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
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
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
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
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