Chief Category/Commercial Officer - D2C

The Chief Category Officer (CCO) will be the strategic leader responsible for commercial growth, overseeing both category management , Product development and marketing.
This role will ensure the company’s success through innovative product offerings, strategic category development, and dynamic marketing initiatives.
The CCO will lead cross-functional teams, driving D2C growth across key categories, including Food & Beverage, Jewelry and Corporate Gifting, while enhancing the brand’s presence and customer engagement. The ideal candidate will combine visionary leadership with deep expertise in both category management and marketing, ensuring alignment with the long-term business objectives.

Experience Required:

• Minimum 15 years of leadership experience in commercial strategy, category management, marketing, and business growth within premium or luxury consumer goods.
• Proven success in leading large, cross-functional teams to drive business growth through product innovation, market expansion, and strategic marketing initiatives.
• Expertise in utilizing data-driven insights to optimize both marketing campaigns and product development, ensuring strong category performance and customer engagement.
• Strong background in category development, supplier management, and product sourcing, with experience in managing marketing and category strategies in premium retail environments.
 

Competencies:

Core Competencies:
• Strategic Thinking: Ability to craft and execute long-term commercial and marketing strategies that drive business growth and customer engagement.
• Customer Focus: Deep understanding of customer needs, ensuring that both commercial and marketing initiatives are aligned with customer preferences and market dynamics.
• Innovation and Agility: Capable of leading teams through the introduction of innovative products and marketing strategies, responding quickly to market changes.
• Data-Driven Decision Making: Proficient in leveraging data and insights to shape both marketing and category strategies, ensuring alignment with business goals.

Leadership Competencies:
• Visionary Leadership: Ability to inspire and lead large teams across category management and marketing to achieve strategic commercial goals.
• Collaborative Leadership: Skilled in driving cross-functional collaboration between category, marketing, and business development teams for cohesive execution.
• Team Development: Focused on building and nurturing high-performing teams, fostering innovation and operational excellence.
• Stakeholder Management: Expertise in managing both internal and external relationships, ensuring alignment with business, marketing, and category objectives.

Functional Competencies:
• Product and Category Development: Extensive experience in leading strategies for product and category development, ensuring offerings are relevant and competitive.
• Market and Brand Strategy: Proven track record in developing comprehensive market strategies that enhance brand visibility and drive business growth.
• Analytics and Insights: Proficient in using data to refine marketing campaigns, optimize category performance, and enhance customer engagement.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Strategic Commercial Leadership: • Lead the development and execution of the commercial strategy, balancing product innovation, category development, and marketing to drive long-term growth.
   • Oversee the alignment of category management and marketing initiatives with the company’s business goals, ensuring a unified approach to growth across product offerings, customer engagement, and brand visibility.
   • Shape the market position by driving both product innovation and brand marketing to ensure competitiveness and relevance in the market.

2. Category Management and Product Development: • Lead the strategy for the development, diversification, and expansion of product categories (Food & Beverage, Jewelry, Corporate Gifting), ensuring that offerings are aligned with customer preferences and market trends.
   • Oversee supplier relationships, product sourcing, and category performance, ensuring quality and innovation are key drivers of product success.
   • Collaborate with product development teams to identify new category opportunities and enhance existing product lines, ensuring the company remains a leader in its core categories.
   • Lead the execution of category management strategies that optimize pricing, product assortment, and supplier negotiations to drive profitability and customer satisfaction.

3. Brand Marketing and Management: • Oversee the creation of a cohesive and consistent brand identity that resonates with the audience across all channels, ensuring brand guidelines are enforced globally.
   • Guide large marketing teams to develop strategies that strengthen community engagement, customer loyalty, and overall brand equity.
   • Enhance brand visibility and recognition through innovative marketing campaigns, partnerships, and collaborations, ensuring that the brand stays relevant and competitive in both existing and new markets.

4. Customer-Centric Marketing and Engagement Strategies: • Develop and oversee high-level strategies for customer engagement, ensuring marketing initiatives reflect customer behaviors and preferences.
   • Leverage customer insights and data to inform product and marketing positioning strategies, ensuring a high-quality experience across all platforms.
   • Direct marketing efforts to attract and retain customers, exploring new opportunities to meet evolving market expectations and improve customer satisfaction.
   • Lead the development of a comprehensive digital marketing strategy, including social media, SEO/SEM, email marketing, and performance marketing, ensuring maximum ROI and customer acquisition.

5. Social Media and Performance Marketing Initiatives: • Oversee the allocation of performance marketing spend, optimizing digital marketing efforts such as paid ads, social media, and email campaigns to enhance brand visibility and acquisition.
   • Guide the Performance Marketing team to track and analyze key metrics, adjusting strategies based on data-driven insights to improve campaign effectiveness and customer reach.
   • Ensure that social media and performance marketing strategies are aligned with the overall business objectives, fostering community engagement and increasing brand awareness.

6. Product and Service Evolution: • Lead the strategic evolution of product offerings, ensuring that the product portfolio remains innovative, competitive, and aligned with market demand.
   • Collaborate closely with product development teams and category managers to ensure that new product introductions are market-ready and commercially viable.
   • Provide leadership in balancing creativity and commercial goals, ensuring the company remains at the forefront of category leadership and product quality.

7. Collaboration and Commercial Growth: • Oversee cross-functional collaboration between category management, marketing, operations, and business development teams, ensuring alignment of commercial strategies.
   • Identify new avenues for growth, including category expansion, geographical diversification, and targeted marketing initiatives.
   • Ensure that commercial strategies are designed to optimize key metrics such as pricing, positioning, and promotions, contributing to sustained revenue growth and profitability.

8. Market Responsiveness and Innovation: • Lead the introduction of innovative marketing strategies that respond to market changes, staying agile in the face of evolving consumer demand.
   • Foster a culture of innovation within both category management and marketing teams, ensuring that offerings evolve in line with market trends and customer desires.
   • Drive collaboration across teams to ensure that all new product and marketing initiatives are seamlessly integrated into the company’s broader business strategy.

9. Team Leadership and Development: • Build and lead high-performing teams across both category management and marketing functions, fostering a culture of creativity, collaboration, and accountability.
   • Provide mentorship and strategic guidance to senior leaders in category and marketing teams, ensuring alignment with both short-term and long-term commercial objectives.
   • Empower teams to continuously innovate and improve, driving excellence in both category management and marketing operations