Kimberly McWade
Summary
Strategic Operations Executive with 30 years of experience leading product-market strategy and supporting implementation of innovative products for unique niches. End-to-end product leader successful bringing products from inception to rollout with efficiency and speed. Accomplished Quality Assurance & Product Development executive goal driven 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.
Overview
27
27
years of professional experience
Work History
Director of Product Development/Merchandising
Keeco LLC
02.2023 - 02.2024
- Responsible for development of decorative top of bed, sheeting, and terry items for hospitality clients resulting in successful placement of new brand standard for Country Inn & Suites.
- Research current trends and develop products that meet design aspirations of individual hotel brands.
- Direct contact and coordination with sourcing offices in Pakistan, India and China to facilitate sample development and costing.
- Present innovative ideas to sales team and clients
- Attend trade shows to stay in touch with trends and new product technologies.
Director of Product Development/Merchandising
Keeco LLC
10.2021 - 02.2023
- Responsible for research and development of utility bedding products including pillows, comforters, and mattress pads.
- Research innovative technologies providing additional comfort and benefit to utility bedding products.
- Attend trade shows domestic and international to stay in tune with new developments for better, more sustainable options within utility bedding spaces.
- Prepare and present new products twice a year for Home Fashion market in New York.
Director of Quality Assurance/Testing/Compliance
Vertilux Inc.
08.2020 - 09.2021
- 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 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/Quality
VALLEY FORGE FABRICS, INC
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,
- 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
VALLEY FORGE FABRICS, INC
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 development of millions of dollars of marketable product.
- 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
VALLEY FORGE FABRICS, INC
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.
- Managed logistics department responsible for movement of millions of dollars of product worldwide 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 Science - Textile Technology / Textile Marketing
Fashion Institute of Technology
New York, NY05.1990
Skills
- Brand Development
- Price Structuring
- Product Roadmapping
- Customer Retention Strategies
- Seasonal campaign development
- Business Objective Analysis
Industry Associations
- ACT – Association for Contract Textiles
- AATCC – American Association for Textile Chemists & Colorists
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 2017
- Unleash the Power Within - Tony Robbins 2015
Timeline
Director of Product Development/Merchandising
Keeco LLC
02.2023 - 02.2024
Director of Product Development/Merchandising
Keeco LLC
10.2021 - 02.2023
Director of Quality Assurance/Testing/Compliance
Vertilux Inc.
08.2020 - 09.2021
Director of Product Development/Quality
VALLEY FORGE FABRICS, INC
01.2017 - 01.2020
Director – Sourcing
VALLEY FORGE FABRICS, INC
01.2015 - 01.2017
Director of Production/Customer Service/Purchasing/Logistics
VALLEY FORGE FABRICS, INC
01.1997 - 01.2015
Bachelor of Science - Textile Technology / Textile Marketing
Fashion Institute of Technology
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