale Price Erosion,” American Bar Association, Antitrust Law Section 66th Annual Spring Meeting (2018).
• “Combatting Online Resale Price Erosion: What Works, What Doesn’t and Why, Part 1: The Basics” (April 2016), “Part 2: MRP and MAP Policies – The Practical Issues” (May 2016), Manufacturers’ Agents Association for the Foodservice Industry, MAFSI Matters (Manufacturers Edition).
• “Deceptive Price Increases: Nothing to Sneeze At,” The Wiglaf Journal (July 2015).
• “Good Intentions/Bad Execution: 10 Problems in Minimum Resale Price or MAP Programs that Annoy Resellers,” Performance Warehouse Association (PWA) (now Custom Automotive Network (CAN)), White Paper (2015).
• “Creating a Resale Price or MAP Policy that Works for Your Company: Everything You Always Wanted to Know, but Didn’t Know Who to Ask,” Performance Warehouse Association (PWA) (now Custom Automotive Network (CAN)), White Paper (2014).
• Legal Tools that Support Value Pricing, in Visionary Pricing: Reflections and Advances in Honor of Dan Nimer (Gerald Smith ed.), 19 Advances in Business Marketing & Purchasing (2012).
• “Facilitating Value Pricing in the Food and Foodservice Industries,” Contemporary Legal Issues White Paper (2011).
• Walter L. Baker, Michael V. Marn and Craig C. Zawada, The Price Advantage (2d ed. 2010) and as Michael V. Marn, Eric V. Roegner and Craig C. Zawada (2004).
• Role of Regulation in Setting Prices, in Kellogg on Marketing (Alice M. Tybout and Bobby J. Calder eds., 2d ed. 2010) and (Dawn Iacobucci ed., 2001).
• “Avoiding Corrosive Price Competition,” Institute of Channel Management (Volume 3, Number 1) (2009).
• ABA Section of Antitrust Law and Forum Committee on Franchising, Antitrust Handbook for Franchise and Distribution Practitioners (2008).
• Reed K. Holden and Mark Burton, Pricing with Confidence: Ten Ways to Stop Leaving Money on The Table (2008).
• Mike Marks, Tim Horan and Mike Emerson, Working at Cross Purposes: How Distributors and Manufacturers Can Manage Conflict Successfully (2006).
• ABA Section of Antitrust Law, Frequently Asked Questions (2004).
• “Establishing and Maintaining an Effective Resale Price Policy: A Colgate How-To,” Antitrust 8 (Summer 2003) (co-authored with Brian R. Henry).
• Anne T. Coughlan, Erin Anderson, Louis W. Stern and Adel I. El-Ansary, Marketing Channels (6th ed. 2001).

Selected Recent Public Speaking Engagements

• Co-Presenter, “Pricing Policies: Everything You Wanted to Know, But Didn’t Know Who to Ask,” Performance Racing Industry, Indianapolis, IN (December 12-14, 2024).
• Speaker, “Old Dog, New Tricks: Thriving in the New Robinson-Patman Environment,” Revenue Growth Management (RGM) Meeting, Haug Growth Group, Gloucester, MA (October 8, 2024).
• Keynote Speaker, “Increasing the Size of the Pie and Taking the Right Slice: Resale Price Management and Differentiated Pricing,” Revenue Roundup, Eversight by Instacart, Half Moon Bay, CA (April 10-12, 2024).
• Speaker, “A Practical Primer on Successful MAP and Other Pricing Policies for Legal Counsel and Managers,” Webinar, UPPmarket, Inc. (November 20, 2023).
• Panelist, “MAP and Other Pricing Policies: What’s New, What’s Frustrating, What Works,” Webinar, UPPmarket, Inc. (November 9, 2023).
• Co-Presenter, “How a Pricing Policy Saved Our Company,” 2022 SEMA Show, Specialty Equipment Market Association, Las Vegas, NV (October 31- November 4, 2022).
• Speaker, “Effective MAP and Other Pricing Policies: Everything Legal Counsel and Companies Need to Know,” Webinar, TrackStreet (October 19, 2022).
• Speaker, “Making Sense Out of the Alphabet Soup of Pricing Policies: MAP, IMAP, MRP, UPP, EMRP, etc.” Webinar, TrackStreet (September 1, 2022).
• Co-Presenter, “MAP and Resale Price Policies: Everything You Wanted to Know, but Didn’t Know Who to Ask” and “Make Your MAP or Resale Price Policy Sales-Centric,” 2021 SEMA Show, Specialty Equipment Market Association, Las Vegas, NV (November 1-5, 2021).
• Co-Presenter, “Vive la différence – Product Distribution in North America and Europe: Common Issues, Different Results,” Webinar, Rosenblatt & Taft Joint Program (September 23, 2021).
• Panelist, “Brand Protection Fundamentals for the Future,” Netrush Summit 2020, Netrush, LLC (October 28, 2020).
• Session Chair, “Curbing Resale Price Erosion: A No-Nonsense Panel,” Webinar, American Bar Association, Antitrust Law Section (June 17, 2020).
• Participant, “Using Pricing Policies to Solidify Channel Management Both Online and Offline,” Buy Box Experts Podcast, Hosted by James Thomson, Co-founder of Buy Box Experts (conducted April 14, but posted June 2, 2020).
• Speaker, “Revenue Enhancement Best Practices,” Webinar, Eversight, Inc. (April 16, 2020).
• Workshop Co-Leader, “Channel Compensation Strategy,” Frank Lynn & Associates, Inc., Chicago, IL (February 26, 2020).
• Speaker, “Legal Tools for Consumer Package Goods Companies to Effectively Manage Revenue,” Revenue Growth Management (RGM) Meeting, Haug Growth Group, Cherry Hill, NJ (November 12, 2019).
• Moderator, “5 Tips to Creating the Most Effective Pricing Policy” and “Staying off Do-Not-Sell Lists: Tips on Navigating and Understanding Manufacturer Pricing Policies,” 2019 SEMA Show, Specialty Equipment Market Association, Las Vegas, NV (November 4-8, 2019).
• Workshop Co-Leader, “Channel Compensation Strategy,” Frank Lynn & Associates, Inc., Chicago, IL (October 23, 2019).
• Panelist, “Legal Experts Panel,” ORIS Summit by PriceSpider, Columbus, OH (October 16-17, 2019).
• Speaker, “Combating Resale Price Erosion,” Webinar, Numerator (Market Track, LLC), Chicago, IL (July 17, 2019).
• Workshop Co-Leader, “Channel Compensation Strategy,” Frank Lynn & Associates, Inc., Chicago, IL (May 22, 2019).
• Speaker, “Beyond the Grunts and Squeaks: Winning the Price Erosion Battle in the Animal Health Industry with Resale Price and MAP Policies,” United Veterinary Services Association (formerly American Veterinary Distributors Association), Nashville, TN (May 5-7, 2019).
• Speaker, “New Models for Pricing in an Omnichannel World,” Eversight Revenue Roundup, Eversight, Inc., Santa Fe, NM (April 11-13, 2019).

Select Podcasts

• “5 Common Ecommerce Mistakes,” PriceSpider Ecommerce Connected Podcast
• “Tracking Down Unauthorized Sellers,” PriceSpider Ecommerce Connected Podcast
• “Creating a Killer MAP Policy/MAP 101,” Channel IQ (now Numerator) Podcast
• “Expanding Your Policy/ MAP 201,” Channel IQ (now Numerator) Podcast
• “The Graduate Program/MAP 301,” Channel IQ (now Numerator) Podcast