Following Boardriders’ acquisition of Billabong Group, I was appointed to spearhead the development of the group’s brands in Greater China and Emerging Markets (Middle East, Israel and Polynesia). Defining the strategies to drive growth in both businesses, I led efforts to source and negotiate a distribution partner agreement and retain customers in Greater China and establish a support function for Emerging Markets in Australia. With four direct and 20 indirect reports, I worked closely with board level stakeholders, the Global CEO and CFO, in addition to serving as a member of the APAC Sustainability Committee.• Delivered strong growth for both the Greater China and Emerging Markets businesses, by defining the brand value proposition with partners and supporting the business with the right product, categories and channels;• Drove EBITDA growth by building a shared service function in Australia, leading development of the operational framework and team, setting the Emerging Markets business on the path to growth; • Pioneered the ‘Boardriders Lite’ multi-brand retail concept in non-core markets, guiding the development of a retail concept featuring all seven brands resulting in the opening of 12 stores, with more to open;• Created one of the highest performing teams in the business, renowned for cross-functional work and a performance-driven mindset.

With the group pursuing growth across Asia and the Middle East, I was promoted and given sole responsibility for the region, with a mandate to grow the business through third party distribution partners. Defining and implementing market entry strategies for Saudi, Arabia, the Philippines and Taiwan, I also continued to grow the business in Israel and Indonesia. With eight direct and 100+ indirect reports across countries, I led all operational areas, forging and managing relationships with external partners and landlords, whilst working closely with the executive leadership team in the US and Australia to achieve strategic goals.• Led entry into new markets in Saudi Arabia, Taiwan and the Philippines by sourcing and negotiating distribution agreements and overseeing product and merchandise planning, channel/retail segmentation and brand and campaign development;• Delivered consistent double-digit EBITDA growth in Indonesia by customising the marketing strategy specifically for the market and leading a team of 100+ to execute tailored branding strategies region-wide;• Expanded Billabong’s market presence in Asia by opening 60+ retail locations in the region including mono brand, direct and indirect retail locations.

With Asia operations having shifted from direct to a third-party distribution model, I was appointed to continue development of the brand group in the region under the new business model. Leading all product, sales, finance, operations, customers, distributors, logistics, supply chain and HR in Asia, I led multi-year strategic planning, annual budgeting and forecasting to drive sales and profit growth, developing targeted marketing and brand plans to capture consumer interest and to drive growth (across. Thailand, Philippines, Middle East, Israel, Singapore and Indonesia). Leading five direct and 100+ indirect reports in a highly multicultural environment, I maintained alliances with key partners, senior leadership and key sourcing and product development relationships.• Delivered a profitability turnaround in Asia with minimal investment, with Asia becoming the highest EBITDA contributor in the business by driving distributor growth and adding new channels, such as e-commerce;• Drove an uplift in revenue by sourcing and onboarding a third-party e-commerce provider, forging a platform partnership that contributed to growth in a highly cost-effective manner;• Recruited critical roles to re-establish key functions in the region, hiring, onboarding and training operations, merchandising and Country Lead roles.

With the business undergoing change on a global level, I was appointed to an Asia-based role to provide sales and merchandising leadership, and source and onboard third-party distribution partners in the region to enable the business to transition the business to a third-party model. Developing and implementing merchandising strategy and operational discipline, I also drove business development activities to meet revenue targets and worked with the GM and Finance Manager to manage change associated with the global restructure. With six direct and 15 indirect reports across Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Thailand, I established relationships with key distributors and worked cross-functionally with other divisions to achieve global change objectives.• Delivered revenue target despite high change, overseeing partner transitions from direct to third party models and exiting out of several direct markets whilst minimising business impact;• Strengthened cashflow and working capital by improving inventory management, overseeing inventory purchase and transition to minimise overstocking.