Kira Waite
Denver,CO
Summary
Experienced Head of Operations with proven success driving operational improvements, cost improvements, implementing best practices, and scaling operations at high-growth eCommerce and manufacturing organizations. Passionate about building and coaching teams to think strategically and work cross-functionally to foster seamless customer experiences in a digital environment. Dedicated to building a firm operational foundation that allows for scalability, nimble supply chains, and improved vendor relationships.
Overview
13
13
years of professional experience
Work History
SENIOR DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
Artifact Uprising
Denver, CO
07.2019 - Current
- Implementation of Operational best-practices, strategies, and processes while simultaneously reducing costs and improving KPIs and OKRs.
- Management of physical product launches in alignment with internal Design and Engineering teams ensuring seamless launches across vendors to drive incremental revenue.
- Presentation of Operations Performance and Strategic Planning to C-Level Executives and Board Members.
- Management and execution of Operational revenue and production initiatives, inclusive of cross-functional management of teams and stakeholders.
- Creation of S&OP process and coaching of stakeholders, in turn driving collaborative forecasting, inventory, cost, CRM, and quality improvements.
- Change and transformation leadership across business areas to improve OKRs and drive strategic objectives in areas such as logistics, supply chain management, inventory, and risk mitigation.
- Achievement of significant cost reductions and supplier improvements through use of LEAN methodologies and implementation of Supplier Scorecards.
- Management of internal teams to create and implement vendor scorecards and drive vendor metric and communication improvements.
- Creation, coaching, and management of robust Operations, Supply Chain, and CX teams.
- Management of day-to-day production activities in accordance with business objectives.
MANAGER, CAPITAL & SUPPLY CHAIN OPTIMIZATION
Emerson Automation Solutions
Boulder, CO
01.2012 - 07.2019
- Maximized performance through creation and management of companywide KPI/OKR dashboard that informed strategic decisions and operational planning.
- Worked extensively with global sites and cultures to foster meaningful relationships and teamwork.
- Managed global Capital Expenditures of over $50MM to ensure timely manufacturing improvements while optimizing costs and meeting strategic goals.
- Achieved continuous improvements through LEAN manufacturing initiatives, inventory optimizations, operating expense analyses, and schedule optimizations.
- Implementation of global safety systems in accordance with OSHA and local country safety requirements.
FINANCIAL ANALYST
Sybase, An SAP Company
Greenwood Village, CO
09.2010 - 01.2012
- Provided financial recommendations to Executive Team members in line with strategic initiatives.
- Performed complex financial analyses to help inform business decisions and extrapolate accurate financial forecasts.
Education
MBA - Strategic Management
Regis University
Denver, CO05.2013
Bachelor of Science - Business Administration/Finance
Colorado State University
Fort Collins, CO05.2009
Skills
- Startup/High-Growth Operational Leadership
- Digital & Physical Product Launch Expert
- LEAN Methodologies & Process Improvement
- Operational Excellence
- P&L Management
- Fulfillment and Logistics Management
- Strategic Planning & Risk Mitigation
- GTM Planning & Execution
- Digital Product & Experience Optimization
- Operations Scalability
- Inventory Optimization and Management
Accomplishments
- Led Operations team at Artifact Uprising to highest on-time shipping rates, CSAT, and quality metrics since inception of company in 2022.
- Implementation of full-cycle S&OP process at Artifact Uprising, resulting in forecasting accuracy improvement of 40% YoY and increased conversion and traffic.
- Creation of Risk Mitigation analyses at Artifact Uprising, driving strategic decision making, capacity planning, and vendor communication; in turn, reducing late shipments by over 30% YoY in 2022.
- Inventory management and optimization resulting in a 127% reduction YoY in stockouts while simultaneously reducing total inventory spend in 2022 at Artifact Uprising.
Tools & Tech Abilities
- Proficient in Magento, HP Siteflow, Looker, Tableau, and other application programming interfaces (APIs) to optimize site performance and vendor performance.
- Collaboration and troubleshooting experience with Front and Back-End Engineering teams to ensure alignment across digital and physical product.
- Extensive experience launching new digital products, creating GTM strategies, commercialization, and bug documentation in Jira and Confluence.
- Success in working cross-functionally with Digital Product and Tech teams to build out custom tools in Magento and Looker (BI) that foster educated, data-based decisions and reduce friction for customers.
- Extensive experience using ERP systems (enterprise resource programs) to manage inventory, purchasing, sourcing, and financials.
Volunteer Work
Mock Interviewer; Denver Public Schools - Goodwill Industries
Junior Achievement Educator; Kindergarten, 1st grade
Timeline
SENIOR DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
Artifact Uprising
07.2019 - Current
MANAGER, CAPITAL & SUPPLY CHAIN OPTIMIZATION
Emerson Automation Solutions
01.2012 - 07.2019
FINANCIAL ANALYST
Sybase, An SAP Company
09.2010 - 01.2012
MBA - Strategic Management
Regis University
Bachelor of Science - Business Administration/Finance
Colorado State University