Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
Certification
Accomplishments
References
Work Preference
Work Availability
Timeline
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Vanessa Wise

Vanessa Wise

West Chester,OH

Summary

Dynamic leader with extensive experience at EssilorLuxottica, specializing in product innovation and strategic growth. Achieved a remarkable 75% reduction in qualification time, facilitated a 30x increase in new product qualifications, contributed to $10B in sales, and drove profitability with $75M in cost reductions. Renowned for exceptional team leadership and market insights, consistently delivering top-tier results in competitive environments. Committed to leveraging expertise to enhance organizational performance and drive growth.

Overview

32
32
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification

Work History

Senior Director, Global New Product Development

EssilorLuxottica
Cincinnati, USA
01.2023 - 12.2023
  • Directed global leadership and strategic direction to integrate product innovation teams using a unified product stage gate process across Essilor Luxottica ($45B sales, +8M jobs annually).
  • Collaborated with executive leadership and stakeholders to enhance long-term operations to drive success.
  • Engineered a comprehensive strategy for delivering the fastest large-scale rollout in company records across all sales channels, encompassing approximately 40% of total spend.
  • Directed comprehensive handover of leadership responsibilities.
  • Verified product claims and substantiation requirements for legal teams. Detected areas for technical experts to explore to minimize litigation risk.
  • Streamlined Rx ranges for over 2,000 products to decrease customer escalations by hundreds each week.

Senior Director, Advanced Sourcing & Innovation

EssilorLuxottica
Cincinnati, OH
11.2012 - 12.2022
  • Directed a global innovation pipeline across 20+ channels, including retail, wholesale, franchisee, and e-commerce.
  • Led product development from concept to launch, and set record-breaking results as chief integrator and technology expert for new Rx lens products.
  • Developed and implemented an industry-leading qualification process that cleared a two-year backlog by year two, and cut qualification time by 75% (from 12 to 3 weeks).
  • Increased new product qualifications thirty-fold to 1,500 annually, to drive substantial sales growth.
  • Developed innovation and supply strategies for start-up labs across three continents: South America, Europe, and Asia.
  • Enhanced regional sourcing, engineering, and quality to triple innovation growth in Europe and Asia.
  • Spearheaded collaboration efforts with vendors to develop first-to-market products, and negotiated free use of their patent.
  • Fueled growth by leading rollouts of new assortments (350+ products per site) for Ray-Ban, Oakley, and Costa.
  • Enhanced goal alignment with executive strategies by optimizing resources, establishing KPIs, and delivering comprehensive weekly progress reports.

Senior Director, Global Procurement Lens, Equipment, Consumables

Luxottica Optical Manufacturing
Cincinnati, Ohio
03.2009 - 10.2012
  • Managed $200M+ annual spend across four commodities (lens, equipment, consumables, cleaning accessories, 3rd party labs), the largest category globally for all retail channels, including LensCrafters, Target Optical, Pearle Vision, Sears Optical, EyeMed, and wholesale.
  • Negotiated $75M in savings, reduced premium product costs by 50%, boosted inventory consignment by 70% ($17M), and held purchases flat to support two times sales growth. Plus, maintained strong vendor partnerships with the highest fill rates in the industry at 99%.
  • Negotiated new business models, including cost-plus 10% procurement models, opened OEM supply chains, broke up monopolies, deployed offshore models, and designed robust contingency plans.
  • Led multi-functional teams in product development/manufacturing/sourcing in North America & Asia
  • Achieved $75M in cost reductions, with a long-standing vendor base via global integrations (mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, startups) in North America, South America, Asia, Africa, and Australia
  • Optimized 60% of profits through global category management, merchandising, and supplier strategy
  • Preserved $10M in revenue & saved $2M in cost through the development of innovative progressive designs
  • Launched first-to-market lens innovations, accounted for 70%+ of sales by differentiating products (50 / year)
  • Facilitated professional development programs to build a high-performing team.
  • Represented the organization at industry events, conferences, and public meetings.

Director, Rx Lens Sourcing, Strategy

Luxottica Retail North America
Cincinnati, OH
01.2005 - 02.2009
  • Led a $130M supply chain integration, including the largest retail competitor (Cole/Pearle Vision), scaled operations 2x (2,000 locations), streamlined product assortments, and boosted profits by $14M.
  • Integrated Oakley supply chain to reduce the division's spending by over 20% and expand North American operations.
  • Developed and sourced a new Ray-Ban lens in a record-breaking three months to support the Authentic Rx lens program for Luxottica's #1 frame brand.
  • Led all product rollouts with improved product quality at reduced costs, raising the bar for the industry, and was recognized as a key technical expert on lens technology, digital surfacing, and next-generation coatings.
  • Selected as one of only five women in retail to be recognized in the '50 Most Influential Women in Optical for 2006' list.

