I was responsible for the creation and execution of the 5 year strategy for the own buy women's buy women's wear brands: Per Una, Autograph and Goodmove.Goodmove was an in house sportswear and outdoor brand that prides it self on delivering proprietary innovation and quality at an affordable price. Per Una was a feminine premium casual wear brand Autograph focused on affordable luxury. The collection uses premium fabrics and trims targeting a modern and fashion informed customer.I also completed a maternity cover for part of the non operational buying lead role supporting areas that include: international, brand partnerships, key bu meetings etc During my time at M&S I also supported the lingerie team on their strategy for their Body collection and managed their relationship with the charity Breast Cancer Nowl

The Aday brand ethos is about creating a new standard of clothing. They focus on building a responsible wardrobe of season-less technical staples. Every Aday garment is innovative in design and made with high performance fabrics that are built to last. Sustainability is prioritised through every step of the product life-cycle and during my time with the brand we received the Bcorp certification. Consumers are encouraged to buy fewer high quality pieces that can be worn on repeat. At Aday, I was responsible for design, product development, sourcing/ buying, technical, product management, merchandising and logistics. At Aday I reported to the company founders.

Heidi Klein is a luxury beachwear brand, born and raised in the UK, which has achieved global acclaim in the 17 years since its creation by founders Heidi Gosman and Penny Klein in 2002. “We set out to reinvent swimwear shopping into an exciting and enjoyable experience while providing everything our clients desired in order to look and feel gorgeous on holiday; all under one roof,” said Creative Director and Co-founder, Heidi Gosman. Inspired by the wants and needs of its clients, Heidi Klein has a strong focus on exploring what works and what doesn’t and filtering this into a collection of exquisitely cut swimwear with an impeccable fit and lasting design. Heidi Klein is sold in over 150 stores and 39 countries. Heidi Klein remains an independent brand that evolves each season with chic and elegant designs for the well-travelled client. As MD at Heidi Klein, I was responsible for all areas of the business, Wholesale, Retail, Product creation, Digital, Merchandising, Operations, Marketing and Finance. I managed the business through the Pandemic, Business Sale and Brexit.I was on the board of the company reporting to the company owner

ISKO™ is the worlds leading denim ingredient brand. The company prides it self on its creativity, responsible innovation and citizenship. It is the first denim mill in the world to have received the Nordic Swan and Euro Eco label awards for it's Earth fit collection. ISKO ™ is also signatory members of ZDHC highlighting their commitment never to use any harmful chemicals in our supply chain. On top of this ISKO™ has obtained life cycle assessments for all 25000 + products in our portfolio. By doing this ISKO ™ has become the first denim manufacturer to obtain certified environmental product declarations (EPDs)thus assessing the life cycle of products and providing the water usage and carbon footprint of 1 square meter of fabric to allow customers make responsible sourcing choices. ISKO™ offers a 360 degree service to it's customers including: Creative & design support, wash development, and marketing support. To protect their intellectual property, ISKO secured over 10 patents and had 100 patents pending. Although the companies primary focus was responsible denim they also offered ISKO Arquas™ an innovative fabric platform that focused on expertise in woven technologies combined with sportswear and active wear innovation. During my time at ISKO we introduced ISKO Vital™ the worlds first woven compression system. To support young people in the industry ISKO I-SKOOL™ was our education program which has been running for six years. We wanted to share our values, knowledge and passion for responsible denim with tomorrow's business leaders. At ISKO™ I was responsible for B2B marketing and I had global team that provided support to our customers in every continent. These customers included luxury players as well as mass market retailers Key tasks included : Event management, Product Marketing, Business Development, Digital Marketing & Marketing operations. I was on the board of the company and reported to the owner / MD

O'Neill is the original California surf brand founded in 1952. I was responsible for product creation for Europe for Men's, Women's, Snow, Kids, beach footwear and Accessories. I looked after design, buying,merchandising, technical, pattern making and category management. The product covered both performance and life style and I managed a team of 40 people. I was a member of the O'Neill board reporting to the MD . During my time at O'Neill I have repositioned the brand to focus on its California DNA. I elevated the product and introduced new sources. I launched new segments into the collection which included essentials, never out of stock and O'Neill active. I also relaunched the kids wear collection. I drove innovation through the entire collection and increased the percentage of the collection that is sustainable.

