PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

$150+ Million Division — Manufacture and Multi-Channel Distribution (Wholesale Fashion, Replenishment, Off-Price, International) of Colorful Premium, Career and Active Wear for Women — of Fortune 500 Women’s Apparel Enterprise

Leadership Successes

• Guide and Coach Global Work-Shift and PLM Implementation in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and South China offices.

• Contribute to division-level strategic planning and business management to meet P&L objectives for production of 5+ million pieces of apparel per year.

• Member of the Work-Shift Initiative Task Force — a mission-critical change initiative focused on developing a best-in-class overseas manufacturing model to improve product development and manufacturing cycle time (target is 4+ week reduction in cycle), eliminate redundancies, decrease workforce/payroll and reduce costs.

• Provide critical decision support to key departments — finance, accounting, letter of credit, customs, traffic, business planning services — at the corporate level.

Manufacturing Results

• Delivered $1.2 million to the bottom line and decreased lead-times 15% by consolidating the vendor base and leveraging buying power. Led product development and production teams in negotiating .8% pick-up on going-in margin in 2005.

• Streamlined operations and improved profitability by combining vendor partnership initiatives with consolidation of the manufacturing base — from 57 to 30 and ultimately to 17 — a divisional strategy adopted by corporate.

• Improved the accuracy and timeliness — by as much as 75% — of decision support by creating new database system for daily data analysis and reporting.

• Contributed to reducing turn time — from five days per week to two hours per week — by participating in design and implementation of visual planners (utilized MS Access database capabilities).

• Increased accountability for performance analysis and improvement to team members. Developed and delivered training classes in MS Excel and MS Access for all associates.

Personal Distinctions

• Two-time recipient of the divisional award for Most Valuable Employee, 2001 and 2005.

• Earned performance-based promotion to become one of youngest members of the manufacturing management team.

Functioned as the technical and graphics expert for the design team.  Responsible for translating design concepts to technical specifications, illustrations, and materials.  Created specifications, bill of materials, and initial costing in the PLM system (PLS from PTC).  Provided visual tools to the design, manufacturing, and management teams.  Followed up on all internal communications related to the product design with the Director of Wovens and the Director of Knits.  Acted as liaison with the Asian offices.  Worked closely with design team to provide historical brand information.  Provided leadership to the team during the Liz Claiborne strategic review process.  Participated in analyzing and testing (User Acceptance Testing – UAT) the PLS system on behalf of the Sigrid Olsen design team and provided training to staff located in the Beverly, MA office.  Acted as on-site IT/IS back-up for hardware and software issues.

Provided analysis of existing systems and business practices and suggested areas for improvement.  Worked closely on site in California with Juicy Couture manufacturing, graphic, and product development teams to map and document existing Standard Operating Procedures in preparation for implementing a new product development and costing system.  Provided feedback to Juicy Couture team on improving their processes.  Programmed an “interim solution” Microsoft Access database until implementation of a new system (Full Circle from Innovative Systems).  Traveled to New Jersey extensively to provide implementation support and feedback for the PLS development team.

Pre-Global Workshift (Wakefield):

Leader of the manufacturing team — reporting directly to VP of Manufacturing — in charge of product development and production, and key aspects of the supply chain function including sourcing, traffic and customs for domestic and international manufacturing (US, Mexico, Turkey, India and 10+ Asian countries).  Lead a core team of three — Product Development Team Leader, Production Team Leader and Senior Colorist — and provide indirect oversight to 10+ others in manufacturing, scheduling, materials and import roles. Analyze production data (merchandising projections, factory allocations, style counts by product type, style counts by designer, styles/SKUs by vendor), and track and optimize attainment of key performance indicators — air/vessel ratio, product availability, on-time fulfillment, etc.

Post-Global Workshift (Hong Kong):

Provided training to Hong Kong based manufacturing leadership regarding divisional requirements for financial reporting, manufacturing performance goals, production processes, and other divisional requirements by customer type.  Worked closely with design team while training them on the use of the visual tool database in Microsoft Access.  Acted as brand historian providing insight on brand history and transferring knowledge regarding file locations, sample locations, testing processes, and approval processes.

Managed global product development and production for two major lines — “SO Blue” (four seasons yearly/50 styles per season) and then “Sigrid Olsen Sport” (four seasons yearly/100 styles per season). Collaborated with merchandising in style and pricing strategy, and worked with design team in sourcing fabrics within designated price points. Trained, mentored and led a team of four Senior Product Specialists and two Production Specialists.

Managed production, production scheduling, bulk order price negotiation, traffic and letter of credit functions. Tracked and analyzed production performance for manufacturing facilities in 13 countries. Trained and managed a team of five.

$15+ Million Division — Manufacturer for Automotive and Furniture Industries — of Diversified Fortune 500 Enterprise

Created and managed ISO 9000-compliant total quality and continuous improvement function. Performed complete analysis of operations, mapped and reengineered processes, established quality points, developed SOPs, and structured quality performance measurements and reporting methods. Advised the Executive Committee in TQM/CI principles, facilitated quality teams, and served as the company’s ISO and TQM expert. Managed four direct reports.

Distinctions & Results

• Reduced quality issues by 80%+.

• Improved operational decision support by establishing key performance indicators and creating a database for tracking, analyzing and reporting against metrics — productivity, yield, inventory, testing, quality, customer service.

• Hired specifically to prepare the company for ISO 9000 Certification. Authored the company’s Quality Manual.

Designer and Manufacturer — for Victoria’s Secret, Sears, JC Penney, Talbots, QVC — of Intimate Apparel and Athletic Wear

Managed production — planning, cost engineering, quality control, inspection, sourcing, price negotiation, production performance tracking and analysis — for men and women’s apparel through all phases of domestic and international manufacturing. As Textile Administrator/Color Tech, performed spectrophotometric analysis, tracked lab-dip/strike-off, and initiated fabric testing. Facilitated 12% improvement in overall profit margins over two years.

High Volume Sewing Factory — Designer and Manufacturer of Soft Luggage, Office Furniture and Apparel Accessories

Promoted within one year of hire to manage a 100-person production line. Directed the design and production lifecycle — from sketch through pattern creation, cost analysis, scheduling, manufacturing and quality.

TECHNICAL SKILLS

EDUCATION & TRAINING

 AA — Dual Major in Business Management & Computer Information Science, Expected June 2009

NORTHERN ESSEX COMMUNITY COLLEGE, Haverhill, MA

Seminars/Training Classes:

• Industrial Color Control — DataColor International, Detroit, MI

• QA & Continuous Improvement — Leggett & Platt, Fort Worth, TX

• Adobe Illustrator – American Graphics Institute, Woburn, MA

• Fashion Design – Whittier Vocational Technical High School

Ashworth College (2002 to Present)

• Total Quality

• Introduction to Business Management

• Business Mathematics

• Human Resource Management

• Business Ethics

Northern Essex Community College, Haverhill, MA (1999 to Present)

• Accounting I & II

• Principles of Management

• Introduction to Philosophy

• Internet Web Development with HTML

• Introduction to Psychology

• Introduction to Sociology

• Introduction to Photoshop 7

• Screenwriting

• Fiction Writing

Boston University, Boston, MA (1990)

• Advanced Calculus for Science Majors

• Astronomy for Science Majors

• Microeconomics

• Physics

• Japanese