Senior Product Manager, Lenses

LensCrafters Retail US/Canada
Cincinnati, OH
09.1998 - 01.2005
  • Responsible for $30 million in spending, reduced costs by 12% across 865 locations.
  • Implemented quality controls and standards, cutting defects by 10%, which boosted 1 hr labs' performance and customer satisfaction.
  • Led international sourcing for an Australian retail brand, expanding market reach, and optimizing the supply chain.
  • Developed and launched a small-town lens-casting concept to improve profitability and service for low-volume locations.
  • Built cross-functional partnerships with over 70% of the departments in the company to align procurement with business goals, which aided rapid expansion.

Corporate Buyer

Mercantile Department Stores
Fairfield, Ohio
04.1995 - 08.1998
  • Supervised procurement spend of up to $23M for 100 stores across 16 states, securing rapid promotions.
  • In accessories, I negotiated vendor contracts, identified, and eliminated a $3M inventory problem within the first 2 months on the job.
  • In handbags, drove a $2.5 million sales increase in the first 6 months through strategic turnaround efforts.
  • Formulated procurement strategies, increasing gross margins to 49%, exceeding the industry average by six percentage points.
  • Secured an extra $2 million in gross profits through development of new vendor.
  • Led five regional buying teams and achieved 300% sales growth in key items.

Assistant Buyer

Lazarus - Federated Department Stores
Cincinnati, OH
06.1994 - 03.1995
  • Handled purchase orders, markdowns, and merchandising for the department.
  • Traveled to market during buyer's absence, fostering strong supplier relationships.

Assistant Buyer

Elder-Beerman Department Stores
Dayton, OH
05.1992 - 03.1995
  • Learned all back-office buying, merchandising, and marketing functions for a 68-department store chain.
  • Traveled to market in absence of buyer as needed.

Education

Bachelor of Arts - Marketing

Miami University
Oxford, OH
05-1992

Skills

  • Leadership Team management
  • Global Leadership Strategic Direction
  • Strategy Strategic planning
  • Product Management Product Launch
  • Product Innovation Product Development
  • Sales Sales growth
  • Operational Excellence
  • Procurement Supply Chain Management
  • Market Insights Product Road-Mapping
  • Communication Interpersonal
  • Collaboration Cross-functional leadership
  • Marketing Merchandising
  • Retail Wholesale
  • E-commerce Business Development
  • Analytical skillsDecision-making
  • Negotiation skills Strategic Partnerships

Certification

  • Executive Program on Negotiation, Harvard Law School, Boston, MA
  • Global Purchasing, Procurement / Acquisitions & Contracts, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy
  • Karrass Negotiation, Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH

Accomplishments

  • Drove new product introductions for 20+ selling channels across a highly matrixed organization, and reduced qualification timelines by 75%
  • Grew premium products while delivering $75M in cost savings
  • Led a record number of innovation projects (1,500 annually, $10B annual sales)
  • Managed the largest spend category ($200M+) consistently, enabling growth and promoting excellence in cost, quality, and service
  • Forged long-lasting relationships with key vendors to successfully procure high fill rates (+20M lens units annually) for global Rx manufacturing (centralized and in-store labs)

References

References available upon request.

Work Preference

Work Type

Full Time

Work Location

RemoteHybrid

Important To Me

Company CultureWork from home option401k matchStock Options / Equity / Profit SharingPaid time offWork-life balance

Work Availability

monday
tuesday
wednesday
thursday
friday
saturday
sunday
morning
afternoon
evening
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Timeline

Senior Director, Global New Product Development

EssilorLuxottica
01.2023 - 12.2023

Senior Director, Advanced Sourcing & Innovation

EssilorLuxottica
11.2012 - 12.2022

Senior Director, Global Procurement Lens, Equipment, Consumables

Luxottica Optical Manufacturing
03.2009 - 10.2012

Director, Rx Lens Sourcing, Strategy

Luxottica Retail North America
01.2005 - 02.2009

Senior Product Manager, Lenses

LensCrafters Retail US/Canada
09.1998 - 01.2005

Corporate Buyer

Mercantile Department Stores
04.1995 - 08.1998

Assistant Buyer

Lazarus - Federated Department Stores
06.1994 - 03.1995

Assistant Buyer

Elder-Beerman Department Stores
05.1992 - 03.1995

Bachelor of Arts - Marketing

Miami University

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Vanessa Wise