Esprit is an international fashion brand that has represented style and quality since 1968. Esprit has a presence in over 40 countries with more than 900 directly managed retail stores and over 8,100 wholesale points of saleI joined Esprit as the Germany-based GM with responsibility for managing the design, product development and product management of women’s casual wear, the largest division in Esprit. In this role I managed a team of more than 60 people. When I took on responsibility for the team it had been operating without a leader for a year. My first tasks were to stabilise the team and to refocus people’s efforts. I also created the business strategy for denim and launched a new denim division for Esprit which experienced double-digit growth at a time when parts of the global business were in decline.I left this role at the end of 2013 to move to everydaycounts, a start-up business within the Esprit group. I also relocated from the Germany to Amsterdam to oversee the creation of this new business and to play an important part in launching the brand and everydaycounts’ first retail store.Everydaycounts, was created with one vision – to simplify our cluttered wardrobes until we want to wear every piece we own. I led a team of people with expertise in denim, fashion and accessories. Together we created a portfolio of contemporary designs for men and women which were simple, stylish and in demand. I have expanded the initial concept for everydaycounts through to the brand launch in our first store in Amsterdam. I have also participated in the development of the online presence and online shopping experience. I have worked hard with my team to create a clear vision for the new company. I recruited, trained and managed the people who made up the team. I was active in product design, product development and brand launch.

Levi Strauss & Co, founded in 1853, is a privately held American clothing company known worldwide for its Levi's brand of denim jeans and its Dockers brand of business casual clothing. The company employs a staff of approximately 10,500 people worldwide. At Levi Strauss I introduced a range of innovations which turned around the struggling women’s business in Europe. These innovations resulted in significant improvements to the brand’s reputation, sales and profitability.As someone who understands denim, and what women who wear denim want from their clothing, I focused on improving the fit and finish of the products for which I was responsible. I created first-class products that addressed their wants. These products helped the company to grow from being a regional business to become a high-profile global business.I also established a clear direction and growth strategy for Dockers, a brand that focused on men's trousers and accessories also owned by Levi Strauss, thus helping the brand to achieve greater profitability and enhanced growth.I was on the European board and reported to the MD of Europe.

Nike is one of the most iconic global sportswear brands in the world. I joined Nike as General Manager of Women's wear working across both performance and life style. I was responsible for launching the first women's dance collection which went on to become a growth driving global initiative. I also headed up the strategic response team in Nike working on the exclusive collections for the key accounts and maximizing closer to market opportunities for the business. The quick turn tee program which I launched sold over 1 million units per year.During my time at Nike I had the chance to work on White label products that were distributed in the most premium doors across Europe. I also ran both the European men's sportswear business and was also part of the team that built the first Global men's Sportswear collections.

Before joining Nike I worked in a number of roles where I improved sales and increased market share for particular brands. I also introduced and refined systems for supply chain management, planning and logistics which enhanced productivity and profits. I started my career as a buyers admin assistant at the House of Fraser and then moved to Burton Retail as an assistant merchandiser working my way up to senior merchandiser level. I was later Head of Merchandising and Head of Planning and Logistics at Miss Selfridge and then Head of Merchandising at Diesel. At Diesel I introduced buying, purchasing and planning processes which resulted in enhanced turnover and profitability. I also managed the company’s new store opening program.These roles helped me to develop my understanding of fashion and retailing. I learned how to assess market trends and to understand customer demands and expectations. I then used this knowledge to drive sales growthRosie Cortazzi Rosemary Cortazzi