Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
Affiliations
Interests
Timeline
Generic

Kimberly McWade

Coral Springs,FL

Summary

Product Development Quality Assurance Business Operations Executive Accomplished and goal driven Operations Executive with extensive experience in management and tactical business leadership with transferrable skills in textile manufacturing and distribution. Offers expertise spanning product development, vendor relations, operations, customer service and change management. Capable of achieving optimal results with competent planning, organization and a solution-oriented approach while driving business growth, profitability and maintaining strategic alliances. Strong diplomatic leader and analytical thinker able to inspire, lead and cultivate working relationships with employees, partners, suppliers and customers. Business Development Supply Chain Management Quality Management Project Management Educational Development Organizational Leadership & Development Product Development Process Improvement Client Business Relations Regulatory Compliance Workflow Prioritization

Overview

34
34
years of professional experience

Work History

Director of Quality Assurance/Testing/Compliance

08.2020 - Current
  • Responsible for leading the quality assurance team & providing support to product development engineers for a widespread line of roller shade textiles, component systems & window treatment motors
  • Manage quality team that processes customer claims through ERP system - Improved service by cutting turnaround time in half, improving the customer experience
  • Maintain environmental certifications such as Greenguard/Greenguard Gold, Oeko-tex 100, and Allergy & Asthma verified
  • Report monthly to executive team regarding product failures, customer claims and compliance issues
  • Negotiate vendor charge backs for product failures & quality issues

Director of Product Development/Merchandising

Keeco LLC
Boca Raton, FL
02.2023 - 02.2024
  • Best in class home textile supplier, specializing in fashion top of bed, basic utility bedding and soft window with additional businesses in bath, kitchen textiles and table linens., Responsible for development of decorative top of bed, sheeting and terry items for hospitality clients
  • Research current trends and develop products that meet the design aspirations of individual hotel brands
  • Direct contact and coordination with sourcing offices in Pakistan, India and China to facilitate sample development, costing , and
  • Present new ideas to sales team and clients based upon specific requirements of hotel brands
  • Attend relative trade shows to stay in touch with trends and new product introductions

Director of Product Development/Merchandising

Utility Bedding
09.2021 - 02.2023
  • Responsible for the research and development of utility bedding products including pillows, comforters and mattress pads
  • Research new technologies providing additional comfort and benefit to utility bedding products
  • Attend trade shows domestic and international to stay in tune with new developments in the marketplace for better, more sustainable options within the utility bedding space
  • Prepare and present new products twice a year for Home fashion market in New York
  • Responsible for specific retail accounts in specific developments based upon needs to fill white space and meet required price levels
  • My accounts included JC Penny, TJ Maxx , Loews and Meijer

VALLEY FORGE FABRICS, INC
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
01.1990 - 01.2020
  • World’s leading private manufacturer of innovative textiles and design solutions for the hospitality industry with estimated revenue of $100- $150 million and up to 300 employees globally.

Director

01.2017 - 01.2020
  • Responsible for leading product development & quality assurance teams in charge of evaluation of up to $150 million of products being brought to market each year responsible for 10 to 25 direct reports
  • Developed & maintained processes for new product developments ensuring all new introductions into the market met guidelines for a successful product launch
  • Researched patentability and due diligence of all new product introductions and worked directly with patent attorney through the application process resulting in multiple patents pending on products brought to market
  • Maintained relationships with key industry organizations to guarantee full compliance to quality and met regulatory standards for all products introduced into the commercial marketplace
  • Reported monthly key performance indicators to executive management displaying increase in productivity month after month resulting in up to 8000 quality tests and 150 production audits per year yielding increase in quality across all product categories
  • Attended executive planning sessions daily, weekly and quarterly implementing the necessary changes to meet business demands; including introduction of new verticals and bringing new product categories to market
  • Instrumental in the due diligence, market research and planning with the leadership team for an acquisition of a drapery fabrication company, Contract Décor International (CDI) acquired 2017
  • Managed customer claims and kept them under .6% of total yearly revenue by implementing minimum quality standards for all product categories
  • Negotiated Vendor chargebacks for quality/claims and issues while maintaining positive vendor relationships resulting in a savings of $100,000 per year.

Director – Sourcing

01.2015 - 01.2017
  • Effective leader of 4 teams of product experts responsible for product development, sourcing, quality assurance, and testing, ultimately introducing quality textile products to the contract, commercial and hospitality marketplace
  • Maintained positive vendor relations with textile manufacturers, production fabricators and finishing companies all over the world resulting in the development of millions of dollars of marketable products
  • Point person who answered questions and resolved problems for project management and sales team surrounding compliance requirements and product suitability concerns ultimately reducing future quality claims in the field
  • Successfully managed product development/design team that created up to 50 new collections and cap sets each year by researching trends, meeting with suppliers to review new offerings and then cooperatively managed the entire process of sample books production & distribution resulting in new products being brought to market weekly.

Director of Production/Customer Service/Purchasing/Logistics

01.1997 - 01.2015
  • Responsible for supervising operations and production teams including order processing, purchasing, expediting & logistics, quality & claims with 25 direct reports during a period of significant growth from $10 mil to over $100mil in annual sales
  • Directed all daily contact with executive ownership regarding average daily bookings of up to $500k per day and project expediting status to ensure that we were meeting customer deadlines
  • Managed logistics department responsible for movement of millions of dollars of product all over the world while effectively meeting challenging lead time requirements within 4 to 6 weeks internationally and 2 to 4 weeks domestically
  • Successfully managed multiple customer claims and product failure resolutions and independently negotiated vendor agreements and chargebacks reducing replacement costs and increased customer satisfaction.

Education

Bachelor of Arts - Textile Technology & Marketing

Fashion Institute of Technology

Skills

  • COMPUTER SKILLS
  • Microsoft Word Excel PowerPoint SalesForce Syspro Goldmine

Affiliations

ACT – Association for Contract Textiles AATCC – American Association for Textile Chemists & Colorists, Feeding South Florida -Give Back Day 2014-2019

Interests

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT/CERTIFICATIONS , Rockefeller Habits/Scaling up Core Team, Petra Coach 2018-2020 The 7 Habits for Managers, Franklin Covey Leadership Development and Reaction Program, Tribus Allen Unleash the Power Within - Tony Robbins

Timeline

Director of Product Development/Merchandising

Keeco LLC
02.2023 - 02.2024

Director of Product Development/Merchandising

Utility Bedding
09.2021 - 02.2023

Director of Quality Assurance/Testing/Compliance

08.2020 - Current

Director

01.2017 - 01.2020

Director – Sourcing

01.2015 - 01.2017

Director of Production/Customer Service/Purchasing/Logistics

01.1997 - 01.2015

VALLEY FORGE FABRICS, INC
01.1990 - 01.2020

Bachelor of Arts - Textile Technology & Marketing

Fashion Institute of Technology

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Kimberly McWade